Before I Die Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2008, of the ALA Best Books for Young Adults Top 10, et al. and shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

Review, NYTBR , October 14, 2007:
"This may sound too depressing for words, but it is only one indication of the inspired originality of Before I Die , by Jenny Downham, that the reader can finish its last pages feeling thrillingly alive ... I don't care how old you are. This book will not leave you."
-John Burnham Schwartz

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews , September 1, 2007
"Lucid language makes a painful journey bearable, beautiful and transcendent."

Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly , August 6, 2007
"The eloquent dying teen can seem a staple of the YA novel, but this British debut completely breaks the mold. Downham holds nothing back in her wrenching and exceptionally vibrant story."

Review, Entertainment Weekly , September 21, 2007
"Bound For Glory: This fall, five young authors deliver breakout books packed with razor-sharp writing."

Review, Entertainment Weekly , September 28, 2007
"In luminous prose that rings completely true, Downham earns every tear she wrings from her readers. I trust there will be many of them-many readers, and of course, many tears. A- "

From the Hardcover edition.