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    Before I Die
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    Before I Die
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    Before I Die
    Audiobook7 hours

    Before I Die

    Written by Jenny Downham

    Narrated by Charlotte Parry

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    For the many readers who love The Fault in Our Stars, this is the story of a girl who is determined to live, love, and to write her own ending before her time is finally up.

    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 runs out.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 25, 2007
    ISBN9780739362891
    Unavailable
    Before I Die
    Author

    Jenny Downham

    Jenny Downham trained as an actor and worked in alternative theatre before starting to write. Her first book, Before I Die, is an international bestseller. It won the Branford Boase Award, the Australian Silver Inky Award for best international novel, and was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Her second novel, You Against Me, won the Waterstones Teen Fiction Prize. Jenny hopes that this story will encourage more girls to make a noise so that their voices can be heard.

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    Reviews for Before I Die

    4/5

    763 ratings78 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This book started off so slow and depressing, I was sure I’d give up at the 50 page mark. I was encouraged to keep reading it, though, so I did. I’m really glad! Things started to get more interesting, and while it stayed depressing - Tessa, the main character, is a teenager with terminal cancer, so it’s to be expected - it was well worth the read. By the end, I might have been crying a little bit, but I went away treasuring the beautiful day and my loving family.
    • 4/5
      Don't think I've cried at the end of a book as much as I did with this one.
    • 5/5
      Wow. I'm speechless. Like, seriously.
    • 3/5
      Before I die by Jenny Downham is about a young 16 year old girl, Tessa Walker who is dying of leukemia. Tessa made a list of ten things she wants to do before she dies, But then looking back at her list she realizes that its not going to be easy to accomplish her list. This book is not something I would read because its kinda depressing. Other than the plot I think the author did a good description of how Tessa feels and what its like to have leukemia, and how you realize that little things do matter in life and don't take anything for granted. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about a life of a young girl with leukemia and what its like from another perspective.I would rate this book a three out of five.
    • 5/5
      The story is of a 16year old girl called Tessa, who is ternanally ill with leukemia and before she dies wants to complete a number of things.She wants a boyfriend, She wants to drive a car. She wants normal. At the begining Tessa comes across as Bolshy and Defiant on the surface but as you read on and peel away the layers you find a mass of complicated emotions that pull at the heart strings. I found it a very emotional book to read but as though you couldn't put it down it was vital to read on. I found it a very moving book. It made me feel as though i had lost a friend by the end. An extremely good book defenitly a favourite of mine
    • 3/5
      Sixteen year old Tessa has a fatal form of leukemia. There is nothing the doctors can do for her, and she is told she probably won’t live to see her next birthday. Hoping to cram as much life into her last few months as possible, and makes a list of all the things she hopes to accomplish before she dies.

      This book was very highly recommended to me, and I did like it. It wasn’t a typical “death” book-it wasn’t a saccharine feel good book and it wasn’t a downer. It was somewhere in between. I like how it stayed realistic. Tessa isn’t the most likable character at times. She does selfish, immature things that hurt the people around her. She is very self-absorbed. But I imagine anyone in that type of situation would be. The list plot isn’t this great adventure either. Tessa’s exploits tire her out for days, and she doesn’t accomplish all of them.

      The prose has been this book’s main selling point, and yes, it sure is pretty. I found it a bit distracting at times. Tessa is a hyper observant, sensitive girl, desperately trying to soak everything in, but it seemed a bit over the top at times.

      Maybe I’m just too old. I’m sure when I was at that age, I had a few dozen notebooks filled with pseudo poetic observations.

      I also found myself identifying more with the parents than I did with the younger characters. Maybe it’s because I’m a parent. If, god forbid, one of my kids ever got sick, would I be able to rise to the occasion, like Tessa’s father, one of the most genuine and developed parental figures I’ve ever read in YA fiction? Or would I flake out like her absent mother?


    • 4/5
      Yes, it's as depressing as it sounds. A teenage girl is diagnosed with a terminal disease and you hear the heart wrenching side of her story. Everything from crazy shopping trips, to time spent with her little brother, and a new boy will tear your heart out of your chest. However, I felt like it put a new spin on the ever popular topic of terminal teens.
    • 3/5
      sad sad sad!
    • 3/5
      This is a book about a girl with terminal cancer, working her way through a list of things she wants to do before she dies. It's a very honest book - Tessa is not always very likable, and the things she does are not always wise (casual sex, shop lifting etc) - and it's not a book with a comforting ending, it ends at the point of Tessa's death. But it is a comforting story of love being worthwhile even in the face of death, and yes, it did leave me weepy.
    • 2/5
      it was good in the beginning. then i got bored and skimmed through it
    • 3/5
      An absorbing read which really did bring tears to my eyes. Realistic without being so depressing it's unreadable.
    • 4/5
      Before I Die will truly knock the breath out of you. Tess, the heroine, is dying of leukemia. Rather than spending her final days in bed, she makes a list of things she wants to do before she dies and sets about to accomplish them.Such a simple premise, such a complicated book. Making a resolution to say "yes" to everything is hard work, Tess finds-- it brings priorities like friends and family into conflict. It does require some suspension of disbelief to believe that the boy who will love her just so happens to be the boy she doesn't know who lives next door, but, given his character, I'll take the suspension and run with it. This is truly a "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" book, except Tess does realize how valuable the people around her are-- they are the last voices she hears as she drifts off into the inevitable end.Oddly, the male characters are better drawn than the female supporting characters. One wouldn't expect such a sharp dichotomy, but it seems as if the author poured all of her narrative energies into Tess and didn't have enough for the other women: Tess' mom makes rare appearances, and the character of her best friend, Zoey, is rather flat. Zoey in particular should be drawn more strongly because she represents vitality and life but also consequences; she is a person living life chaotically, without a list, so to speak.The novel is heartbreaking (even to my rather gruff heart), but it doesn't bog you in depression; rather, it makes you want to find something to do and just do it. The spareness of Tess' life, made so by her illness, allows her to enrich her remaining time with meaning and fulfillment. In her final moments, we know that her plan worked.
    • 5/5
      Rating: 4.5/5

      Thank you Jenny, it’s not like I needed my soul or anything…

      The last fifty pages were the hardest to read since the 7th book of Harry Potter: knowing what will eventually come but choosing to ignore it and have some hope that things won’t take down that road. I still have that lump in my throat choking me and I firmly know that I won’t be forgetting about this book anytime soon.

      A heartbreaking story, an amazing writing and a narrator whose voice will haunt you for days weeks to come.
    • 4/5
      Before I Die will truly knock the breath out of you. Tess, the heroine, is dying of leukemia. Rather than spending her final days in bed, she makes a list of things she wants to do before she dies and sets about to accomplish them.Such a simple premise, such a complicated book. Making a resolution to say "yes" to everything is hard work, Tess finds-- it brings priorities like friends and family into conflict. It does require some suspension of disbelief to believe that the boy who will love her just so happens to be the boy she doesn't know who lives next door, but, given his character, I'll take the suspension and run with it. This is truly a "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" book, except Tess does realize how valuable the people around her are-- they are the last voices she hears as she drifts off into the inevitable end.Oddly, the male characters are better drawn than the female supporting characters. One wouldn't expect such a sharp dichotomy, but it seems as if the author poured all of her narrative energies into Tess and didn't have enough for the other women: Tess' mom makes rare appearances, and the character of her best friend, Zoey, is rather flat. Zoey in particular should be drawn more strongly because she represents vitality and life but also consequences; she is a person living life chaotically, without a list, so to speak.The novel is heartbreaking (even to my rather gruff heart), but it doesn't bog you in depression; rather, it makes you want to find something to do and just do it. The spareness of Tess' life, made so by her illness, allows her to enrich her remaining time with meaning and fulfillment. In her final moments, we know that her plan worked.
    • 4/5
      Poor Tessa !!Not only is she dying but she is surrounded by horrible people. From the mean witchy, selfish friend to the uncaring brother who could care less if she died. AND don't forget the absent mother. I felt nothing but pity for this girl the whole time thinking that the people closest to her probably wont miss her at all in the end. It was a terrible emotional roller coaster for me but one that people in Tessa's position probably ride everyday. Sad !
    • 3/5
      This reminded me, in a good way, of being a teenager upset about THE UNFAIRNESS OF IT ALL and imaging, in an increasingly satisfyingly self indulgent way, how sad everyone would be when she died, and how dramatic and wistful it would all be, and how it would include a cute boy (because otherwise, what would be the point of dying?). I was sad, but not horrific sad, more like comfortingly sad. To compare it (probably unfairly) to The Fault in Our Stars -- that WRECKED me, while this sadness was more along the lines of when Anne Shirley plays Elaine.
    • 3/5
      Its been a really long time since I read this book, but the thing that sticks out most in my mind is that wasn't very good. I mean, it wasn't bad, I just didn't find myself engrossed by it, which I am usually by a book that is anyway decent. I realise my rating contradicts my review, but I'm just not sure what to say, oh, and I didn't cry, according to a friend of mine, that makes me heartless.
    • 3/5
      Terminal illness, Death of a teen: see also The Girl Next Door by Selene Castrovilla
    • 3/5
      A good read about a teenage girl in her final battle with cancer. I don't think it would ever make my favorites list.
    • 3/5
      Totally not believable. Sixteen year old girl dying of cancer creates a bucket list of things to do before she dies. The first is have sex--believable. The second is take drugs so her neighbor gives her mushrooms--not believable. The third is say 'yes' to everything for a day--somewhat believable but wasted. Fourth is break the law-wouldn't be on my bucket list. That's where I stopped.I read this because I just finished Unbecoming by the same author--Jenny Downham which was wonderful, touching. This got decent reviews but really was disappointing.
    • 4/5
      This is one of those stories that make you think about your life and cry. After reading this story, it hit my heart in a whole new way...Plot: The plot is what it is. A young girl with terminal cancer, going through her bucket list. She enlists the help of her friend to help her succeed in all of the things she wants to do. She also meets a new boy who influences her life more that what she thought. She finds love in the mist of her battle making it even harder to fight.Love: As much as I adore love, finding love right before you die has got to suck. I mean, you can't even enjoy it that much. I cried in parts where she was sad that she will never be able to do the things he is going to do. Go to college, parties, stay up all night, make new friends. She longed for a chance to have that life. And because of cancer, all of that is lost to her. Still, she found love and held on to it. She used it to help her fight her battle till her very last breath. And this boy that she meets, is amazing. He stays by her side, even when she doesn't want him to see her. A true blessing of love and friendship.Friends: Aside from the love, I'm very disappointed in her choice of friends. I mean, what kind of friend tells her friend off when she is dying! Seriously, I would drop that friend like a bad habit. This friend was rude, inconsiderate and always thinking about herself. She never once imagined what it would be like in Tessa's shoes but instead just gave her crap. As you can imagine, I wanted to slap this chick upside her face good.Family: I'm very happy that even though the mom wasn't in the picture the dad was. This dad is amazing. He stood by his daughter during all the test, results and man, did I cry like a baby. As a parent when you hear words about your child and words that are hurtful, god...I can't even imagine going through that. Knowing that your child is going to die. That there is nothing you can do other than sit back and watch your child wither away. This father, deserves an award. He never once cried, he stood strong and hoovered over his child like a parent should do.This is an awesome story. A tear-jerker that will leave no eye dry, Before I Die is a ultimate example that life is not fair. A vivid and painful story, Before I Die is great.
    • 2/5
      Audiobook narrated by Charlotte Perry

      Sixteen-year-old Tessa Scott has leukemia, and a bucket list of things she wants to do before she dies. Number one on this list is have sex. But getting what you want isn’t always easy, and what you want may not be what you need.

      Okay .. this is young adult fiction and following in the footsteps of other writers who have dealt with this tragic situation. I had a hard time reconciling the seriousness of her illness with her obsession with behaving badly. Still, there were times when the relationship with Adam was very sweet, and I thought Downham did a decent job of writing the final scene. I can see where it would be popular with the intended YA audience, but it didn’t do much for me. I found it maudlin and emotionally manipulative.

      Charlotte Perry performs the audio version well. She has good pacing and uses different voices for the various characters, so it is easy to follow the action.
    • 5/5
      I adored Before I Die from start to finish. It was a very quick read, but very worthwhile. I cried, I laughed and I stared in awe. It's a roller coaster of a read, but it was amazing. Definitely made me think about life.
    • 4/5
      I had a journey of mixed emotions whilst reading this book. At first, i'm annoyed at Tessa because she's treating the people around her like shit and like she don't care about what they think but then i completely understand why. I think if i were in her place, I'd do the things she did. I'd make a list too of the stuff I want to do before i die. It's nicely written. It's like it's an actual teenager who is writing the book. Overall: I liked it.
    • 3/5
      I couldn't relate to the main character when she went off in random thoughts but I did like the way that her father's character was portrayed. The ending was very poignant.
    • 4/5
      A very powerful novel about a girl with cancer who has a list of "wild" things she wants to do before she dies. Dealing with the reality of death and new experiences is depicted by the perspective of a girl who doesnt have long to live, but has alot of life in her, and the way the novel is set out in first person helps the reader get a closer insight into the life of a girl struggling to stay positive. This book will definitely help you appreciate life much more and although it is aimed at young adults, I recommend this book to anyone who wants a real story that isnt sugarcoated and tells it as it is.
    • 4/5
      Wow, what a powerful novel. Although aimed at YA it is a read for everyone. How can one so young come to terms with their mortality and what do you write on your list of things to do. 'Bucket' lists are in fashion for the living and dying. The difference being that if you are on a short life sentence then you can pretty much put anything on that list and follow it through! How does a parent cope or come to terms with losing a child? The worry and fear that the child will make themselves worse, shorten their time on earth. The strain of being a carer, the fear of afterwards etc. What about the friends and siblings? Youngsters themselves, how do they deal with this. Run away and hide, not be there for the sufferer, pretend it isn't happening and carry on as normal? This book will make you smile, it will make you weep, laugh, cry. Keep the box of tissues to hand.
    • 4/5
      Tessa, a 16 year old, is dying of cancer. She knows it and she isn't upset. Before she goes she wants to complete a list of 10 things, most of which are illegal and dangerous. Her friend, Zoey, is forced into staying by her side every check on the list. As the book goes on, Tessa does exactly what she was set on NOT doing-falling in love. Adam is set on also staying with her for eternity however, they both know that could only last a few more months. This book is incredibly heartbreaking and actually brought me to tears by the end.
    • 4/5
      We all will face the inevitability of death, it is our destiny. This book explores what it is like to gradually die while living. Diagnosed with leukemia at 12, Tessa lived with the certainty that her life would wind down and halt long before she had the chance to fully experience the normal transitions of a teen aged child.The book begins at the final months of Tessa's life when she writes a list of things she wants to experience before she dies. Sex, drugs, dancing and driving are but a few items on the list.Some may say it selfish and out of control, but Tessa longs to be free of the controls that her illness impose.What she did not anticipate was love. When she begins a friendship with a neighbor, her remaining days hold more meaning.Reviews are mixed on this book. Many did not care for it. I do.It is well written. It is not melodramatic. The author did not resort to trite, overused, silly phrases. Written in a factual manner, Tessa experiences a gamut of emotions when the sands are rapidly falling through the hour glass of time.
    • 5/5
      I love how this book manipulates your motions and near the end you actually begin to experience denial.