When I think of Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, a word that comes to mind is “life,” because it describes real life quite accurately, shows why it’s important to make the most of your life, and details why life is really important and always worth living.
First, Before I Fall shows life as it really is for teenagers today. It tackles some issues like teenage romance, bullying, and friendship drama. In the book, the main character, Sam, encounters these issues when she gets in a car crash leaving a party and is forced to re-live that day every day for a week. Sam discovers that there are a lot of ways she can help the people around her and that she has to set things right to end the loop she’s stuck in. Before I Fall doesn’t try to sugar-coat these people’s issues, or make teenage life seem scary. It shows life exactly as it is: a crazy, beautiful mess of good and bad.
Before I Fall also points out that life can’t be taken for granted. Sam realizes through the course of the story that she should be making the most of her life by spending more time with her little sister, doing the things she loves like horseback riding, and being kinder to her friend, Elody. She has no idea whether she will die when she stops reliving the same day, continue with her life, or keep reliving the same day forever. Because of this, Sam resolves to do eeverything she should’ve done with her life. The truth is, Sam was a mean girl, and she did some things she regretted. This is why she didn’t want to take her life for granted anymore and change things.
Lauren Oliver also explores another part of life in Before I Fall: death. Or rather, why life is precious and you shouldn’t want to cause your own death. Towards the end of the book, Sam discovers (SPOILER ALERT) that a girl she had bullied, Juliet, was considering suicide. Sam decided to do eeverything in her power to stop Juliet because she knew she didn’t have much decision in whether her own death would happen, but Juliet did. (SPOILER OVER.) What Sam is trying to explain to Juliet is that she’s sorry for being so mean to her and whatever Juliet is going through, she should try to keep going no matter how hard it is. Because life is too beautiful a thing to just end yourself.
This book is a book that’s not just about Sam, no matter how self-centered Sam can act sometimes. It’s a story about a girl struggling with being bullied. It’s a story about a little girl who doesn’t care what people think about her. It’s about not caring how popular someone is if you really like them. It’s about a math teacher who has a few lessons to learn himself. In essence, it’s a story about life.