Before I Die by Jenna Downham

Before I Die by Jenna Downham

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published July 5th 2007 by David Fickling Books

Tessa has just 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, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out. – Goodreads

My Opinion: This was very sad. I listened to this on audio and the reader really showed the emotions that Tessa was going through. I also thought that what Tessa was doing was acceptable because if she had been able to live she would have probably done all the things on her list at least once in her life. She was a pretty cool character. I also love that she left a little message for all her friends and relatives on how to get over her death and embrace the living.

I also really liked that the reader had an English accent it made the story more authentic because of the language used. I also just enjoyed the perspective of Tessa her self.

Something that I didn’t enjoy, however, was that we didn’t get to hear a last chapter from one of her friends or her dad, I think that would have made the story have a better ending. It would have been interesting to see how they react at the end of her death because we don’t really find out due to the whole book being Tessa’s perspective.
Overall: 3.75 out of 5