Dealing frankly with teenage life, Before I Die will be the year's most talked-about novel . . . Novels for young teenagers do not usually feature drugs and casual sex within the first 20-odd pages. But most books for teenagers will not leave an adult reader's eyes so blurry with tears that it's hard to see the final chapters. Jenny Downham's extraordinary first novel does both

Downham's prose is brave and bare, her characters relentlessly realistic

Destined to drive hundreds of thousands of readers to tears and to swift injunctions to all their friends to read it

A novel that won't fail to touch those who read it, and despite the melancholy subject matter it manages to be hugely life-affirming. A book that will make you happy to be alive. 5 stars

A work of great humanity and profound empathy. I defy anyone not to cry reading this book

This is an affecting and brave novel. Tessa is such a rich character . . . For everyone, it is a reminder to value the people that matter, seize the moment, wish with courage, adventure with relish, even if it's just a trip to the swimming pool, drinking hot chocolate or driving down a dual carriageway in the rain

Before I Die is so real, so sad, so true - and I so wish I'd written it myself

Beautifully written tale

Tough but tender, angry rather than resigned, Tessa is an appealing heroine whose company is never less than bracing

This is an oddly uplifting novel. It's about love and friendship and family. It deals with death, but it's a hymn to life

Moving and extremely affecting . . . Whilst the story of a young girl with terminal leukaemia may not be the easiest of subject matters, the uplifting and perceptive way in which it is written made this a joy to read

Linguistic quirks and references to popular culture place this book at the heart of the world currently inhabited by teenagers and its frank, and at times almost nonchalant, discussion of crime, sex and death assures that it does not preach or patronise. This truly is an extraordinary debut novel

Incredibly life-affirming

The novel is a revelation . . . infused with a biting, refreshing irreverence . . . Its profound and stirring, its well crafted, you won't be able to get it out of your head for weeks . . . an unforgettable novel

It's beautifully, lyrically written with a penetrating awareness that flows from the book right into the reader. Downham doesn't shy away from a single taboo . . . Jenny Downham has written about a life that burned brightly and in doing so, given us the life-affirming impulse to make ours burn brightly too

A hugely life affirming story. It tells of the simple, everyday things that can bring such joy, pleasure and humour to the experience of living, as well as the anger, frustration and deep sadness that may be felt. Without wanting to sound clichéd, it reminded me that the one certain thing in life is death and that I should make the most of every minute

It is the most amazing book I have read for a very long time. Even editors can be moved - and BEFORE I DIE surely did it to me. The voice of this girl is brilliant, the story so well written, I could not stop reading - knowing that there is no happy ending, knowing that only a slow read will give Tessa more time to live...A perfect book about the meaning of life

I just want to express my thoughts on this book. You told me yesterday that I needed tissues and you were right. In general I do not weep while reading books .... Young adolescents might recognize Tess's last wishes, sex, love, drugs etc., but older readers will be blown away by the story, by her father, her courage etc. ...the first-person narrative is brilliant and proves for me she is a literary writer with a longer career than this novel

I want to tell you again how happy and proud I am to publish this very original, and well crafted novel, the first work by a talented writer bound to join the literary circle of the greatest

It's sad, but funny too and ultimately heart-warming. It makes you realise just how precious life is.

How she and those around her cope with living and dying is beautifully and movingly described in this stunning debut novel

...an uplifting experience

Jenny Downham has created a truly remarkable book that sparkles with a zest for life and is heartbreaking in it's deepest sense. It is written with an immediacy and urgency that pulses with energy and poetic intensity

This is a marvellous novel for teens, but just as much of a tear jerker for adults too.

Ultimately the book is life-affirming and uplifting.

Before I Die manages to avoid sentimentality whilst remaining desperately sad and is guarenteed to leave you reading the last few pages through eyes full of tears

An affecting and brave novel. Tessa is such a rich character.

It fills you with the urge to live every moment as if it were your last

What could easily have been a teenage teer jerker is a moving and heart-wrenching story that will have you pleading for a miracle of Hollywood proportions.

Incredibly inspiring, uplifting and life-affirming.

Emotional and painful but also really beautiful

An honest and open account of a subject matter that’s not easy to talk about, it’s heart-wrenching and thought-provoking, yet beautiful and uplifting too. Its ending is truly breathtaking.