Review: Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Summary from Goodreads

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

My Review

Imagine your body is infected with cancer. You only have weeks left to live. You live every day knowing you will never get married, have kids or live another year. All of your friends will grow up and have lives and you wont. How do you prepair yourself for this? What do you do in your last weeks? That is exactly what Tessa feels during the course of this book. Her body is infected with cancer and their is no way of helping her anymore. All she can do is wait for the end. Tessa decides she is going to make a list of 10 things she wants to do before she dies. Some of them being sex, drugs and breaking as many rules as possible in one day. Her friend Zoey, her boyfriend Adam and her father helps her achieve some of these 10 things. Tessa does not have the greatest relationship with her mom, her dad mostly takes her for her check ups and watches over her. She adds reuniting her parents to her list. During this book Tessa has feelings I could never imagine myself having. I found this book pretty emotional at parts. One part near the end did actually make me tear up. This book was beautifully written. I suggest that everyone add this book to their list! Also! this book does not take place in America so some of the terminology is off. But its still easy to understand.

My Rating

* * * * *

5 out of 5 stars