Before I Fall

Lauren Oliver wrote Before I Fall as her debut, and the premise sat right at the intersection of YA contemporary and something stranger. Sam Kingston, a popular high school senior, dies in a car crash on a Friday night. She wakes up that morning again. And again. The book follows seven repetitions of the same day as Sam slowly pieces together what she’s actually being asked to learn.

Oliver doesn’t make Sam likable at first. The book takes its time letting the reader see why the popular crowd treats people the way they do, and what Sam has refused to see about her own behavior.

The ending is divisive. Some readers find it earned. Others feel cheated. Worth knowing going in.

For readers who liked Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why or Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, this is in the same general territory. The 2017 film adaptation is also worth watching after.