Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Downham, J. (2007). Before I die. New York: David Fickling Books.
ISBN-10 0385751834
ISBN-13 978-0385751834
326 pgs
Format: Book
Genre: Realistic
Classification: Fiction
Age level: Young Adult

Reader's annotation
As teenager Tessa nears the end of her life after a battle with cancer, she decides to compose a list of things to do before she dies. With the assistance of her best friend and without the constraints of thinking about the future, Tessa tries to fit a lifetime into a few short weeks.

Summary
Tessa is at the end of her fight against cancer, and now that treatment has stopped she has a lot of time on her hands. She no longer attends high school, as she doesn’t see the point, and her mind rests on creating a list of things to do before she dies. Much of the list involves the help of her best friend. Tessa also begins a tentative friendship with her neighbor, Adam, but he isn’t sure he wants to get involved with a girl who may not be around, not while he is helping his depressed mother get over the death of his father. Being free from the constraints of thinking about the future doesn’t make any of life’s big experiences any easier for Tessa but she plunges ahead into sex, drugs, petty theft and her first road trip with bravery and determination to experience her life while she has it.

Evaluation
This novel is quite morbid, and a lot of times it simply doesn’t ring true because Tessa doesn’t appear to have any symptoms related to someone in the end stage of cancer. Also, Tessa is in a unfortunate situation not only in that she is dying but because her best friend and her father seem to be in denial about her health and don’t offer her a great deal of support. Perhaps the message of the book is that while we may die alone, we should do the things we really to do while alive.

Awards and honors
A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors’ Choice
A Book Sense Children’s Pick
A Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice
A Publishers Weekly Flying Start Author
An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults