Wow. What a long book. 470 pages later, I’m still thinking about what the point was.
It’s about a teenage girl named Samantha who dies at the beginning of the book, but instead of going to heaven or hell or limbo or wherever characters usually go when they die, she relives the day she dies. Over and over and over. And over. Oh, and over a few more times after that. There’s no logic or scientific reasoning to it; it just keeps happening, like the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. When she changes certain things, hoping to change the outcome of her death, she becomes a dynamic character and by the end you no longer hate her for the conceited, selfish, narcissistic witch that she is. Did I mention how much I HATED her? And by the way, the fact that I hated her so much really made me want to throw the book against the wall. I like a character with multiple facades to him/her, one that I can think deeply about, weigh the positives and negatives, and make my mind up about. Samantha Kingston is not that character. I hated her from literally the first page when she snapped at her little sister. And by the end, I still hated her because I remembered what she was like at the beginning.
The day she relives consists of various interactions with her friends and family: her little sister Izzy with a lisp who is somehow still the most self-confident character in the book, her three best friends who each have problems of their own, her shallow boyfriend who has been waiting for her to have sex with him, a childhood friend who just could be something really special if she lets him, a hot teacher who she has a secret crush on, a girl with steel-tipped black boots who locks herself in the bathroom every day to smoke pot, a quiet girl who is bullied,… the list goes on. And on. And on some more. Remember, the book is almost 500 pages long.
When I think waaaaay back to the first couple chapters, I remember thinking how slow the story was. It was so detailed that I thought, “What’s the point? WHY? STOP TORTURING ME!” If you can stick with it, the pace picks up, and by the end, you’re wondering if the theme is going to be based on if she can change her fate or not. I won’t spoil it.
Unrealistic books like this are not usually my cup of tea, but the plot of this one wasn’t as bad as others because I found it fairly easy to relate to some of the characters. I started reflecting on my years in high school, thinking about who the Samantha Kingston clique of my class was made up of and what sorts of issues they could’ve been concealing. I thought about the bullying that occurred around me and what I would’ve changed had I been given the change to relive certain moments with people. And then I wondered if changing anything would’ve affected any outcomes. And THEN I got mad thinking about things I can’t change anyway, and I remembered why I didn’t like the premise of the book.
As you can see, I have mixed feelings about this book. I am struggling between giving it an A- or a B+. I guess I’ll give it an A- because it’ll make you self-reflect and maybe start thinking twice about decisions and relationships. That is, if you come to the conclusion that you can change fate. The end is screwed up and I’m not quite sure I totally got the point or the message.
Because it’s so long and hard to get in to, it’s not a good pick for a reluctant reader. It lacks multicultural characters, too.
I would, however, recommend it for girls who are avid readers, perhaps those who liked the Sarah Dessen books.
Themes: bullying, self-reflection, impact of choices, friendship, suicide, popularity, loss, sacrifice
Good for: reader self-reflection, character analysis
Would interest: girls grades 8-12 who are avid readers and can handle lonnnnng books
My grade: A-
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