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1st out of 34 books
—
24 voters
Before I Die
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 re...more
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 re...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
September 25th 2007
by David Fickling Books
(first published July 5th 2007)
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This review can be found at ReadingAfterMidnight.com
I don't really know what to say about this book. I didn't like it that much, but I didn't hate it either..
The bad:
For the most part of the story I didn't really care about Tessa, about her illness and her strange wishes (as I never got attached to her). I understand the desire to have a boyfriend, to be kissed and have sex, probably at her age this would be an important part of her life, but the other 'wishes' were kind of stupid and not the o...more
I don't really know what to say about this book. I didn't like it that much, but I didn't hate it either..
The bad:
For the most part of the story I didn't really care about Tessa, about her illness and her strange wishes (as I never got attached to her). I understand the desire to have a boyfriend, to be kissed and have sex, probably at her age this would be an important part of her life, but the other 'wishes' were kind of stupid and not the o...more
35 likes · like · see review
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Mar 30, 2011
Lora
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people looking for a heartbreaking, beautifully written story
Shelves:
lib-audiobooks,
g-ya-realistic
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Tessa's been battling leukemia since the age of twelve. But now, when Tessa is sixteen, the doctors have told her that further treatment is futile and that there isn't much more they can do.
Realizing that she'll not be able to do all of the things that normal girls get to, she makes a list of ten things she wants to do before she dies. This list includes everything from sex to driving her father's car without a licence. And even as the novel rushes toward its inevitably s...more
Tessa's been battling leukemia since the age of twelve. But now, when Tessa is sixteen, the doctors have told her that further treatment is futile and that there isn't much more they can do.
Realizing that she'll not be able to do all of the things that normal girls get to, she makes a list of ten things she wants to do before she dies. This list includes everything from sex to driving her father's car without a licence. And even as the novel rushes toward its inevitably s...more
25 likes · like · see review
Oct 12, 2007
Lacey Louwagie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who need to stop thinking about death as romantic
Shelves:
youngadult
I started this book wondering, "Why am I reading this?" and I ended it wondering, "Why did I read this?" But my two reasons for thinking these things were very different.
In the beginning, I felt like this book would be a repetition of "Skinny," a massive disappointment in which the author was enamored with the idea of a sick, frail, floundering heroine. The heroine in this book started out looking more or less the same: "I'm sick, I'm gonna die, the world sucks, so leave me alone."
Tessa begins...more
In the beginning, I felt like this book would be a repetition of "Skinny," a massive disappointment in which the author was enamored with the idea of a sick, frail, floundering heroine. The heroine in this book started out looking more or less the same: "I'm sick, I'm gonna die, the world sucks, so leave me alone."
Tessa begins...more
27 likes · like · see review
May 23, 2010
Tatiana
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of books with sad endings - "If I Stay," "Before I Fall," "Living Dead Girl"
Recommended to Tatiana by:
ala
This book about broke my heart. It's not as if I didn't know how it would end - the title says it all, but I didn't expect to be touched by the story to such a degree.
The premise of Before I Die is quite simple - Tessa is 16 and dying of leukemia. She knows that she has only a few months to live and struggles to come to terms with her fate. Trying to make the best of the time she has left, Tessa comes up with a list of things she would like to experience before she dies. Some items on the list a...more
The premise of Before I Die is quite simple - Tessa is 16 and dying of leukemia. She knows that she has only a few months to live and struggles to come to terms with her fate. Trying to make the best of the time she has left, Tessa comes up with a list of things she would like to experience before she dies. Some items on the list a...more
60 likes · like · see review
Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com
I devoured this book in two days. It called to me. Beckoned me across the room and begged me to pick it up and finish what I'd started. If I hadn't needed to eat and sleep, I'd have finished it in mere hours. It was that vital to keep going.
Tessa Scott keeps going, too. She keeps writing on the wall and adding to the list of things she wants to do before she dies. Tess's life is being driven from her by leukemia before she herself can even drive a...more
I devoured this book in two days. It called to me. Beckoned me across the room and begged me to pick it up and finish what I'd started. If I hadn't needed to eat and sleep, I'd have finished it in mere hours. It was that vital to keep going.
Tessa Scott keeps going, too. She keeps writing on the wall and adding to the list of things she wants to do before she dies. Tess's life is being driven from her by leukemia before she herself can even drive a...more
I didn't think this book would be as hard to read as it was. But it was a good type of hard, like reading "The Book Theif." To read about the last year of this young girl's life was emotional - worth the ride. I especially loved the kindness of Adam.
P.S. Be careful where you read this book, you are going to cry!!
P.S. Be careful where you read this book, you are going to cry!!
5 likes · like · see review
“Tessa ha sedici anni, un fratellino che da grande vuole fare il mago, un’amica del cuore, e un elenco di dieci cose che vuole assolutamente fare prima di morire. Perché Tessa sa di non aver più molto tempo, ed è stufa di terapie che la aiutano a sopravvivere, ma le impediscono di vivere. Vuole provare tutto quello che la vita offre, premere forte sull’acceleratore per arrivare in tempo agli appuntamenti dell’adolescenza. È questo il motivo dell’elenco: Tessa vuole vivere prima di morire. Vuole...more
2 likes · like · see review
Books where people die are very hard for me to read about. But those are also the ones that touch me the most.
Tessa has cancer. She has been fighting cancer for the past 4 years, and now only has months to live. She wants to make the most of the time she has, and so she makes a "Before I Die" list, a list of all the things she wants to do before she dies.
What would you do? I for one, would probably want to spend all my time with loved ones, although I don’t think you can assume what a person w...more
Tessa has cancer. She has been fighting cancer for the past 4 years, and now only has months to live. She wants to make the most of the time she has, and so she makes a "Before I Die" list, a list of all the things she wants to do before she dies.
What would you do? I for one, would probably want to spend all my time with loved ones, although I don’t think you can assume what a person w...more
“I love you. I love you. I send this message through my fingers and into his, up his arm and into his heart. Hear me. I love you. And I'm sorry to leave you.”
Rated: 4.5
first read in August 11th 2009 (rated four stars)
wow. such a long time ago.
How did I not see the gorgeousness that is this book the first time around?
-----------------
“I want to die in my own way. It's my illness, my death, my choice. This is what saying yes means.”...more
“when I was four I almost fell down the shaft of a tin mine and w
11 likes · like · see review
We know three pages into “Before I Die” that sixteen-year-old Tessa won’t survive her leukemia--and that there’s plenty she still wants from life. So she makes a list and vows to do everything on it before she dies.
Like most teenagers, Tessa is at odds with her parents and angsty about how life’s shortchanged her. At first her ranting and left-field demands seem too adolescent. Isn’t the looming presence of death supposed to mature her beyond her years?
But that’s precisely the kind of “dying-you...more
Like most teenagers, Tessa is at odds with her parents and angsty about how life’s shortchanged her. At first her ranting and left-field demands seem too adolescent. Isn’t the looming presence of death supposed to mature her beyond her years?
But that’s precisely the kind of “dying-you...more
I read this in a day - I couldn't put it down. The story is told from the viewpoint of a 16 year old girl, Tessa, who has terminal leukemia. She has months to live and has made a list of things she wants to do before she dies.
The book is beautifully written, and brings about a number of emotions. The characters are well established (Tessa's father particularly) and this makes the story realistic and believable. It's interesting to learn about the relationships between the characters - you'd imag...more
The book is beautifully written, and brings about a number of emotions. The characters are well established (Tessa's father particularly) and this makes the story realistic and believable. It's interesting to learn about the relationships between the characters - you'd imag...more
7 likes · like · see review
I have just finnished this book and I write this review through tears. In the day it took me to read I have laughed, cried, felt uplifted and humbled.
This is the story of 16 year old Tessa who is dying of terminal cancer. In her last months she makes a list of 10 things she wants to do before she dies (this includes falling in love and saying yes to everything for one whole day). Tessa goes through a range of emotions including anger (why her?) but the overriding feeling I got from her was an a...more
This is the story of 16 year old Tessa who is dying of terminal cancer. In her last months she makes a list of 10 things she wants to do before she dies (this includes falling in love and saying yes to everything for one whole day). Tessa goes through a range of emotions including anger (why her?) but the overriding feeling I got from her was an a...more
10 likes · like · see review
If you need a reminder of all that's important in this world, then you should read this novel. Even if you don't think so. The title says it all. Narrated by a Tessa, a girl who is dying of cancer, Before I Die gives a realistic portrait of what she wants to accomplish in the little time left to her.
Now please don't think I'm sexist when I say this, but 99% of the women I know make lists. It's something I admire about them. Lists—it's a girl thing.
Tessa, makes lists. Lists of things she wants to...more
Now please don't think I'm sexist when I say this, but 99% of the women I know make lists. It's something I admire about them. Lists—it's a girl thing.
Tessa, makes lists. Lists of things she wants to...more
11 likes · like · see review
This one snuck up on me. I thought that I was reading just a sweet inspirational tale about a dying girl, and the next thing I know I'm sobbing in a Chinese restaurant on 8th Avenue.
The review that inspired me to pick this one up, said that the only thing wrong with this book was that the publisher decided to market it as "young-adult", so it may never get the readership it deserves.
It was reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks', A Walk to Remember, but with much more of an edge. The girl in this novel...more
The review that inspired me to pick this one up, said that the only thing wrong with this book was that the publisher decided to market it as "young-adult", so it may never get the readership it deserves.
It was reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks', A Walk to Remember, but with much more of an edge. The girl in this novel...more
Tessa is diagnosed with leukemia. Despite her four-year devotion to chemotherapy she has discovered that her cancer is terminal and her doctors don't give her very long to live.
I just can’t put into words how powerful and touching is this book. This story is heartbreakin, even painful – mainly in the end. It makes us think and wonder on the value of things and life, how unfair life may be.
This book contains a little bit of everything and it’s precious.
Yes, this isn't properly a happy story, it...more
I just can’t put into words how powerful and touching is this book. This story is heartbreakin, even painful – mainly in the end. It makes us think and wonder on the value of things and life, how unfair life may be.
This book contains a little bit of everything and it’s precious.
Yes, this isn't properly a happy story, it...more
Tessa..
I'm an emotional wreck. Because of you.
Hope you're okay. Whenever you're.
And don't worry. They won't forget.
I'm an emotional wreck. Because of you.
Hope you're okay. Whenever you're.
And don't worry. They won't forget.
This is just so horrible!
As in painful. I think I'm turning into a masochist. I can't keep away from heart-breaking books.
It's hard to read something about death, so damned hard. It made me think: if I was Tessa, how would have I felt?
Imagine this: four years of fight against a disease, with a probability that you're going to die at the end.
You're too young, only sixteen, but your life is slipping away from your fingertips. You're dying. Your dreams, your wishes are all worthless. You'll never...more
As in painful. I think I'm turning into a masochist. I can't keep away from heart-breaking books.
It's hard to read something about death, so damned hard. It made me think: if I was Tessa, how would have I felt?
Imagine this: four years of fight against a disease, with a probability that you're going to die at the end.
You're too young, only sixteen, but your life is slipping away from your fingertips. You're dying. Your dreams, your wishes are all worthless. You'll never...more
6 likes · like · see review
Jun 10, 2012
Mitch Cave
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
saddest-book-ever,
young-adult,
already-know-im-going-to-rate-5-sta,
amazing-author,
amazing-writing-style,
books-about-death,
cant-put-it-down-so-far,
dark-and-raw-realistic-fiction,
debuts,
expecting-this-to-be-a-movie,
great-character-development,
i-can-relate-to-the-characters,
i-probably-should-read-this-some-ti,
i-really-should-read-this,
is-it-as-good-as-everyone-says,
it-sounds-good,
love-the-cover,
lovin-it-so-far,
made-me-sad,
made-me-want-to-cry,
must-read-soon,
not-huge-but-not-small-font-size,
not-thick-but-not-thin-books,
realistic-fiction,
short-chapters,
should-be-made-into-a-movie,
start-and-stops,
that-cover-is-just-gorgeous,
reading-small-bits-at-a-time,
favourites,
books-about-cancer
One of the most well-written books of all time.
I haven't got much to say but yeah, it's depressing.
I haven't got much to say but yeah, it's depressing.
2 likes · like · see review
I read about half of Before I Die before I realized that I just couldn't be bothered anymore. I picked up Before I Die with huge hopes and expectations. I had just finished reading Jenny Downham's You Against Me which was utterly brilliant but Before I Die simply didn't do it for me.
Sixteen-year-old Tessa doesn't have a very long time left to live. Suffering from leukemia, Tessa decides to make a list of things she wants to do before she dies. On this list is everything from sex, to drugs, to d...more
Sixteen-year-old Tessa doesn't have a very long time left to live. Suffering from leukemia, Tessa decides to make a list of things she wants to do before she dies. On this list is everything from sex, to drugs, to d...more
8 likes · like · see review
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
5 stars
5 stars
Tessa only has a few months left to live. She’s tired of the constant hospital visits, tests, and drugs that seem to do more harm to her body than good; she decides to make a list. The list is a list of things to do before she dies. She calls it “To Do Before I Die”. The first thing she wants is sex. So her best friend Zoey takes her out. As Tessa starts to complete new things on the list she starts to feel alive again. As Tessa makes a new relationship with h
...more
Before I die by Jenny Dowham, makes you realise how fragile everything we take for granted is. Getting up in the morning, spending the day knowing you still have tomorrow and looking forward to things in the future...
Tessa Scott has a list. She has a list of ten things to do before she dies.
When Tessa was 12, she was diagnosed with cancer. Now at the age of 16 she wants to live through all the things she wants to do before she dies.
Number 1: Sex
While I was reading this I thought, 'Oh here we go...more
Tessa Scott has a list. She has a list of ten things to do before she dies.
When Tessa was 12, she was diagnosed with cancer. Now at the age of 16 she wants to live through all the things she wants to do before she dies.
Number 1: Sex
While I was reading this I thought, 'Oh here we go...more
1 like · like · see review
Tessa is only 16, and dying of leukemia, but despite the death sentence, she’s determined to make the most of the time she has left to live by accomplishing the list of things she wants do do before she dies. She writes and keeps adding them on the wall of her bedroom. The list includes: having sex, taking drugs, saying yes to everything during a whole day, committing a crime, being famous and so on. Her first sex experience happens with a stranger and it’s so bad she feels terrible. What she re...more
Before I Die was an unusual read in that right from the start you know what the outcome will be at the end with the main character dieing. Despite this the book was far from depressing, sure there are bits of it were it gets very sad that not even a being from another planet would not cry uncontrollably but for the most part i found it uplifting. The story goes of sixteen year old Tessa who has Leukemia and has only months to live. Tessa makes a list of things she wants to do before she leaves t...more
3 likes · like · see review
I knew by reading the title that, obviously, someone was going to die. I guess I thought it would have been like all the other books where the author magically flicks their wrist and it's over.
This is a story about a life. A beautiful life that has been taken by leukemia. Jenny Downham does a fabulous job taking us through Tessa's 'list' of things she wants to do before she dies. Throughout the book more things get added to the original list, some things get changed or removed.
Tessa's story wa...more
This is a story about a life. A beautiful life that has been taken by leukemia. Jenny Downham does a fabulous job taking us through Tessa's 'list' of things she wants to do before she dies. Throughout the book more things get added to the original list, some things get changed or removed.
Tessa's story wa...more
I decided to venture out of my comfort zone by reading the British novel, Before I Die by Jenny Downham. This book features a sixteen-year-old girl named Tessa, who is facing terminal illness due to cancer. With a few months of life left, her time in the world is very limited. Knowing this, she comes up with an interesting list of things to do before she dies.
The story takes place all around a small town in Great Britain. The way Tessa sees her situation, she has two choices: “stay wrapped in bl...more
The story takes place all around a small town in Great Britain. The way Tessa sees her situation, she has two choices: “stay wrapped in bl...more
This is a morbid little story. Beautiful, but morbid. I can't help thinking that the author demands instant literary kudos simply by dealing with the uncomfortable subject of teenage death. Unfortunately, I don't think the novel quite deserves that kudos. It provides no great profundity and, though poignant, I can't help but think it compares poorly to the 2003 movie, My Life Without Me.
For a start, the central character, Tessa is hard to like. There's a prickly sullenness about her that is part...more
For a start, the central character, Tessa is hard to like. There's a prickly sullenness about her that is part...more
14 likes · like · see review
Jenny Downham is a very good writer who hasn't quite found the right story to tell.
This one is an awful idea; the wishes of a dying teen. I want to take Downham gently by the hand and show her the maggnificent Nothing Sacred, a dazzling comedy about a girl who pretends to be dying of cancer and is embraced by new York in an orgy of sentimentality. Eventually she has to fess up, but not until she'd had a lot of free lunches.
Other reviewers loved the idea of a dying girl with such 'umble aspirat...more
This one is an awful idea; the wishes of a dying teen. I want to take Downham gently by the hand and show her the maggnificent Nothing Sacred, a dazzling comedy about a girl who pretends to be dying of cancer and is embraced by new York in an orgy of sentimentality. Eventually she has to fess up, but not until she'd had a lot of free lunches.
Other reviewers loved the idea of a dying girl with such 'umble aspirat...more
May 21, 2008
Mayla
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone!
Shelves:
favorites
This book is one of the most touching and honest books i have ever read. It is a story told by a teenage girl - 15 years old Tessa. She was diagnosed with cancer and after about 4 years, she finally is let go by life. This book talks about her dreams and her long list that makes up the things that she wants to do before she dies. She is a very brave teenage girl who embraces the true meaning of life and finds love. She brings her parents back together, bonds with her brother, and really gets to...more
When I picked up this book I thought this would be another sentimental story about a dying girl wanting to fall in love and watch a beautiful sunset and be a complete saint before she dies. Not being afraid, never questioning or beng angry at the hand life had dealt her. Similar too A walk to remember...what I found was a strong willed, stubbourn, sometimes reckless and daring young woman who truly does want to live life to fullest while she has it. Experiencing the good (falling in love with a...more
Not a book for those who prefer happy endings. A teenage girl is dying from leukemia and she's got a list of everything she wants to do before she dies. Cheesy concept, right? Hasn't this been the premise of a zillion after-school specials? The writing saves it from becoming maudlin, however -- the stark urgency of the narrator's voice as she contemplates what little time she has left and what's she's going to make of it. Her emotions are real and uncontained-- anger, fear, disgust, boredom, joy...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movie or Book? | 19 | 111 | 21 de Abr 01:24 | |
| Should I read this??? | 31 | 174 | 24 de Dic 03:17 | |
| Gourley-Jefferson...: Before I Die | 2 | 6 | 5 de Nov 10:59 | |
| what do you love about this book? | 2 | 19 | 19 de Sep 10:57 | |
| what do you love about this book? | 1 | 5 | 19 de Sep 10:15 | |
| Paranormal Romanc...: Before I Die | 1 | 11 | 21 de Feb 06:08 |
Jenny Downham (born 1964) is a British novelist and an ex-actor. In her first book, Before I Die, the fictional account of the last few months of a sixteen-year-old girl who has been dying of leukemia for 4 years. The book is told in the first person. The book was acclaimed and was short-listed for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008...more
More about Jenny Downham...
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“I wish I had a boyfriend. I wish he lived in the wardrobe on a coat hanger. Whenever I wanted, I could get him out and he'd look at me the way boys do in films, as if I'm beautiful.”
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354 people liked it
“I love you. It hurts more than anything ever has, but I do. So don't you dare tell me I don't. Don't you ever say it again!”
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214 people liked it
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