Before I Die-Jenny Downham
May 2009 Publisher:  David Fickling Books
Pages: 327               
Realistic fiction
       
Imagine you have cancer. The doctors say you only have until next summer to live. You’re only 16 and you’ve barley lived a full life. How will you spend your last year alive?

That is the tough question Tess must answer. She decides to make a Before I Die list. Number one on her list: sex.  Tess and her best friend take a journey through new experiences such as committing a crime, falling in love, and saying yes to everything for a day. Tess will find that some experiences are just horrible, but some could turn out to be something really beautiful. With not much left to loose, Tess works up the courage to finally talk to the boy next door she watched everyday as he worked in his garden.  .  After meeting him she starts to hope that maybe there really is meaning in her brief existence.  Tess lives with her dad and brother in England.  Tess’s mother abandoned her when she was younger. Now, her mother has fallen back into Tess’s crumbling life. This is the only chance Tess gets to ask her mother about the decisions she made. Will she get a chance to find love and tell her mother how she feels before it’s too late?
Once you start this book it will be impossible to put down. You will be able to see a whole new world through Tessa’s eyes. Before I Die is an easy read.  You will feel an immediate connection to each character.  Every chapter will have you biting your nails, although the author does lacks literary elements. I would recommend this book to teens and young adults. I don’t approve for kids because there are some explicit sections in this book.
Overall Before I Die is a moving an inspirational experience. You will instantly be trapped in the trance that Tess will put you in.  I highly suggest for you to read this book!