A Five Star Read (Before I Die - Jenny Downham)

Member Name: blonde_girl774

Product:	Before I Die - Jenny Downham
Date:	16/09/09 (177 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliantly written & A truly moving story.

Disadvantages: Nothing.

I recently was lucky enough to escape to Tunisia for a lovely week of very much needed sunshine after our rather dismal attempt at a summer. Now if there's one thing I like to do on holiday more than sun bathing it's sun bathing while reading, on average I've been known to go through nearly a book a day on holiday. As I left it rather late to get myself organised for this holiday I had only a couple of days to stock up on all my holiday essentials, including books. While browsing on Amazon for books I came across one called "Before I Die" by Jenny Downham, it was recommended by people who had read the same books as me in the past so I quickly requested it from my local library as it certainly sounded like something I would enjoy.

Jenny Downham is not an author I was familiar with prior to reading this book, however a little investigation has since led me to discover she's a British born actress who has more recently turned her hand to writing.
The novel "Before I Die" is her only novel to date and was released in hardback in the UK in July 2007 and later in paperback in April 2008. The novel actually took her over two years to write from the point of conception through to completion. It has been nominated for various prizes including being shortlisted for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Book of the Year Award. In 2008 it won the Branford Boase Award which is specifically for a first time author. It's also been translated into numerous languages.

The Plot

The book follows the story of Tessa, a sixteen year old teenager who is very sadly dying from leukaemia. Right from the start, as the title would suggest, the reader is told her cancer is terminal and so the novel follows her through the last year of her life, as she struggles to come to terms with her impending death and all the happenings within her family, with her friends and with her love life too. The occurrences she comments on are typical of those a sixteen year old girl would talk about, but each one is seen from the perspective of a young girl that knows she is dying. We first meet Tessa during the summer months and follow her tale right through until the end which occurs in the spring of the following year.

My Opinion

My first thought when I picked up this novel following reading a little about it was that it was aimed at teenagers rather than the adult market. However don't let this stop you from reading it as I can honestly say, despite the rather negative and upsetting subject matter, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It really can be accessed by all ages, from teenagers right through to adults as it's sure to pull on the heart strings of all. I very rarely come across a book that I think both my family and friends would enjoy yet here is one book that I challenge you to dislike. It's such a heart wrenching tale that it would be almost impossible not to be affected in some way by the upsetting subject material regardless of your age or sex.

The second thing that put me off was that it would be a book full of self pity and upset, however this was not what I found at all. It was so refreshing and warming to read and to look at how Tessa looked on the bright side of life and all she wanted to accomplish before her death. The one thing that struck me right from the start was that Tessa didn't seem to dwell on her impending death, it was clear that she was aware of it and wasn't living in some sort of ignorance, yet she very rarely thought of it and she certainly didn't sit and mope about for days on end. I couldn't even begin to imagine how such an illness must make you feel but looking at it from Tessa's point of view really shook me up and made me think about how awful it must be.

The character of Tessa is a rather complex one, although she seems quite defiant and outspoken on the surface it soon becomes clear that there is far more to her than that alone. After reading the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure about her at all as she does do some rather selfish things that don't really take into account her family's feelings; however these are almost a cry for help in some senses and a last attempt to enjoy her life. As I read on further each chapter seemed to reveal a new impression or quality of her that really did make me empathise with her and feel sorrow for her situation. She showed all sorts of qualities that amazed me including bravery, compassion, being thoughtful towards others and determination too.

The book is written in such a way that the writing is really easy to read with chapters varying from under a page to about ten pages long. I managed to read this book in a day as despite it being 336 pages long the majority of them had a fair bit of blank space on them. The book covered quite a large period of time and although certain events were focused on in great detail such as her meetings with the boy next door Adam while at other times quite large portions of time were simply skipped over. This meant that the pace was kept up throughout the entire book making it feel like time was passing quite quickly indeed. All the important events seemed to be covered and I never felt anything was missing at all while reading the book.

The whole novel is written from the viewpoint of Tessa in the first person. This has its advantages as it means we get to know Tessa well but at times when I could tell her Father was frustrated and upset at his inability to change her circumstances I think it would have been nice to hear from him as well and perhaps other people too. Other characters that featured were her continuously disappearing Mum, her younger brother, her best friend who seemed rather self centred and selfish and the boy next door Adam. However the star of the novel is clearly Tessa who was strong throughout the novel, even at the very end she held onto her dignity. I can guarantee that by the middle of the novel you'll be wishing the ending could change.

The main focus of the novel was the list that Tessa continued to write on her bedroom wall throughout the book. This list consisted of things she wanted to accomplish before she died which seems like both a brave and practical thing to do as she wanted to make sure she left as few regrets as possible. The list consisted of some rather bold statements including commit a crime, fall in love and fix her family... quite typical things for most teenagers of the same age although some were a little different and even made me laugh. This not only gave a purpose to her life but also a focus for the author while writing the book and through the list we discover more about Tessa and her family. It even added several moments of comedy to the novel!

The end of the book was upsetting and it's something I read several times to fully appreciate it. The author tells you what happens at the end from the start of the book so don't feel that I'm spoiling the ending for any of you as it's even told you to you specifically in the title! I've never really thought about death or how it must feel to be slipping in and out of consciousness but Downham manages to capture the essence of it excellently. It's a really raw read at the end which is both moving and upsetting, as you read the book you'll find yourself almost willing Tessa to recover and indeed this is almost speared on by the fact she makes very few references to her death. The ending is brilliantly written and will leave you feeling quite hollow.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: The first novel from Jenny Downham about a teenager with a terminal illness.