Before I Fall

By: Lauren Oliver

Narrated by: Sarah Drew

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death - and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Cover Art © 2016 Open Road Films. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Lauren Oliver (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Oliver, in a pitch-perfect teen voice, explores the power we have to affect the people around us in this intensely believable first novel...This is a compelling book with a powerful message and should not be missed." ( Booklist)

Fantastic narrator!!!

A hilarious, yet serious and insightful novel. Truly the narrator was amazing and made the book even more enjoyable. Her different voices made me feel like I was watching a movie, I could see and hear everything so clearly :)

Amazing Read by Sarah Drew (From Grey's Anatomy)

I struggled initially because it seemed like such a Cliché of a YA book. Sarah Drew, the book narrator, made it tolerable. Then the book got 1000% more interesting 1/4 through. Good read. Finished it in 2 days at 2x speed; Had to slow it down in the 1/8 latter of the book so I can take it all in. Highly recommended.

Me: *Slow exhale of breath....

Would you listen to Before I Fall again? Why?

This is a tough question. Actually, that's a lie, because this is NOT a tough question at all. I usually can answer this without a second thought, so I guess the ANSWER to the question is the tough part. I loved Sam, because she was flawed and terrible at times, but she was also a person who grew. I think the answer is yes, because I found the story to be so moving and beautiful that I'd like to listen again. My only reason to say no would be how emotional this particular one was for me. I cried... a few times.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Before I Fall?

So, obviously, in the synopsis, it says that Sam dies and relives her last day seven times. So, I'd say the most memorable moments were a tie between two (kind of three moments). Okay, so, the first one is about Anna Cartula (not sure if that's spelled right). When Samantha spends her lunch with Anna on the 3rd or 4th relived day and gets to know her and then gives her that book of MC Escher paintings on her final day...I just about lost it (okay, I lost it. Cried). The other moment: every time that Sam fell asleep and then went back to the last day of her life, she had the dream where she felt like she was falling. When she figured out what was actually happening in that dream, I got chills so incredibly pronounced that I couldn't help feeling exhilarated and in awe!

What aspect of Sarah Drew’s performance would you have changed?

Okay, Sarah did an excellent job with female characters (except for one: that teacher that hunted for students who smoked). When she did the voice for Coach Otto (the gym teacher), I was annoyed. Straight up annoyed. I think she could've done a much better job with the voices of the adult characters and some of the boys. Her portrayal was just silly. Usually, narration is a HUGE factor in whether I like an audiobook, but this novel was so good that I was able to look past her narration issues and enjoy the book. She wasn't horrible... it was just a few of the characters needed to be altered.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way. It was far too emotional for me. Obviously, I wanted to know what happened when I stopped listening, but it was way too intense to listen to for long periods of time.

Any additional comments?

Definitely don't get bogged down with the narration of some of the characters. This is a great book and I would put it on the same level as Jay Asher's 'Thirteen Reasons Why.' This is definitely a book for anyone who went through hard times in high school OR was popular. We're all the same... We all have stuff that we need to work through... I think that Lauren Oliver showed that in this novel.

Means Girls does Groundhog Day

Any additional comments?

Sweet book with a lovely message. Samantha Kingston dies in a car accident on February 12th, and instead of going on to heaven/hell/whatever comes next, she keeps reliving the same day over and over, through the course of one very weird week. Each day she struggles to figure out what exactly caused her death, and what she can do to fix it and save herself.Samantha starts out as your typical Mean Girls popular girl: bitchy friends, hot but dumb boyfriend, walking through the halls of her high school in Queen Bee royalty. But as she is forced to keep reliving the same day over and over again, she begins to realize the effect her seemingly irrelevant actions have on others, and how deeply they can effect people around her in the most unexpected of ways. In some ways, the majority of the book is a study on how our lives are defined by the minute choices we never even think twice about.Samantha's character development is really well-done. It didn't ever feel forced, and it easily could have. I HATED her best friend, Lindsey, who never really "gets what she deserves", but I think the ending of the book is set up in a way that indicates that she soon may be going through a transformation of sorts. Samantha's developing relationship with Kent is pretty beautiful. I was really pleasantly surprised by Lauren Oliver's writing. I honestly wasn't expecting much from a mean-girls YA with a truly terrible cover. But Oliver has a talent for creating beautiful images and multidimensional characters, and I am definitely planning on reading her dystopian trilogy when I have the chance.I listened to the audio version of the book, which is also really nicely done. It's narrated by Sarah Drew, and I spent the first two hours trying to figure out how I knew her voice until I finally Googled her and found out she's on Grey's Anatomy now. Small world.

Get this one

This is a very good book. Sad but inspirational too. Highly recommend. The narrator is pretty good too.

Couldn't Stop Listening

Before I Fall is an emotional journey from beginning to end. You know you finished a great book when you're dreaming about it at night and finish the book crying. I'd recommend it to anyone who's willing to be emotionally invested with a book at the moment.

absolutely loved this book!!

Give it a try... it's like Mean Girls Meets Groundhog's Day. I really enjoyed it.

Great Narration

The narrator is top notch. This is a great story, and has satisfying ending. I highly recommend

its a struggle but i like it

***SPOILERSSSSSS***

*not a review on the story just my personal opinion feel free to skip*
*listening to a story that is told by a teenager, for teens. don't get me wrong I was there not so long ago the struggle is not in the story or the narration its in yourself when you want to shake these kids and go " trust me high school isn't the end of the world stick it out you find out life is still pretty crappy but not as bad as it seems". *
Ahhh to be 17 or 18 and popular and a senior to have your whole life ahead of you. Sam is vapid, a bitch (like really all of her friends are you roll your eyes through half the book) and young. but its ok because driving home drunk one day she and all of her friends die and she has to live the same day over and over. while I enjoy books where the main character has to learn from their mistakes and very much enjoyed this book. I hate it when they die at the end. Death is the easy way out living is hard if Sam would have lived and had to struggle to connect her old life with the changed person shed become that would have made an interesting story. it would have given the writer a chance to flesh out her characters because from where I'm standing I hate everyone except for kent, sam, and the little sisters in the story. Even Juliet their all selfish self-absorbed and think that their pain is the only one that matters. it does have cursing references marijuana and sex but if your 15 and older you know about that stuff even if you're not doing it ****so to all the freaking out parents if your kid not already doing that stuff reading it in a book ( at least not this one) probably won't get them started.*** overall the movie was pretty close and a pleasant read.

10000/10

I’m not a big reader, but when my teacher told me that this book was good, I decided to give it a shot. And she was not wrong, hands-down the best book ever read definitely a little PG-13, but still an incredible book.
Voices were spot on too!