By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead
Julie Anne Peters, . . Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (200pp) ISBN 978-1-4231-1618-9
After a few suicide attempts, the most recent of which left her unable to speak, teenage narrator Daelyn joins a Web site called Through-the-Light, which gives her 23 days to prepare for death. Although rules state that “[p]articipants may not attempt to dissuade or discourage self-termination,” the site does send provoking questions so she can think through her choice. Through Daelyn's rants in the site's forums and in her embittered internal narrative, readers will come to understand her struggles (from being molested in the boys' bathroom to being sent to fat camp) and see people trying to connect with her, including offbeat Santana, who is dealing with his own pain—cancer. Peters (
Reviewed on: 11/30/2009
Genre: Children's
Hardcover - 250 pages - 978-0-316-01545-5
Paperback - 240 pages - 978-1-4231-3021-5
Paperback - 250 pages - 978-0-316-01546-2
Prebound-Glued - 200 pages - 978-1-61383-220-2