Before I Die by Jenny Downham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Before I Die surprised me. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I think that it was less romantic than I expected. Downham wrote beautifully, and the novel was a quick read. However, the main character surprised me and, overall the novel balanced the bitter and sweet incredibly well.
In my opinion, Tessa is not the average young adult lit. girl. A lot of this stems from the fact that she is terminally ill. Not that many people are close to her and even her closest friend seems detached and almost unlikeable at times. Tessa, too, was sometimes hard to deal with. I think Downham crafted these relationships excellently considering the toll that cancer takes on the patients and their families. I really appreciate the careful way each of the characters developed and dealt with Tessa’s illness.
As far as this novel being a reflection on what it means to be alive, it fell a little short for me. Tessa’s thoughts and feelings on life were well written and the ending was hauntingly beautiful, but her cynicism sometimes overpowered the emotion vitaliy of other parts of the novel.
All that being said, the novel portrays the human struggle of mortality very well. I enjoyed it, and there were so many lines that I want to go back and highlight. I think most young adult lit. fans will enjoy Before I Die.