The ending - spoilers

Discuss the February 2016 book of the month, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.
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Lara1412
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Re: The ending - spoilers

Post by Lara1412 »

I understand why the book had to end that way but still I would really like it if she lived. And also I wonder what kind of a person would she end up being for the rest of her life if she survived.
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Post by mmandy38 »

hsimone wrote: 3) This is an interesting thought - leading Kent on knowing that it was going to be her final day. I didn't really think too much about this, but I do agree that it wasn't fair or right for Kent. Now, it's going to be that much harder to get over her.
5) I would hope that Sam didn't die in vain. I'm hoping that since she saved Juliet's life that Lindsey would approach her and maybe rekindle their lost friendship.
I'll admit that when I finished the book, I hated the ending. I wanted Sam to be alive and finally have her relationship with Kent and be an all around better person because of her reliving that dreadful day. Your comments have given be a new insight to this though.
I hope that Lindsey and Juliet either rekindle the friendship or at least Lindsey apologizes and makes Juliet realize that her life is worth living. I do feel horrible for Kent though. He just found out that she actually likes him too when she's taken from him.
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Post by AmySmiles »

I hated the ending. I wanted everyone to survive at the end and figured that she would relive it until she did.
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Post by FilmStar »

Me too. I didn't read the book but when I saw the movie, I thought after she sacrificed herself, she was going to wake up to the next day. But I guess they couldn't do that because if she pushed her out of the way and they both lived, she would probably just repeat the day over again like other times. I guess the whole point was that she needed to make a sacrifice to show that she learned from her mistakes. I just feel bad for Kent that he finally got his kiss from his all-time crush just for her to die.
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Post by AmySmiles »

I was disappointed that Sam died but I came to the realization that she finally started caring about others and therefore chose the option where she was the one to die in the end and the others lived. I felt in a way she was brave for choosing that route. But maybe I was just thankful that she finally chose a route for it to end. I got a little tired towards the end of the book, but it was written excellently.
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Post by kelvinmwaniki17 »

I must say I didn't really like the ending and I didn't understand why she had to die.
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Post by Salma M »

I also thought she would get her life back and everything would go back to normal but i think the purpose of her coming back to life over and over again is so she could make things right and she did.
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Post by dorebri2020 »

Personally, I found the novels ending very appealing and fitting of Sam's character. While I somewhat disagree with her supposed character growth, I believe that it was a fitting ending in regards to the fact that she had been continually reliving the same awful day over and over. In the end, it could even be attributed to the mass trauma that she suffered through in this novel. However, like many of the people above, I would have liked to see what happened with Sam's family and friends, and Juliet.
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."- J.K. Rowling. :D
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Post by yapashley »

So the movie's ending did end accordingly to the book's finale. Well, I liked that in her final moments she was able to redeem some of her actions.
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Post by Dzejn_Crvena »

ashley_claire wrote: 01 Feb 2016, 11:44 I was a little disappointed that Sam died at the end of the book, but honestly I didn't really care that much because I wasn't really invested in her. I somewhat disagree with her supposed character growth. I think most of the nicer things she did was just because she was trying to find a way to save herself and get the day "right" so that the cycle would hopefully stop.
Same here.
There is nothing relatable in the book for me, so I am emotionally detached from the whole thing.
If Sam lived at the end of the story, it will make the plot predictable.
I guess the message in the book is not how she gets redemption after she tried everything to make things right.
Maybe the book only showed the things and people Sam missed while she was still alive, which will leave her contemplating about them (and nothing else).
just call me "jane" :tiphat:
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Post by Clare Jose »

Down to that very last sentence, I was hoping that there would be more. Even when I convinced myself that Sam was actually gone, I hoped for a chapter explaining how the rest of the characters turned out.
At the very end of the book, I just remember thinking 'This can't be it'.
But it was. :|
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Post by Hyacinth Bella »

The ending was a big miss for me. She already developed into a better person, and I was so sorry that it had to end so fast. I felt cheated when I read the ending. I kind of hoped that Oliver wrote something else for the bonus content, instead of her birthday party.
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Post by Sabrina Chen »

When I finished the book, I was a little confused at Sam's death. It almost just seems like escapism rather than atonement, in a way. More than anything, though, I was devastated for everyone around her. She was a high-schooler, one that had family and friends who cared about her. The more I think about it, the more painful it becomes to imagine the aftermath of Sam's death.

Frankly, her death seemed to be the most impactful isolated act she committed, and, for a book exploring the consequences of one's actions, it felt like the ending left a huge gap for what could happen next, which I can appreciate. I see a lot of people really didn't like the ending, and—to a degree—I do agree. Still, if she had lived, I think it would have detracted from the emotional impact, at least in my case.
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Post by Sabahat Kamran »

I read this book years ago (when I was a teenager) and always thought it ended with an open ending. With everyone assuming she dies in the end I think I have to read it again to see what I'm missing.
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Post by Agbata precious »

Sarah_Khan wrote: 01 Feb 2016, 15:00 Personally I liked the ending and I never expected her to get her life back. I think if she did then that would kind of make the whole book pointless.
I didn't expect that too, and it's a no for me.
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