Before I die by Jenny Downham Book Review

RATE:★★★★

Pages:327

Author:Jenny Downham

Published: July 2007

 

Since coming back home one thing that I have missed is reading so I went out and got some books to read and so far I have finished one and I am going to do a review about it now. 

Tessa has just a few months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It's her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is sex. Released from the constraints of 'normal' life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa's feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa's time finally runs out. "Before I Die" is a brilliantly-crafted novel, heartbreaking yet astonishingly life-affirming. It will take you to the very edge.

Pro's - For me the biggest pro that this book has is that it made me cry, I have never ever cried whilst reading a book before and I never thought that would happen but in the last few chapters of this book the tears were just coming down my face and that is not a bad thing at all because it shows you how great this book is if it can conjure such profound emotions. Plus I am not one of those people that cry a lot. I think what also made me cry was because I knew someone who died of cancer, I wasn’t really close to them but we went to the same school and I can still remember seeing them for the last time wearing that hat at school when he was really ill, I think he had just come to look around for the last time. He died aged 16. 

Moving on, I love the characters in this book from Tessa the girl who has cancer to her little brother and her parents. Tessa to me reminded me of myself when I was 15/16 years old and I felt like the writer made the reader understand Tessa more as a real person going through something none of us would want to experience. Her little brother somewhat reminded me of my little brother, so that was cute.

 This book has some funny moments in it and will really make you think about your life and death, not in a bad way but in a "I have the opportunity to live, I want to make something of myself," kind of way so that when you go you will have achieved all the things you wanted to do.

Cons- I think after she completes her little goals and her health gets worse you are kind-off like ok, when is she going to die, which sounds horrible but that’s what I was like but it lasted for a few pages and then something got me all emotional and from then on I was just crying, reading and getting some tissues.

A con which I would also say is that it was predictable, like there was a shock in the book but you knew what it was before it was announced but those two little things stopped this book from getting 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book???

Yes, defiantly, I haven't read a book this good in a long time and I would put this as a must read and I finished it in 2 days. It's well written in a light humorous tone were the author knows how to grab the reader’s attention from the first pages.