The Ninja Reader

If by reading the synopsis you expect a retelling of "Groundhog Day", I kindly suggest you rent the movie, because nothing Bill Murray does will make you feel anything close to what this book offers. I guarantee it.Samantha Kingston and her girlfriends are the textbook definition of mean girls - spoiled, rich, conceited and desperate to project an image of success to the world. When one night they get into a drunk driving accident (small wonder that didn't happen earlier), insead of dying she starts to relive her last day, and starts to find out the true value of things while going through the good old Denial-Anger-Depression-Bargaining-Acceptance route.What sets this novel apart from the other coming-of-age tales is the fact that it portrays teenage drama so, so well. Being a teenager myself (at least for another few months anyway), I know perfectly well how it is, the intensity of everything. No action is left unobserved or unanalyzed. No imprefection is forgiven. Projecting an image of perfection is vital for a girl's self-esteem, and Lauren Oliver shows just how fragile that illusion can be. Is Sam a model heroine? Hardly. Nobody can call her a Mary-Sue - she's shallow, boy-crazed, spoiled and, more often than not, very wrong in her assessments of people. But she also loves - she loves in that fierce, self-destructive and passionate way that only dying can inspire, and that desperation for life is so accurately portrayed that I can't help but quote Angela Carter: "With what white-hot passion had she burned the stage! So that you could tell she would die young." - The Bloody Chamber It's that characterisation which I love so very much about this novel. We may not like Samantha, but she is quite a believable heroine. She's flawed, she fucks up her life pretty badly, but she's not that different from the girls who try to cover up their insecurity and fear by turning their agression on the world. It's sad, but I admire the author for not shying from the truth.