FIRST IMPRESSION: The story has a very strong voice and even though all my friends said they cried when they read it, I wasn't going to. I knew what to expect. It was going to be okay. THE PLOT: We've all heard it before: dying person has a bucket list. But the way Downham goes about the list is so ... painfully beautiful that you forget about all the other stories out there. Tessa's tale is so engaging, so enduring, that it's ridiculously hard to put the book down and even harder to stop thinking about once you're done. THE CHARACTERS: TESSA the main character is so unique, so conflicted, so amazing that I fell in love with her myself. She faces such a difficult fate and goes through so many emotional situations, but she still keeps moving forward. I loved how she obsessed over numbers -- counting days, things she saw, numbering her list, it was all so interesting. ZOEY is the best friend, and I love her, too. My feelings for her were like a roller coster, one minute they were high in an 'I-totally-love-this-girl' way and then the next they were shooting down in an 'I-hate-her-so-much' fashion. ADAM is the love interest, and a very special one at that. He has his own hard time dealing with his life, but he still can't keep away from Tessa, even though he knows it can't end well. Through the story, I grew to love him. CAL is the little brother. Conflicted, adorable, and a magic lover -- what's not to like? The characters were what really made the story a tragedy. Even though I knew it couldn't end well, I couldn't help but love each of them. Which really just made it harder in the end. THE ROMANCE: I loved this part of the story. How unexpected it was for them. I've mentioned before that I'm a sucker for star crossed lovers, and you really can't get any more star crossed then a dying girl and a healthy boy. There was real tension in this subplot, real emotions, and really beautiful moments. THE WRITING The writing is amazing. Downham really paints a vivid picture of life for Tessa and doesn't shy away from the gritty and horrible parts of her sickness. She focuses on everything around Tessa, bugs, birds, weird extra, little, things you'd never really think about and it just makes it all so real. The end of the book is where her talent really shines. The way she captures Tessa's declining health is perfect. I wasn't able to stop reading. Usually, near the end of the book, I'll glance at the page number a lot to know how many pages are left. That way I can sort of gage what will happen next (this subplot will be wrapping up, this question should be answered soon, etc) but with this book I wasn't. I just focused on the words, turning the page, and hoping it wouldn't end. CONCLUSION: I cried. By around page 280, there were tears in my eyes. They stayed until the end. I feel a burn in my eyes when I think about the book. I can honestly only think of one other book that made me cry (LOVELY BONES) and it was just a few tears. This book ... there were a lot more than just a few.

This book left me tingling. It was so deep and really made you think about death and it's affect on people. I've never read a book quite like this before and I would suggest it to anyone.

I really enjoyed this book and it made me realize how in the end, it's always the small things that we take for granted. The only part I didn't enjoy was the slang because I didn't understand all of it. Overall, I found it to be really good! :)

It started slow, and was very hard for me to get into at first. However, it did pick up and turned out to be a pretty good book. I've read a lot of comments where people are judging it based on her list. But you have to keep in mind that she's only a kid. I'm sure at that age your list would probably be similar, because those are the things you think about at that age. If you were dying you'd be acting out too.

i thought the book was OK :)

This book was far from what I expected it to be about, i could tell just from the first few pages that i read....not what I expected at all, to be honest it was fairly disappointing...

didnt really like this book i just stopped in the middle

This book disappointed me. I was expecting it to be very emotional and good, but it wasn't. I didn't like/relate to any of the characters, it was incredibly boring, and not a very original idea. My Sister's Keeper (the movie) was better if you want this kind of story. I got to page 164 before I gave up on it. I also found Tessa's list to be very stupid and shallow.

This book was a really sad book. It made me want to donate a lot of money to kids with illnesses. I also cried alot. Also I read at night so when i wake up I always get puffy eyes XD. Also the slang terms are funny.

This book is depressing! But very well written. I know that it would never be a happy ending while I was reading the book. But they did everything they can so that she can be happy in her remaining hours of life. I feel so sad for Adam, maybe its his first time of loving then God took it away from him. Well I guess that's how destiny works from love. All in all, a very wonderful book as well as the author :)