Gardening Sale!
 
 

Special Offers see all

Enter to WIN!

Weekly drawing for $100 credit. Subscribe to our Specials newsletter for a chance to win.
Privacy Policy

More at Powell's

Recently Viewed clear list

Original Essays | May 3, 2013

Emily St. John Mandel: IMG The Festivals

2 comments By Emily St. John Mandel

When it happens, it feels like winning the lottery. An email arrives out of the blue, from one of my publishers or a festival director or a member... Continue »
  1. $11.20 Sale Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Lola Quartet

    Emily St. John Mandel 9781609530990
spacer
Ships free on qualified orders.
$8.95
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
2 Burnside Children's Young Adult- General

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

by

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead Cover

ISBN13: 9781423116189
ISBN10: 1423116186
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

Only 2 left in stock at $8.95!

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she's determined to get her death right.  She starts visiting a website for "completers"-- www.through-the-light .com. 

While she's on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten.  When she's not on the Web, Daelyn's at her private school, where she's known as the freak who doesn't talk.

Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she's waiting to for her parents to pick her up.  Even though she's made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won't give up.  And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life...isn't it?

National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.  

 

Review:

"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 (Luna) doesn't pull any punches (Through-the-Light details various suicide methods, each with an effectiveness rating, and the users' stories are painfully real). Readers may find some plotting heavy-handed (such as Daelyn's growing friendship with a boy who really wants to live), but even so, this book and its open-ended conclusion will challenge teens to think about the impact of bullying — including cyberbullying — and Through-the-Light's controversial stance that 'self-termination is your right.' Ages 14 — up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. In a harrowing story, a National Book Award finalist shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.

Synopsis:

After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. Though her parents think they can protect her, she finds a Web site for “completers” that seems made just for her. She blogs on its forums, purging her harrowing history. At her private Catholic school, the only person who interacts with her is a boy named Santana. No matter how poorly she treats him, he just wont leave her alone. And its too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life . . . isnt it?

In this harrowing, compelling novel, Julie Anne Peters shines a light on what might make a teenager want to kill herself, as well as how she might start to bring herself back from the edge. A discussion guide and resource list prepared by “bullycide” expert C. J. Bott are included in the back matter.

back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
irisheyz_5, February 18, 2010 (view all comments by irisheyz_5)
By the You Read This I'll be Gone by Julie Anne Peters is one of those books in which I've heard nothing but good things. So it was one that I put on my wishlist and when I saw that it was out in stores I rushed out to buy it. So I had high hopes that this would be another Thirteen Reasons Why, sadly though that was not the case. Oh the story was absorbing enough and I did breeze through it quickly but I just found it hard to care about Daelyn. She was a very unsympathetic character. She lacks depth and you really don't learn much about why she has decided that suicide is her only option. As a reader you get these little snippets but all you really know about her is that she's tried to commit suicide several times the most recent attempt leaving her unable to talk, after each attempt her parents put her in a new school and that she's joined a website to help people complete the act of suicide.

This website gives her a deadline in which she must figure out a way to successfully die and she is ready for it. That is until things in her life slowly start to change, first there is this boy who lives near her school who decides he wants to be her friend and won't take no for an answer. And the fact that Daelyn can't speak doesn't seem to deter him in the least. Then there is a girl in her choir that she slowly starts to become friends with. Suddenly things aren't as clear cut as before and her carefully laid suicide plans may not be the best course of action after all. Only you never really learn much about her thoughts or her choice. As I said before the book is short and its very two dimensional. There is a lot of ambiguity to the story that leaves the reader feeling unsatisfied.

I have no problem coming up with my own ending for a story but usually in those cases you learn enough about the main character in order to think that you know where he or she might end up. But in By the Time you Read This, you don't have that same connection to Daelyn. There is no closeness and no knowing what she might do. Daelyn is a very private and closed off person both to the people in her world and to readers. Which is odd since the story is told in first person and as a reader you are in her head. This story left me unsatisfied and just goes to show you that not all books live up to the hype that surround them.

As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
report this comment
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9781423116189
Author:
Peters, Julie Anne
Publisher:
Hyperion
Author:
Hopkinson, Deborah
Author:
Ford, Ag
Subject:
Suicide
Subject:
Emotional problems
Subject:
Social Issues - Suicide
Subject:
Situations / Emotions & Feelings
Subject:
Political
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Suicide
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction
Copyright:
2010
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Publication Date:
20100105
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
from PreS to 2
Language:
English
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.5 in 13.2 oz
Age Level:
from 18
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. Cracked Up to Be
    Used Trade Paper $4.95
  2. Get Well Soon
    Sale Trade Paper $4.98
  3. The Rules of Survival
    Used Trade Paper $5.50
  4. Pretty Little Liars #07: Heartless
    Used Hardcover $7.95
  5. WTF Used Trade Paper $5.50
back to top

Related Subjects


Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Bullying
Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Suicide
Young Adult » General

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$8.95 In Stock
Product details 224 pages Hyperion Books - English 9781423116189 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "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 (Luna) doesn't pull any punches (Through-the-Light details various suicide methods, each with an effectiveness rating, and the users' stories are painfully real). Readers may find some plotting heavy-handed (such as Daelyn's growing friendship with a boy who really wants to live), but even so, this book and its open-ended conclusion will challenge teens to think about the impact of bullying — including cyberbullying — and Through-the-Light's controversial stance that 'self-termination is your right.' Ages 14 — up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. In a harrowing story, a National Book Award finalist shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.
"Synopsis" by , After a lifetime of being bullied, Daelyn is broken beyond repair. She has tried to kill herself before, and is determined to get it right this time. Though her parents think they can protect her, she finds a Web site for “completers” that seems made just for her. She blogs on its forums, purging her harrowing history. At her private Catholic school, the only person who interacts with her is a boy named Santana. No matter how poorly she treats him, he just wont leave her alone. And its too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life . . . isnt it?

In this harrowing, compelling novel, Julie Anne Peters shines a light on what might make a teenager want to kill herself, as well as how she might start to bring herself back from the edge. A discussion guide and resource list prepared by “bullycide” expert C. J. Bott are included in the back matter.
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...




Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.