Now is Good (Also published as Before I Die)

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

Dinah Hall, Sunday Telegraph

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

Daily Express

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

Guardian

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

Jacqueline Wilson

Beautifully written tale

The Bookseller

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

Nicholas Tucker, Independent

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

Irish Times

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

Becky Stradwick, Publishing News

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

Writeaway.org

Incredibly life-affirming

lovereading4kids.co.uk

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

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (blog)

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

thebookbag.co.uk

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

Sarah McCulloch, BBC Five Live, Book of the Month reader review

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

Christian Rohr, Bertelsmann

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

Martijn David, Mouria, Netherlands

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

Sylvie Audoly, Plon, France

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

Newcastle Upon Tyne Evening Chronicle

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

Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian

...an uplifting experience

Shami Chakrabarti, The Times

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

Benjamin Scott, Eastern Daily Press

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

Independent on Sunday

Ultimately the book is life-affirming and uplifting.

JUNO

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

York News and Times

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

Guardian

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

Now

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.

The Independent

Incredibly inspiring, uplifting and life-affirming.

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