Young adult fiction has proven more and more popular year after year, as more young people take up the hobby of reading, and enjoy delving into fiction worlds and fantastical tales.
However, young adult fiction is not just reserved for high fantasy juggernauts like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, but is also a great avenue for incredible romance, paranormal, and thriller novels!
Before I Fall is one of the most popular young adult novels of the past few years, as evidenced by its popular major feature adaptation.
The story follows Samantha Kingston, a High School senior set to celebrate the school’s ‘Cupid Day’, but before she can enjoy the day’s festivities, she dies in a horrifying accident.
However, Samantha soon finds herself waking up at the start of the same day that killed her.
What ensues is a fantastical story as Samantha fights to change her fate and discover more about herself.
Did you love the escapades of Samantha throughout Before I Fall? Want to find a novel that will satisfy your desire for young adult fiction? Then why not check out some of the popular titles below, such as To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and All The Bright Places?
Themes In Before I Fall
Of course, because of its unique time-loop story, Before I Fall has a number of interesting themes and ideas that it explores throughout its pages.
One of the most central themes in Before I Fall is that of fate.
Throughout the story, fearing that she may stay dead forever, Samantha tries to avert her fate and prevent her death, to allow her to live into the future.
The books will have readers questioning the potential role that fate plays in their life, and what it takes to resist fate.
It is also an inspiring tale about personal agency and its sheer power.
As well as exploring the idea of fate, Before I Fall also explores things such as popularity and social capital.
The central character, Samantha, is one of the most popular girls in her school, thanks to her obsession with fashion and social media.
Samantha’s character development through the novel sees her going from a socialite that looks down on her underclassmen to a more understanding and less vain figure.
The novel explores whether there is value to popularity and whether popularity can actually be harmful.
The novel also explores ideas of friendship and loyalty.
As Samantha fights to escape her time loop and develops into a better person, her bonds with her friends become more and more strained, while she also develops new friendships with people she may not have otherwise given the time of day.
The story explores whether some people are worth being loyal to and whether it may be better to pursue friendships with certain people.
Finally, we also must mention the theme of redemption that the novel explores.
As the story moves forward, Samantha develops more as a person and learns about some of her wrongs, and redeems herself from the bullying that she leveled against her underclassmen.
John Green has become one of the most popular authors in the world within the space of young adult fiction (If you liked this, also check out Books Like Marked here).
This is thanks to his ability to create fully fleshed-out characters that feel truly real and tangible, as well as the numerous feature-length adaptations that his novels have received.
This novel, Paper Towns, is easily one of John Green’s most iconic novels, partly thanks to its feature adaptation that was released in 2015.
The story follows the exploits of Quentin Jacobsen, who has had a long-burning crush on his love Margo Roth Spigelman.
However, over the years, he has never had the courage to approach her, until one day, she approaches him with a special proposal!
However, the next day, Margo suddenly disappears without a trace, but she has left behind a series of clues that can help Quentin find her!
He quickly sets out to look for her, but as he gets closer and closer, he slowly realizes that Margo is not quite the girl he always imagined she was!
This novel blends the romance of a young adult novel and infuses it with a deep and complex mystery that readers are invited to engage with in their own way, to try to figure out what could have happened to Margo, why she decided to disappear for so long, and why she left such cryptic clues.
Does she want to be found? You’ll have to read to find out!
Pros
Incredibly popular, and highly acclaimed.
Received an acclaimed feature adaptation.
Cons
On the shorter side of novels.
Themes: Love, Identity, Mystery, Facade, Coming Of Age.
All The Bright Places is easily one of the most heartwarming young adult novels that also manages to touch on some very dark and serious subject matter with a delicate hand.
The story follows Theodore Finch, a boy obsessed with death, seeking out the perfect way to end his own life, and Violet Markey, a young girl who cannot wait to reach her future and escape her dead-end town.
When these two seemingly different people meet by fate once, they soon find themselves developing a rich and complex relationship that sees them both exploring the meaning of life, and what ‘living’ actually means to each of them.
Over the course of the story, the two travel across their state, trying to discover natural wonders, as part of their school project.
Though this novel is romantic in nature, it is actually incredibly gripping, and sure to keep you turning page after page without trouble.
Pros
Features complex characters.
Heartwarming while also being deep.
Cons
Features potentially triggering subject matter.
Themes: Life, Death, Love, The meaning of life, Passion, Hobbies, Romance.
You may have heard of this novel before thanks to its immensely popular feature-length Netflix adaptation.
However, nothing quite beats the original, and this novel has quickly become an absolute favorite amongst young adult readers.
The central story is quite simple, but it is the complicated and rich emotions that it explores that have helped it to become such an enduring favorite.
The story follows Lara Jean, a young girl who has had many crushes over the years but has never confessed her feelings, instead choosing to write them down in letters to the boys that never travel further than the box under her bed.
However, trouble quickly ensues when Lara learns that each of the letters has been mailed to the corresponding boy.
Her past crushes soon chase her down, looking for an explanation for the old letters.
Over the course of the story, Lara must contend with her past, and her feelings, and as the story moves forward, Lara soon finds some of her feelings changing or even returning outright! But which boy will she choose?
Pros
Features well-developed characters.
Explores what love means, and how it is able to change over the years.
Cons
Intended for younger readers amongst young adults.
Themes: Love, Age, The past, The future, Confessions, Vulnerability, Desire, Crushes.
Final Thoughts
These are just a few of the best novels in the young adult field that are sure to scratch the itch left behind by Before I Fall.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the perfect book that can fill a gap left by a masterpiece, but we hope that this list has proven useful and enlightening and that you now feel ready to find your next obsession.
Each of these books makes for a perfect companion to Before I Fall, but as well as that, each one also offers a very unique experience that you won’t get anywhere else, so why not give them all a chance?
We can guarantee that at least one of these novels will quickly become an all-time favorite for you!
We loved every one of these novels, as they were all equally gripping while also being occasionally hilarious, heartwarming, or incredibly romantic.
There is a massive range of content explored in these novels, so you don’t have to worry about reading the same stories again and again!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Before I Fall A Good Book?
It is definitely not surprising that Before I Fall has become as popular as it has.
The story is incredibly engaging, and also rather mysterious, and is sure to keep readers turning each page in hopes of finding out what happens to its central characters.
Is Before I Fall A Book Series?
No, Before I Fall is a totally stand-alone story, and there has yet to be any kind of official follow-up or even a prequel story. However, there is a successful feature-length adaptation of the story.
What Age Is Before I Fall For?
Before I Fall is best recommended for teenagers over 14 years of age, as a result of its mature content, and its slightly darker subject matter.
Hi, my name is Anna Davis and I have been working with books for five years now. I got a job at my local library, so I could be closer to all of the books! I created this website in the hopes of inspiring others to start reading again. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new favorite book from my site!
