Before I Die by Jenny Downham

I basically just chose this book because the cover and title caught my eye. I give this book a 9/10 because it is explores a world with emotions and a world that is realistic. 'Before I Die' will leave you with tears in your eyes towards the end of the story.

Tessa (the main character of the story) a 16 year old girl that has leukemia. With just months to live she creates a list of things that she would want to do before her time runs out. You would think that her list would be filled with things such as, 'driving, travelling and meeting a celebrity' instead she wants to accomplish things from 'losing her virginity', trying drugs, falling in love and getting her parents back together. With the help of her friend, Zoey, Tessa will use her time to check off her 'Before I Die' list . When she realizes that months start becoming weeks, she starts seeing the world differently and the things she thought was least important will become the most important thing to her. She makes a new friend, Adam which she falls in love with and she never thought that saying goodbye would be the hardest thing to do in her life. The love Adam and Tessa have for each other is amazing, because he knows she is going to die but he still loves her so much.

This book is an inspirational story that will have you wanting more even towards the end. It shows us that we take things for granted most of the time, its a wake up call to those that don't appreciate the life that they are living right now.

I would recommend this story to people who enjoy a bit of romance and basically to those that don't mind crying for 20 minutes .