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Loading... Before I Die (edition 2009)by Jenny Downham
Work InformationBefore I Die by Jenny Downham
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FROM AMAZON: 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 crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa's time finally runs out. I listened to this book on audiobook several years ago and remembered it as being very touching and thoughtful. Rereading it did not disappoint. I adore Tessa. I adore her so much. Her ferocity is absolutely fantastic. She's going to die and she knows it, so why should she waste her time on things like laws or social conventions? The first thing on her list is sex, and that scene was so poignant. The emotions Tessa has and the way she feels is realistic and so accurate of first time sex that I think a lot of people could find that very touching. Another scene that I adored was the scene in which she does drugs, which I found amusingly accurate. Cal, Tessa's little brother, is my favourite character. He's hilarious, but sweet at the same time and I just wanted to pick him up and give him a hug. He's aware that Tessa's dying, but also that she gets all the attention, which isn't at all fair. I loved the manner in which the list was revealed--instead of getting it all up front, we had to wait a bit and see them happen. I also loved that the ending came when it did and not when we wanted it to, making it realistic for me. Really, this is about the life of a teenage girl, not about death. Death just forces her to live a little faster. This is a pretty easy read, but may make you cry. I love the poignancy of this book and am glad I reread it. I hated this book. I hated the main character. The topic was sad and depressing. I read If I Stay by Gayle Forman just before this and it was amazing. It broke my heart. I was literally sobbing my way through most of it. It was sad and horribly depressing but there was hope and happiness and love and none of that was in this book. Tessa is a bitch. Yes, she's dying. But she's horrible. Too horrible. Pass the boundaries of me caring. Yes, maybe I'm horrible. The plot was weak. The relationships with her family and the love interest were meh. Yes it was tragic and overwhelmingly sad but it was also just bad. I pushed through but it was a struggle to finish. 1 star. Unfortunately, this book has disappointed me very much. The situation of the main heroine is very sad and horrible - she is a teen only, but she has blood cancer, and her disease is constantly progressing. That's why she makes up a list of things she wants to do before she dies. When I'd read the annotation, I thought it will be a story about enjoying the life despite the difficulties. But I discovered that Tessa's wishes were not so good. I totally understand that a person who is going to die soon cannot be expected to stay happy and enjoy the life. Tessa's emotions are quite common. But in my opinion, it is not normal to accuse other people of being healthy when you are not. The plot line with Adam seemed to me quite unrealistic. I can't explain it properly, but I just didn't believe in their feelings. As for me, Tessa just had an egoistic wish to have Adam constantly near her, and Adam pitied Tessa. To sum up, it wasn't easy reading, and it's a pity that the author messed up such a good idea. no reviews | add a review
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A terminally ill teenaged girl makes and carries out a list of things to do before she dies. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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