A review by abbeyroad1410
Before I Fall Enhanced Edition by Lauren Oliver

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I first read this book in my sad girl, obsessed with death phase (at age 15, obviously, the time you would expect). It's a book that (despite giving it 4 stars), I have re-read several times because the last chapter always manages to make me tear up. 
I'm not going to lie, Sam is one of those girls in high school that everyone would have HATED because they were too popular and banded together with a pretty bully. That's also the whole point though. Additionally, the groundhog day concept is not unique, but the way this book does it is so well done and is meant to teach lessons to young adults. 
The chapters are really long because each one is a full day, but they have subsections which I find really helpful in breaking up the chapters so that readers aren't too flighty (even with them, sometimes my attention span is limited). I do think that having the chapters be this long makes sense for the content choice. 
Basically, I still really like this novel, though I think being so distant in age from the characters shifts my perspective from what should I get from this novel to what should people in

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