Final Post

Throughout the book Before I Die many conflicts occurred. By the end of the book the conflicts were resolved. There were some points in the book were I thought something was going to happen a certain way but then the storyline would be completely different. Most of the time what ended up happening made more sense with the storyline. I believe that the storyline was realistic because you could visualize a person laying in a hospital bedroom with all their loved ones around them, trying to hold on, but then they just couldn't hold on any longer and would soon just let go, like Tessa did.

Overall, I think this book is great for teenagers to read. It has a good storyline and may give hope and strength to those who may have a friend or are suffering from a life threatening condition. Although no one would want to be in that situation this book gives a great sense of hope and joy but at the same time allows the reader to understand the hard and difficult times. This book is relevant to a teenager's life. Tessa suffered from Leukemia but she was still a sixteen year old girl who had wishes and dreams that she wanted to experience. I highly recommend this book and I really enjoyed reading it. If you are ever bored and find yourself inside chapters, this is a must read.

Blog #3

A situation in which Tessa is confronted with a problem is when she gets caught stealing from the grocery store. One of Tessa’s wishes was to break the law so Zoey convinced her to steal from the local grocery store. After shoving things into her pockets and sweater, she decides to pay for a couple of things but eventually the cashier noticed that she had shoplifted. Tessa than gets sent into the back and gets reviewed. The store security calls her dad to pick her up. The outcome wasn’t bad because it was her first offence so she was let go by law. Her dad didn’t punish her because he knows that it was part of the list so Tessa got it easy. I believe the outcome was positive because she didn’t get in trouble but negative because she got caught.

Do you think its right that she got let go because they knew about her Leukemia? Do you think your parents would ignore your crime if you were sick?

The main character in my novel is Tessa. Tessa is a sixteen yearold girl who is suffering with Lukemia, understanding that she is going to die, Tessa developes a list of things she wants to do before she dies. The list consists of a number of illegal tasks, which shows that she is a rebel in her own way. She is not afraid of the consequence because they are all things she dreams of doing before she dies. Although Tessa is a rebel I feel that she also has a very sensitive side to her personality. When Tessa finds out Zoey is pregnant she begins to worry more about her rather than herself. Also, she changes her wish of going on a trip, to her mom and dad getting back together which shows that she cares about others.

The main weakness I see in Tessa is that she doesn't think of the consequences her wishes have on her physically due to her illness. She often goes out and does things that weaken her immune system or drain her energy which than lead to her spending more time in the hospital.

Do you think that being diagnosed with Lukemia has influenced her personality? If you we're in her situation, would you due things you knew were wrong anyways?

Before I Die is a novel written by Jenny Downham. This novel is about a sixteen year-old girl named Tessa who has had a terminal case of Leukemia for four years. Tessa lives with her father and little brother Cal. She has a hard time with the fact that she is going to die and doesn't attend school. She develops a list of things she wants to do before she dies. Her friend Zoey helps her accomplish it, the first thing on her list is to have sex, which she does after Zoey forces her to a night at a club and after to a guys house. The next thing on her list was to have a day where she had to say "yes" to everything. As she looks out her window she realizes that her neighbour had a fire going and she decided she wanted to burn all her childhood memories. After going out she introduces herself and meets Adam. Adam helps her accomplish the next thing on her list which was to try drugs. The book also allows us to learn about her hospital visits and about how little she sees her mom.

The initial problem that Tessa goes through is being able to go beyond her comfort level and begin to do the things on her list. She hides this list from her dad because she knows that most of the things on the list will make her dad upset. The author keeps me interested in the book because she gives a lot of detail.Just as I think Tessa is no longer going to continue doing the things on her list, she's out of her bed and accomplishing the next thing.

Q: Do you think that having the list of things she wants to do before she dies, is stopping her from fighting to survive?