HarperCollins 2010

From the cover, the buzz, the title, the publisher, I just assumed the book was another pleasant contemporary “hot” little read. I wanted to take a break from sifting through the contemporary historical fiction — all that bloodshed in Vietnam, all these arrests in Argentina . . . (still working on that list by the way, people!! https://katiaraina.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/where-is-my-super-duper-list-of-contemporary-historical-fiction-sorry-still-working-on-it/)

When I moved past the cover, I discovered a raw literary masterpiece that blew me away. A deep and lyrical YA read that has words like “BEEYATCH!” in it, if you can believe that. It is a fantasy that didn’t read like a fantasy, or magical realism or whatever, because it felt so true.

One of the amazon.com reviews questioned the consistency/believability of the ending.

http://www.amazon.com/Before-I-Fall-Lauren-Oliver/product-reviews/006172680X/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Usually, I am real strict with this as a reader — every single little detail has to match, make sense, etc. This time, yes, now that I think about it, there were coincidences, there was magic unexplained. But did I care? Did I once think about it when I was reading?

I believed every word.

When I become a teacher, it’s a book I will teach to my students, bad words and all. I think everyone should read it. Go read it. Drop everything and read it — then come back here and tell me you didn’t gain amazing new insights into being a human, into being a parent, or a teen, or whoever you are. I dare you! 

🙂