Originally Published: October 25, 2010

By: Lauren Oliver

 Think Groundhog Day but a young adult version.

17-year-old Samantha “Sam” Kingston dies in a car crash, but wakes up the next morning to the same day of her death. She keeps reliving the day until she gets things right and learns to accept death.

Sam is an absolutely horrible character – like one of the Plastics in Mean Girls – who only cares about herself and has no respect for those around her. She continues to become more destructive to herself and others before she becomes better, at which point you won’t want to sympathize with her.

By the middle, I was just waiting for it to be over. And I felt bad for more sympathetic characters, like love interest Kent, who deserved more than to be caught in Sam’s crossfire.

Final say: Sam’s damage can’t be redeemed. ★★☆☆☆