Before I Die

Jenny Downham

Sept 2008 · Random House

About this eBook

Tessa has just a few months to live. So she compiles her bucket list, her To Do Before I Die list. 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.

Heartbreaking yet astonishingly life-affirming, Before I Die will take you to the very edge.

Ratings and reviews

I love this book. It is one of the best books I've read so far. It is really sad and moving. I really want a different ending like Tessa to live. I was really happy when she dated Adam. I love this book and I will definitely recommend it to my friends

A very different kind of story. A young girl dying of cancer with a very different kind of bucket list. Not the normal "it'll be alright" and not woven just to make you cry either. Probably more realistic than we can even realise. Excellent story. Worth the read.

my mum once gave me this book thinking i will learn more about respect towards a bully ...... well i did leave with more respect but for those who have not got long to stay 5/5 defently recommend

About the author

Jenny Downham was an actress for many years before concentrating on her writing full-time. She lives in London with her two sons.

Her debut novel Before I Die was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008 Carnegie Medal and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the 2008 Branford Boase Award.