Before I Fall is a mixture of magical, strange, cult, and a feeling of wrongness. From the moment Corey steps back into her old town to the moment the ending occurred things felt simply wrong.

Honestly when I was first reading this book I was almost put off by the strangeness of it all. Every relationship in this book, every person that appeared said and did things that simply felt off and so wrong to me. So much so that when I first put down this book I only had it at a three star rating. However, now after it has been over a month since I read Before I Fall or really even thought of it much I can appreciate the story so much better.

Yes Before I Fall is strange and causes a stirring of uncomfortable feeling when you first read it, but that’s what makes it so good. Your not really meant to truly like anyone in this novel. The slow descent into madness that this story goes into is meant to make you feel like you have your skin crawling in a weird way.

Before I Fall is an eclectic novel that blurs reality and magic and becomes something almost akin to an abstract painting. There are o many questions left unanswered (as far as the community and the magic and overall strangeness not about plot), so many things that make you think back later about the story in a similar way you would a dream.

Before I Fall is far from perfect, but i find myself having warmed up to it after distancing myself from it. It is uncomfortable and eccentric, but in those ways I have found myself appreciating it for what it is.

This book was like an Alaskan Hot Fuzz without the jokes. I enjoyed the first half and realised quite rapidly that the whole town were basically responsible for Kyra's death. It was said more than enough times that she didn't fit in.
I found the second half of the book rather slow and felt it could have been a lot more concise. I felt like not a lot happened during the second half.
The book tackled some tough subjects like mental health and I think this helps to ease the stigma attached to mental health issues, so well done to the author for that.

I was really excited about this book, and I put it on my list to be read immediately after I discovered it. Unfortunately, it just fell a little flat for me. The main character was very two dimensional to me, and seemed just not very real. Might recommend, but there are such better books out there on this topic.

2.5 stars
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the idea behind the story and the inclusion of an eerie background (Alaska), diverse representation (pansexual, aces, gay, bisexual, bipolar disorder, etc) but I felt like something was still missing. The book was well written as it was easy to read, but I was confused by the lack of character development and major plot points.

I have literally just put this book down, and I am in a state of being able to do nothing but share my opinion of it immediately. I need to talk about this book. I need to talk about Kyra, the girl diagnosed as bipolar, lost in the town of Lost, Alaska, because no one wanted to understand or accept her. Except her best friend Corey, but in the end even Corey failed her. And now Kyra is gone just days before Corey was set to visit on a college break. Kyra promised to wait for her, so why is Corey returning for her funeral? It was suicide, the town says. A town that now seems to revere Kyra and speaks of her as if she were a legend. They say it was her time. How can that be possible for someone so young, someone with such hopes and dreams and a determination to fight an illness that tries so hard to overtake her? Corey is determined to find out what happened, but the truth holds as little light as the endless dark days in the small Alaskan town.

Marieke Nijkamp is an author to watch. She doesn't just write a story. She pulls you in so deeply you cannot walk away with ease. The characters become a part of you, and you feel the pain with them. The style of writing had a lot to do with that, I believe. Alternating between memories, letters from Kyra to Corey, and the current time, it is almost like we are being written into Kyra's bipolar frame of mind. We are controlled by the same feelings of fear, hope, anger, love and sadness that held her captive.

The closer I got to the end, the harder it was to breathe. I wanted to know, but the truth was too painful. I wanted Kyra's story to be a happy, hopeful one, but it was already too late for that. All I could do was hear it, feel her pain, and mourn her loss.

Kyra will not soon leave me, just as she never left Lost. A part of her will remain with me. This is one of those rare books that I will never forget.

This book has a lot of atmosphere, but that said, it's very repetitive and does nothing to build a mood.

The book tells the story of Corey, a teenage girl, who has recently moved from a remote village in Alaska to Canada, where she is popular and liked in her new boarding school. In the village, she has left behind her best friend, Kyla, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and is shunned by the other town citizens.

Corey returns to the town after discovering that her best friend has slipped into a frozen lake and died, either by design (which Corey believes) or by accident.

The town's people are immediately the object of suspicion and nothing in the book builds this, we are just immediately thrown into that understanding.

While there were some interesting themes explored, the book overall dragged on and offered little to no build up or explanation of the "revelations," some of which were obvious. I did not really enjoy this book.

When Cory's friend Kyra ends up dead in Lost Creek, Alaska; Cory has a hard time processing how it could happen, then upon looking into the strange events surrounding her death becomes certain that something is going on. Will Cory live long enough to see what that is?

I had high expectations for this one but it turned out to be okay. Everything was just kind of meh. I feel like the author didn't have enough clarity on her own motivation for these characters and that came across in the writing.

There are things that could be really great about this book--diverse characters, a msytery, mental health issues. But ultimately, I don't know what to make of it. What was the point of the script format?

This book covered many important discussion topics- depression, bipolar disorder, and suicide. I thought the story was slow and not one of my favorites.

A young adult book that really didn't go anywhere fast. It was hard to care about 99% of the residents in Lost River, Alaska.
The story begins with Corey hearing that Kyra, her best friend, has died. She decides to go back to say goodbye, all the while thinking it can't be true. No one wants to talk about it and though she lived there for all but the last 7 months, they think of her and treat her as an outsider.
I read 40 % and found I just didn't care what happened in Lost so I put it down for good.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Live on the blog and will go up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: Chilling and engaging
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: Lost Creek, Alaska setting. Creepiness of small town with strange townspeople galore.
Characters: Corey and Kyra had a very close friendship. An odd match, maybe, the scientist and the artist, but such a close one. It’s interesting how Corey’s personality comes through in connection to Kyra’s presence or absence. Early on in the read I got the sense that it was maybe more than friendship there, especially on Kyra’s part. I felt this undercurrent of heartbreak to her. Jesus, some of these moments in the story gave me the chills for real.
Plot: The then and now structure of the timeline isn’t a fav of mine, but it builds a lot of suspense around Kyra’s death. Some parts of the story are tearjerkers. The mystery of her death is resolved in a heartbreaking way, and the end is good but terribly bitter – which I like, lol!
Writing: First person, present and past tense narrative, Corey’s POV. Such a vivid, vibrant voice!
Curb Appeal: Fab cover and hooking blurb – impulsive buy for my (rare) YA cravings.

I recommend Before I Let Go to fans of stories that feature mental illness, small town stories, glbtq+ themes, and dramatic mysteries.

http://micasue.tumblr.com/post/170686083672/before-i-let-go-review

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley for giving me this title in exchange for an honest review. The cover for this book is stunning and is part of what initially drew me to the book. I also was intrigued by the twisty, suspenseful plot. However, I felt like this book was lacking and simply did not hit the mark for me. The characters were not developed at all. I really had no understanding of the motivations behind their bizarre actions because no foundation had been laid as to who these people were and what they were about. I had a hard time imagining that the town of Lost Creek, Alaska was truly as insular and cut off as it had to have been to pull off the action that culminates in the major plot point in the book. There were several times when I just found myself saying, "How in the world is that realistic? Why would someone experience this or that and then never tell anyone when they ventured out of the town?" Perhaps, it wasn't meant to be realistic at all. This book truly left me with a huge question mark above my head. The one redeeming quality is that I really did want to keep turning the pages to try to figure out exactly what was up with this town and what had actually happened to Kyra. Overall, the plot possibilities seem like a great start, but the way this plot was developed was a serious letdown for me.

I really enjoyed Before I Let Go! The premise was tremendously compelling and the setting in remote Alaska really added a layer of interest. The build-up to the climax that revealed what had really happened in the town created an absolute page-turner, but it was almost too much. There was a lot of time spent to Corey's outrage and confusion to the point that it became stale. It continued after the big reveal as well. I definitely got hooked on the premise and I will be able to sell this to kids similarly, but I fear that they might feel it's a little overhyped by the time they finish.

Seven months ago, seventeen-year-old Corey had left her hometown of Lost, Alaska as well as her best friend, Kyra. Now she is returning after Kyra’s suicide to try to understand what caused it. But the town Corey is returning to is not the town she left. She expected to find comfort and answers; instead she is met with suspicion and anger, even threats. She is reminded at every turn that she is no longer one of them.

Before she left, Kyra, who was bipolar, was shunned by the town. Now it is Corey who is shunned while the town seems to have built almost a cult around Kyra. Kyra had painted, not because she wanted to, but because she needed to as a coping mechanism. Now her murals and paintings are everywhere. Before, the town was dying. Now it is flourishing and the town is convinced that Kyra is responsible. Kyra expected people to show at least some sense of sorrow at Kyra’s suicide, a death Kyra depicted in one of her paintings. Instead, even her parents insist that it was meant to be.

Before I Let Go, the YA novel by Marieke Nijkamp, was not what I expected. Based on the publisher’s blurb, I thought it would be social commentary wrapped in a mystery. As I began the story, I wanted more about teen suicide and Kyra’s mental illness. I did like the portrayal of how people react to mental illness whether it is to shun those who are afflicted or, conversely, to treat them like mystics or prophets. Certainly, Nijkamp alludes to this. However, she seems, despite Corey’s rational arguments against the town’s cult like behaviour, to place the story in the second camp – Kyra does seem to have the gift of prophecy, the ability to make magical things happen.

In the end, Before I Let Go seemed more Midwich Cuckoo than eg. All The Bright Places. Still, I enjoyed the descriptions of Alaska. And once I accepted that this was not the book I was anticipating, I did enjoy the threatening atmosphere and the overall creepiness of the town and its citizens. Although I didn’t love the story, I like it enough to give it a solid 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to ready this book in exchange for an honest review

First i want to thank NetGalley for giving me this in exchange for an honest review. It took me a long time to get around to it but I'm glad in finally did read it.

This is about two friends, one with bi-polar disorder and shunned by the town. After going away for school and her mother's new job, Corey finds herself back in town after her friend's apparent suicude. Not all is as it seems as Corey struggles to find out the story behind her best friend's death.

This is an interesting and pretty good story and I really liked it. It reminded me of Life is Strange, in a sense. (If you play video games, give that one a try).

Corey returns home to a small town in Alaska earlier than she originally planned. She is devastated by the death of her best friend and needs answers. But, the town she used to feel an attachment to turns its' back on her because she moved away. She only has a few short days in Lost. Will she return home as scheduled or will she, too, be Lost?

The description of the book intrigued me, and the book did not disappoint.
I love reading mysteries and trying to figure out the twists and turns in this one kept me busy and kept me up late finishing the book.
The description doesn't tell you that Kyra was bipolar, and was treated very differently in the tiny town once people found out. The book describes her ups and downs with the disease and gives the reader an interesting perspective into living with the disease.
I have lived in small towns and identified with what Corey was feeling in the story at times. They can be very difficult and closed off to outsiders.
As I read the story I felt the emotion and frustration of the main characters. I will recommend this book to others.