I see that Jenny Downham's novel Before I Die has been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction award. We were offered a copy of this novel for review several months ago and I politely declined it--I have zero interest in reading a story about a sixteen-year-old girl "racing to achieve her dreams before she dies of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia", no matter how many glowing reviews it received. However, I realize that many people do not require a happy ending from their entertainment (zillions of people went to see Titanic, didn't they?), so if this is the kind of thing you enjoy, keep an eye out for it at your local bookshop.

Labels: Death, despair, destruction, etc.