Before I Die by Jenny Downham // A Little Overhyped

Before I Die, by Jenny Downham
Publication: May 26, 2009, by Ember
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 327
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, and 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, are all painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time runs out.

My Thoughts:

Before I Die was kind of a bummer. I waited YEARS to pick this book up, mainly because I've been lazy and going to read my advanced readers copies instead of books that I've actually purchased and have been excited to read. Maybe my fourteen/fifteen year-old self would have enjoyed this book, but I can surely say that my eighteen year-old self was not a fan of this boring story with a severe lack of depth. 

I read this book at the end of last year, and I can hardly remember what it was about, but let's just say that the plot is not promising, and it only might appeal to some teenagers who are obsessed with the idea of being desperate to find love. Unlike other stories featuring characters with an illness, which tend to feature some sort of learning experience for readers and an actual nice tale, Before I Die was underwhelming. I found myself really despising our main character, Tessa, who, obviously, is in a state of depression and isolation as she realizes that she does not have much time to live. 

Don't get me wrong: I didn't hate reading this story. I got my way through it without DNFing it, however, it wasn't promising and really memorable. You could definitely be better off reading some other contemporary romances with less-annoying protagonists. 

Go ahead and pick up another book, but just know that Before I Die is an underwhelming book that could easily be forgotten about. If you're in a desperate need of a contemporary romance story, you might as well pick this up, but otherwise, just walk on by it at your bookstore.