Before I Die is a superb YA debut from British author Jenny Denham. I really didn’t expect to like this book. Stories of beautiful, poetic teens dying young is a staple in novels and movies. Let’s not forget Ali MacGraw in Love Story or the absolutely excruciating Here on Earth with Leelee Sobieski. And it’s always leukemia, which fiction would have us believe is a beautiful and heroic death. Those afflicted still look stunning or sound soulful and selfless during their final hours. They’ve accepted their fate and are more worried about the feelings of everyone around them.

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