Before I Fall discussion

After I finished reading this book, I felt like I learned a lot about life, and it definitely reminded me of a book by Jay Asher: 13 Reasons Why. What do we learn from these books?

For me, when I first started reading this book, I had already collected a couple of my friends who had already read it opinions and they all told me it was pretty good or amazing or heartbreaking, so I decided to give it a shot, considering Lauren Oliver is one of my favorite authors. But then when I started reading it, I thought it was a horrible book. In my opinion, the first 60 pages or so were a complete waste of talent, paper, ink, and words. Then she got to somewhere around the third relive (the second one I read in a rush because all I could think was that she didn't have any idea what was going on to her) and it started getting fairly interesting. But I really got into it when Juliet died when Sam didn't and when Sam called Lindsey a bitch and became friends with Anna Cartullo and stood up to Alex Liment and she kissed Kent and dumped Rob and met Marion and hung out with Izzy. Some of those days were really good and I thought she was finally making a difference, like when she tried to save Juliet, but still failed, or when she hung out with Izzy all day, but others, like when she went shopping and stole her mom's credit card and bought everything or when she kissed Mr. Daimler were just idiotic and I thought they downplayed the meaning of the story. Yes, she was given a whole week to relive her life and yes, she learned from it, but honestly, she screwed up and wasted her chances a couple more times than she ought have. I gave the story four stars because of these little faults because in my eyes, all of Lauren Oliver's other books were more clean cut than this one. But hey, it was her first novel, and a very powerful, good one at that.
In the end, I think she knew she could never be with Kent anyway--she knew she was completely and totally dead, she had hope, but she wasn't stupid--and that's why when he was calling for her, she ran away from him. But it broke my heart after all those sweet moments they had together: when Sam was crying and Kent came to comfort her, when she fell asleep and he stayed in the room with her, when Elody died and he made her hot chocolate, when he kissed her on the way home from his party... but it was sad because after she relived her death day the last time, he didn't remember any of it. Nobody but she did. I knew from the moment the book began that Kent was better for her and that Rob was just using her, but I also knew the ending, by no means, would be happy.
But honestly, I expected the book to be stronger. I cried at the end of Delirium and didn't sleep for days after Pandemonium and Liesl and Po warmed my heart to its very tips, but Before I Fall left me only with a fleeting feeliong of regret, which quickly faded away. I only finished it yesterday and I'm already over the pain. So in my opinion, it could have been a stronger book, but was a good book nonetheless.
However, there shouldn't be a sequel, because that would just take away all the haunting qualities of this book. I know it should have one, but if it did, then this book wouldn't be as good. So really, it's a good thing that there's not one.
As for 13 Reasons Why, I think it was a better book than this one. I read it last summer and it haunted me for a week. That is the meaning of how each person you ever meet in your life contributes to you. Who knows? What if you see a sad girl walking down the hall one day? What if she's planning to commit suicide that night? What if you make fun of her? Maybe she'll go through with it and kill herself that night. What if you take her under your wing and make her alugh and smile for the first time in months and bring her out of the dark? Then you have just given her another chance to live, a shred of hope.
Books like Before I Fall and 13 Reasons Why are the true meaning of life, and even if I didn't particularly like Before I Fall, it taught me a lot. This is a way better book than most YA novels.

Yes definatly. This book really makes you gratefull for your life and to use each moment like it's your last.

It taught me that some words you say to others that you think re nothing, hurt them the most and then it will hurt you back. I think what happened in this book was kindof like karma. I also learned to live life to the fullest and respect others so you wont end up being hurt in the end