Before I Die by Jenny Downham

The plot
A sixteen-year-old girl dying of cancer makes a list of things she would like to do before she dies, and does them.

What I liked
It made me cry -- books never make me cry.

I loved the relationship between Tessa and her brother -- she is by turns irritated and overwhelmed with love for him.

I liked how selfish she was -- no saintly invalid. It was fascinating to see how she views the affect she has on her father, and while she accepts that she is driving him up the wall, continues to do what she wants to do.

I liked the contrasts between Tessa the little girl and Tessa the woman in her.

What I learnt
Because she is not going to live long, things that might seem self-destructive in a normal teenager don't have to be dealt with on a moral level. A quick web search turned up no-one with a bad word to say about her behaviour -- one person remarked that the sex and drugs content would keep it off school reading lists. It would create an interesting discussion point: Is it OK for Tess to do these things? Why? Why is it not OK for me to do these things.

A dying character can be selfish without being unlikeable -- or at least, the reader can understand why they are doing it, and I suppose forgive them.