Before I Fall

Before I Fallby Lauren Oliver

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. (goodreads.com)

I won this book at the Teen Author Carnival in NYC in May, I don't know why I haven't picked it up before now. I think perhaps because I thought it would be all emotional and depressing. It's not though. Yes, there is emotion but it's not overwhelming and suffocating.This is a brilliant debut novel. I started it last night (Monday) and thought I wouldn't get into it as fast as I did. Within an hour I was a quarter of the way through the novel. I went up to bed thinking I would sleep, but just kept reading. I was halfway through the book before my eyes closed on their own and told me I had to stop reading. As soon as I got up in the morning I started reading - even before turning my laptop on! This is a Big Deal. By 10:30 am I was finished and content.I had to know what was going to happen the next time Sam woke up. I had to know. I wanted desperately to see what choices she made and what she did that day and how she'd end up waking up again to the same morning.When I was rambling on excitedly about how awesome this book was to my husband he said "Oh, so it's like Groundhog's Day but with less Bill Murray?" I yelled, NO! Only because I HATED that movie with a passion and I was loving this book so much. I don't think Bill Murray died in that movie though, right? He was just reliving the same stupid day over and over again until he got it right or turned happy or something? Either way that movie gave me nightmares and I will stop talking about it now.I started off not caring much for Sam and her friends. They are the kind of girls I avoided in school. They are shallow and mean spirited and bad eggs with the drinking and the smoking and the not caring about other people's feelings. I did not like them. And then Sam grew on me as she relived her last day over and over again. She became more of a real person to me and less of a 2-dimensional character in a book.  By the end, on her last day, I even shed a tear for her as everything fell into place and she was finally gone. I felt sorry for the life she could have had if she had only just realized what needed to change before the accident.I don't know why books about death appeal to me. I swear I do not have a morbid obsession with death. I think I just like the different opinions of what happens to a person after they die. Gabrielle Zevin's Elsewhere was another book I truly enjoyed that dealt with the after death stuff.I am happy I chose this book to read last night. I think I made the right choice.(And although this wasn't originally on my 2010 Debut Author list I am totally putting it there now since it qualifies! ;))