From Goodreads: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.
This is an amazing novel. It is everything I hoped it would be and more. It’s one of those books that pulled me in and didn’t let me go until the final page. I loved the premise - reliving the same day over and over again. Although it’s an idea I’m familiar with through TV and film, the way in which it is executed here made it feel original and fresh and like nothing I’ve read before.
At first I hated Sam – a typical ‘mean girl’ that seemed completely superficial and relied too much on other people for her moral compass. As we relive each day we completely peel back her layers. I loved the way we got to see glimpses of the real Sam each time she relived the day. This was fascinating to watch and is one of my favourite aspects of the story. I also loved that on each day there were things that changed but also things that stayed the same – it felt as if these changes and similarities provided clues to a larger puzzle. I spent the entire novel feeling as if I should know what was going on – as if it was just there if only I could grasp it – but I didn’t understand until Sam did and I loved that.
Lauren Oliver has such a great writing voice. It’s such a natural style it’s so easy to forget you are reading – I completely connected to the story and to Sam. There is also such honesty in the way she depicts her characters - they came across as completely believable and by the end of the novel I adored them all.
This is one of those books I know I will read time and time again. As soon as I’d finished it I felt as if I wanted to experience it all over again. It is a stunning debut and I beg you to try it. I loved everything about it.
A big thank you to Katie at Hodder for sending me a review copy:)