Reading at Dawn - Book Review Blog

Another book read on the Nook. My sister suggested I read it and since I had her e-reader I figured why not give it a try. And by suggested I mean, repeatedly bugged me because she has a number of books she thinks I should read and finally I'm starting to listen.

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: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.


Instead, it turns out to be her last.


Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.



At first, I was unsure about the novel. The first section (sounds more accurate than chapter cause it was 50 pages) took me a couple of days to read. 50 pages where I'm pretty sure the death part happens like 3 times. I lost count even and thought there might have been more than 7 chances but if the description says 7, I believe it. The thing is the main character isn't 100 percent in achieving from me, the reader. She's kind of stuck up, popular type of teenager who had no problem being mean to others for no reason, which makes it hard at first. But after that, I was drawn in. While the first 50 pages on the Nook took me days to read, the next 50 took only a couple of hours. I got into the story and started to care about the main character so by the 5th and 6th chances I was even crying. I had no idea how it would end and I needed to know.

Character:
The main character is a popular teen girl who has her close friends and avoids those that might make her lose popularity. She's not the most likeable or relatable character in the very beginning and that almost makes the reader not mind that she's dead. (This is one of the few times I'll probably be able to say a character dies and not have in be a spoiler.) But once she starts trying to figure her life out, when she starts to experience moments and makes changes, she becomes a good character. I was even cheering for her and certain other characters by the end but it was equally heart breaking to know that wonderful moments would never exist again.

Plot:
The basic plot is what the novel description says. The main character experiences the same day over and over as she tries to figure out how to end the cycle. I had no idea where the story would end even as I neared the last chapter. It brings up the interesting question: if you knew you would die, or did die and had to live the day over, what would you do? Some reviews I've seen related it to Groundhog's Day but I haven't seen that. It felt very well done and original to me even though I had my doubts if I would even like the book at the very beginning.

Overall: 
Oh goodness. This book may have started a bit iffy but it became Wow. Seriously. I love the moments in particular. The main character has these moments where she notices something that in the past would have seemed small and forgettable but that time, it's savored. The writer did an excellent job bringing those moments to life. The thing about reading this book is it also causes so many questions to crash over the readers minds. If you have any doubt about where you are in your life, that you're not doing what you want to be doing (like me living at my parents' house after college... X.X) then this book will make you wonder what you are missing. If life ended tomorrow... It makes me want to act, to do something, to move anywhere and yet I feel distracted by too many options. It's an odd feeling.

I say give this book a chance. It's not a perfect book but it is good.