Before I Fall question

I think Sam died at the end of day one. But, because she was such a self-centered person, she didn't think it was 'fair' on her, and couldn't let go of her life. She relived her last day over and over just to understand certain things and as soon as she was able to let go, ahe moved on. But I think none of the things on days 2-7 happened in reality, she didn't overwrite anything, it only happened in her head and it's only purpose was for her to find peace and to ease her guilt, because even when she was at her worst, she knew that something was not right about her life and her relationships.

It was weird. She went through all that stuff just to die in the end anyway -_- I thought she was going through some kind of test through the whole book, to decide whether she had to die or not. And in the end, she makes everything good, and then jumps in front of a truck or something.

Leaving Kent horribly heartbroken! What kind of selfish person would do that? Get together with Kent only to basically kill yourself right in front of him!

And in the end, I thought she would leave her friends and be a friend to Juliet...but no, she stuck with the b*tches.

So yeah, when she died...I just felt like, "What the heck did I just read?!" I literally did this:

She had to die. Anything else would have been a let down.

I think that was something that had to happend. From the begining she was meant to die.

I want Lauren Oliver to write a second book following "Before I Fall" but it will be in the mindset of each character, but mostly KENT's *HINT, HINT, HINT* After she died and stuff.
My thoughts of the ending of the boo was How is Kent supposed to go non? How AM I supposed to go on?

Okay, so i read through most of the post until i got bored... and here is how i feel... It's screwed up that Sam died and that was the end of it. And it's screwed up that we have no idea what happened to Kent with his green eyes or Juliet with her pale skin or Lindsay, Elody, and Ally with their huge egos and potty mouths... But for all of you who are saying "she went through all of that for nothing!" and "she didn't get to use the lessons she learned!" or "she never got to show that she changed!" Um, hello? are we reading the same book here?!?! I mean, she did use what she learned... she did get to show that she changed... all of what she went through wasn't for nothing!

The last day-day seven of the week Sam had to live, she took in all the things she did, all the things not only from the week but from her life before her death, and for the first time and decided she was going to right all the wrongs she did, be with who she wanted to be with. She broke up with Rob, the secret jerk, she talked to Juliet, Etc., went to Kent's party, told him her true feelings that were really buried down in her the whole time, and in the end she saved Juliet's life. She planned this out from the start!

This is what she was meant to do! So, what she learned was used, okay? on the last day of her life, the last day as everyone knew it, she died, yeah okay, that's sad, but people have the best memories of her, instead of: "Oh i never knew if she actually liked me", "We never got to say good bye sober", "I never got to screw her", I never got to tell her how much i hated her!" her loved ones think: "At least i know how she really felt", "We know what we really meant to her", *we're just gonna skip over Rob, i mean really who liked him after all the BS he pulled...?* "She saved me... I actually have some importance...".

So she died, yeah, but the book would have been crap if she woke up and ended up with Kent bla bla bla bla bla... I MEAN REALLY, DOES EVERY THING HAVE TO BE A FAIRY TALE NOW-A-DAYS??! *mumbles* jeez. anyways... Besides, i don't see any of you coming up with a better ending that doesn't involve Fairy-tale-ness... So the book didn't turn out how you thought it would... but is that so bad? I mean, every person needs a little rebellion in their life... right?

I sort of knew she was going to die. I mean, she's dead pretty much from the beginning. If she had lived, it wouldn't be as meaningful. Did I feel sad and a little numb when she finally gets things right, then dies anyway? Yes. But I was expecting it from the beginning. I just didn't know exactly how it would happen. I'm glad in a way because if the author had allowed her to live, then it gives you the impression that you can cheat death. And the thing is, death is always going to come, whether or not you are ready for it. What I took away from the book is the message that you should be aware of your actions and choices now because you can't possibly know the damage of a poor choice until it's too late.

I must say, I heard that the book was heartbreaking, but I wasn't prepared for the amount of heartbreak in here. Not just from Sam (though I was seriously shocked at the end when she really died . . . I was holding out hope that she was in a coma and was going to hook up with Kent after she learned her lessons), but the other characters. And, even more so that Sam had to keep going through this day, learning new things . . . for nothing! Nothing changed, no one's life was made better. Sam had no where to take her new knowledge and growth . . . I think that was the most heartbreaking part. Her heart shattered into millions of pieces over the week for nothing.

I just finished the movie. And right now I'm soo confused that I don't know what to ask!?!?!?!? My head is spinning like the fan over my head. I just hope it doesn't explode. 💣

It was really sad, but at the same time, the right thing to happen.

at first I thought that when she fixed everything, it would all be alright and then as I watched the movie I realized she was going to die. when I was done watching it, I couldn't stop thinking about Kent and how he just got the one he loves and how hard it must be for him, but I also realized that she was dead the first day of this entire scenario, but too selfish to let go of the entire concept of being dead, and played the day over and over to stay alive but when she finally understood that she would die anyway, she let go of the day and just, well, died, but did it to save Juliet and the Lindsey, Elody, and the other girl, and if she didn't die the way that she did, that the she would die with 4 other girls and so she sacrificed herself instead.

Maybe I understand it wrong...but as I understand it Sam and her friends all die plus Juliet from running in front of the car...so if Sam is reliving the day fixing her wrong doings there's no point if they're all dead...also, I feel that if Sam saved herself and Juliette by holding her down before she runs in front of the car they would both live the day and in that case wouldn't Sam be alive all along?

It was said previously but I have to agree. Sam had to die. There was no other ending that could have fit the book. But it made it all the more heartbreaking. She learned what she needed to before she died and when the time came she was ready. Did I want her to die? No, but the book would not have been complete or packed the same punch if she had lived.

I loved how it ended... I kind of had a feeling like she was going to end up being the one who dies in the end, but only because of how the story started off with her talking about her death. I did have a little hope that maybe the story would take a turn in the end where maybe no one dies and Sam ended up being with Kent in the end.

I feel like Sam had to die since she had already died on the first day. There was a part in the boo that talked about moving up from purgatory and on the first day when Sam died, I think it was at that moment she was in purgatory. She was given chances to redeem herself and move up to heaven, like in that movie Teen Spirit. I hope the movie shows us the aftermath of Sam's death and how it affected her friends and family. What I didn't understand about the book was the "We are all Hangmen" part. What was the purpose of including that in the book? I'm not so sure since it didn't make any connections to Juliet's suicide other than that all three deaths were suicide.

it was justified. Her death was demanding.
that was the whole story. About a girl who will surely die and how she will change her action knowing that result will not change.
We all are going to die. what is important is our action.
she improved herself.

i was like, "THANK YOU JESUS, FINALLY!!!"

To be honest what I think is that Sam really died that night in the car, as did her friends but because she had a 'guilty conscience', something wouldn't let her move on to whatever was next. I think the universe saw that deep down she wanted to be good but nothing was showing her and she didn't have enough time to correct her mistakes before she died. So I think that the universe gave her a second and third, and maybe like twentyth chance to redeem herself so she didn't go up with a guilty conscience. And then in the end she did everything she was meant to do, to redeem herself and even though she is already dead from the first day, it was the universe seeing if she really was good enough to go onto what's next. Idk do you guys agree?

Did she really die?
Or is she in a coma??...

I have to say that I was hoping Sam would get another chance to live if she saved Juliet from killing herself. I guess I guessed wrong. I sorta saw it coming though, that in the end of the book Sam would die. She wasn't suppose to die, but neither was Juliet. It wasn't Juliet's time to die and thats why Sam kept relieving that day, because it fate had been messed with. An inocent life had to be saved, even if that meant Sam having to give up her life instead. Call it karma or kesmetic. I wonder if the author is indie or something. She sure looks like she is. Anyways this book was very sad and it just made me cry because Sam was sorta a victim too. All her life she felt rejected and when that girl gave her chance to be part of a glorious life, she took it without turning back, even if that meant leaving things behind that she would never get the chance to know or experience, like Kent.I'm sorta glad that the last day Sam got, she used it to show her parents and her little sister how much she cared for them, and showed Kent that she was blind all those years for not noticing her true feelings towards him.I'm glad that how she died the first time wasn't gonna be how her parents would remember her, like being drunk and stuff but by the facct that she died to save someone's elses life. That she didn't die like other teens now a day die, drinking and driving.

so I just finished the book, and honestly, the ending had me so confused. couldn't really tell if she lived or died. and yeah, I hate not happy endings, so the fact that she left Kent, isn't really how I wanted the book to end. I wanted in some way for the universe to see that she shouldn't die, because of all the good she did to fix who she was before. thats what I wanted. and once Kent came into the picture I wanted them to be together too. Damnit.
I didn't like her in the beginning, but I definitely did towards the end. all the time she spent with her younger sister, and the things she would have wanted her to do. her realizations about life, and what it all means, honestly had me crying. and as annoying as it kinda was to read the same day 7 times, I definitely noticed the changes in her.
Great read.

I felt sorry for Kent cause he got what he wanted and it got ripped away from him Sam was so mean and stupid ignoring kent when it was pretty obvious that he was in love with Sam Kingston and he and her were really meant to be

I have read all of the comments on here, and I am really not satisfied with most of the opinions. Also, I am quite surprised that most people see the ending of this fiction from a single perspective.

I haven't read the book yet, just watched the movie, but in my own opinion, I don't think Sam saved Juliet or changes anything that happened in the repeat/loop days. It has already been established that she died with her friends in the car when they hit something in the beginning of the story (later identified as Juliet).

The purpose of her reliving this day over and over again, is to get a better understanding of why everything happened, and why things like the accident wouldn't have happened in the first place, if she had done some things differently. She gets that understanding by finally realizing that the thing that caused the accident with her friends was Juliet intentionally running towards the car to kill herself, because she was obviously tired of being bullied by the girls and broken inside. But it was purely accidental that the car happened to be the one with Samantha and her friends. (With this information, it goes to show that all 5 girls were involved in the accident).

Other things Samantha realised in the repeat/loop days was how much of a jerk Rob was, how Kent cared so much about her and how she disregarded his feelings, how she did not realise her actions inherently affected other people. She also realized how much she neglected her own family, how much she loved her friends but could not deny how they diectly or indirectly bullied others (Lindsay being the ringleader) and made the other girls's lives miserable (Anna and Juliet).

Everything she did in the loop days to redeem herself did not actually happen in real life, or change the cause/course of the accident. It was just to show how things would have turned out, had she done those things "before she fell" (Like running after Juliet to stop her from killing herself and taking her place instead and Juliet responding with the "You saved me" line). Sorry guys, but that certainly did not happen. It is not possible for Sam to save Juliet from the accident when it's already established that the girls die from the accident in the beginning. That's like cheating death.

This brings me to the most important part of the conclusion. When Sam finally accepts how all of these actions lead to reactions, and ultimately the accident. She now fully understood the part her and her friends played in it and why everything had to happen the way it did, She came to terms with what she could have done differently and happily redeemed herself on the last day (by doing the right actions) and with that, she ended the loop. Thus, she could now die peacefully taking with her happy memories/flashbacks (real and imagined).

When Juliet says thank you to Sam for saving her at the scene of the accident, and Sam responds by thanking her instead for saving her, she is saying thank you because the loop can finally end, and she can die in peace without reliving the day of the accident again and again. She also now understands how bullying Juliet resulted in all of their demise.

As a final remark, I think everyone of the girls that died in the accident would get to relive that day of the accident all over again (Juliet being the next one) and the loop will only end when they finally understand the part they played in it, and what could have been done differently by them in terms of their actions before they fell. With understanding and acceptance, they can all finally let go and rest in peace.

P.S Excuse my long comment, please bear in mind this is my take on the ending of this great movie. Will certainly read the book as I am yet to do so.

Sam dying wasn't a shock really. But I just didn't think she would die.
I guess she was mean but was everything she did so bad she had to die. She was a bitch but was it really her fault that wanted to get accepted, not made fun of, she had already been on that side and did not want to anymore.Morever, even before she died, only she was the one wondering about why Juliet is hated so much. And actually if you see she never initiated anything with anyone....but yeah she went along with whatever her friends did. And if she died because she was a bitch then why the other three survived the accident...on the 6 day in the book..we find that Elody died..Lindsay and Alley didn't get even a scratch....which means in the first accident only sam died...I dont know how to feel about it....and why she got the chance I dont know....she died on the first day only to live for 7 more days to realize her mistakes and then to die.....why she HAD to die to save Juliet....why not both......atleast if I had got an insight about what really happened after she died.....did Kent move on? Did Lindsay,Ally,Elody change their ways?Did Juliet realize it's never too late. I dont know. What am sure of is she didn't deserve to die....

Sam dies of course, but she died early in the movie under a cloud of guilt, pain and corrosive existence along with her misguided friends. She was given an opportunity to redeem herself by visiting all of her flaws and being able redirect her negative existence along with her friends to something far more important: being kind, seeing the positive in people and to live with a selfless way rather than a selfish way. This allowed her to die with dignity having been given a gift to go back and fix the error of her ways which ultimately saved far more than just herself. She went from villain to hero through the entire process. Her payment for be able to change the past was to sacrifice her own life. She knew she was destined for death to begin with, but had a chance to save others and focus more on what is really important in life. Almost despite herself she then received and additional gift and that was to be able to savor those many fleeting moments of happiness we all so often take for granted. The fact that she died in the end had to happen and turned out to be the ultimate gift to all those she came in contact with, that is not a tragedy, rather a blessing. We should all be so fortunate to be able to change our cruel intentions and selfish ways before we pass on. We don’t need to sacrifice anything for that to happen, only to stop and think, how can we be kind to others and so thankful for the many blessings and we have each day? Maybe start with thanking the author of “Before I Fall”. Great message.

I thought a better twist would have been that Sam could have shown/convinced Lindsay and her other friends the consequences of the things they did in their lives also. I took it that they had all died, why did just Sam get a chance at redemption?

Sam re-lived every single day, as she discovered more about herself and her interactions with people. I was not as surprised when Sam decided that it was the right choice to sacrifice herself for Juliet Skyes because Sam knew that something was not quite right about her life and her relationships.

It needed to happen however I am quite disturbed about the fact of her friends and family not being aware of what happened on the other six days, it had to be this way of course but I still find it really sad I guess.

I was just confused? Why was this death different from the other seven to make it the last one? Because she initiated it? And what would stop Julia was killing herself later on? The end of the book made it seem like SAM had to die for some reason but I still don't know the reason why or what she had to fully accomplish. LOVE THE BOOK THO

I feel like somewhere in the universe sombody thought deep down she was kind-hearted. As she went through all the different relived days it's clear that somebody was trying to teach her something; or her concience wanted to prove something. It's possible all the other days were fake and the first day was what really happened but I don't think that was the whole idea of what she went through. In some strange concept I believe that she was given chances to undo the crap she caused other people by righting her bad decisions. When she died at the end I was 100% expecting it and it was done beatifully but I understand why other people have some of these thoughts about what really happened at the end.

I actually like that it was a really great thing to add in my opinion really made the story great

It was what the whole book was about so it was kind of inevitable really...

I don't see justice there. But then again it's not my story to tell.

Well, I'm with the majority; it did not seem fair! and, if it wasn't on my kindle probably throw the book at the wall, too.

I actually sent Lauren Oliver a message fussing about the end of this book.To my surprise, she responded and seemed amused by my rant.

I really hoped through the entire thing that Sam would live in the end then was horrified when she didn't.

I didn't think very good ending.

She finally got the stick out of her a$$ and she dies. I mean come on. I thought it was stupid. The end.

Ya hated her dying. Like, what the heck?!?!?! She lived one day of her life for 7 days, and then all of a sudden, after doing a bunch of nice things for Juliet Sykes, she dies. I still really liked this book, and Lauren Oliver is a great author, but Sam should not have died.

It was appropriate. There was no other choice for Lauren Oliver, she had to die. Instead this book wouldn't be even good.
But I regret. Anyway....

I actually felt sorry for her.

I sort of expected her to die but as I read the story, I kind of hoped that she'll live in the end. I really felt sad that she had to die. But then again, maybe her death is the reason why the story is so interesting.

I had a feeling she was going to die at the end, but I still hope she wouldn't. I love the book still, but Sam should have lived. Poor Kent!

I don't hate it nor do I like it but i accept it. What i didn't like was how she fucked Kent over by making him think he had a chance with her. Then she dies.
I will give her a little lean way because maybe she thought she would have another day. But really. Poor Kent. I guess I will have to go comfort him.;)

I think it made the whole book pointless. For her to go through that whole thing and then for BOTH of them to die?! It just really frustrated me!

I was so confused byy the ending, I swear...so does Juliet really die?? wtf...

The book wasn't really about the single character, it was about stepping up for what you know is right, helping others and stopping bullying, a happy ever after ending wouldn't have made such a huge impact and this wouldn't be one of my favorite books, if that was the case. Whoever wanted Sam to live, i really think you missed the total message that the book was trying to give.

Technically she died at the beginning. The reader was left to wonder if her fate would change, however, as in life we are never promised anything.

This book ripped my heart out, but I think it is suppose to make you truly think about your actions because you never know when your time will end. If she wouldn't have died I don't think the story would have had the same impact.

I threw my book against the wall... & almost cried .