By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead in Pick-a-Shelf

Mar 03, 2010 Erin Ashley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: suicide, death, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I find it very hard to give a book about suicide a 5 star rating, it just doesn't feel right to do it. But this book was amazing. It had its moments where Daelyn annoyed the hell out of me because of the way she thought things through but I couldn't help but feel sorry and sad for her for the way that she had been treated her whole life. Sometimes it was hard not to agree with the things that Daelyn thought and contemplated, it made you feel her sense of worthlessness and through that you shared I find it very hard to give a book about suicide a 5 star rating, it just doesn't feel right to do it. But this book was amazing. It had its moments where Daelyn annoyed the hell out of me because of the way she thought things through but I couldn't help but feel sorry and sad for her for the way that she had been treated her whole life. Sometimes it was hard not to agree with the things that Daelyn thought and contemplated, it made you feel her sense of worthlessness and through that you shared her pain. I hate the thoughts that go through a suicidal persons head when if they opened up and let someone special in to talk, it could all be sorted out and they could be on the way to recovery. But I guess I might have to eat my words because when Daelyn did try to open up to her parents and counsellors she always got told she was in the wrong or got told to shove it off. There is only so many times where you can shove something off before it doesn't budge anymore, this is what happened to Daelyn. I felt terrible reading this book and knowing that there was nothing I could do to help Daelyn, because she isn't a fictional character, there are people like her all over the world, who 'complete' themselves everyday. I do believe that everyone should have the right to end their life if they choose to, but they should understand what the consequences are for everything they leave behind and everything they will never know or get to experience. For Daelyn she felt so worthless and outcasted from life that she tried more than once to end herself and I think that her failures should have been her warning that what she was trying to do wasn't the answer she was looking for, it was just a way out of something that she might have been able to overcome, and by the end of the book she was beginning to stand up for herself and for others. I honestly don't know if she completed herself or not, the book kind of left itself open, not for a sequel obviously, but it left it open to the readers imagination. I personally like to think that she completed her failed journey into suicide and tried to embrace life with the help of her new friend Emily and her possible boyfriend Santana, who I honestly found so inspiring and full of life for someone who was on deaths door. I did like the idea of through-the-light.com. It was a great concept and I believe a useful tool for those who are thinking of suicide, I'm glad it doesn't exist in real life but for the purpose of this book it really worked. I think that the site could be seen two different ways, one, a site to help a person on their completion or two, a site to realise that they aren't alone in their choices and that maybe they might be better off than some of the others on the site that talk about their own problems. I think I could honestly talk about this book forever, I loved every moment of it. I don't know if it should be recommended for those who are suicidal, but it certainly should be read in schools and discussed in a classroom. It is an amazing piece of work and Julie Anne Peters brought light to a hard topic. A definite read. ...more

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Apr 03, 2010 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Daelyn's in high school and she wants to die. And she's had suicidal thoughts since she was ten years old. She has always been the fat kid that was bullied by all the people around her. And to make it worse, her parents don't seem to understand. Right now, she is no longer fat (but she still feels fat) because of her last attempt at suicide. The last try left her in a neck brace and unable to talk. Oh, she also has to blend up her food so she can "eat".

This time, Daelyn wants to end her life rig Daelyn's in high school and she wants to die. And she's had suicidal thoughts since she was ten years old. She has always been the fat kid that was bullied by all the people around her. And to make it worse, her parents don't seem to understand. Right now, she is no longer fat (but she still feels fat) because of her last attempt at suicide. The last try left her in a neck brace and unable to talk. Oh, she also has to blend up her food so she can "eat".

This time, Daelyn wants to end her life right. She doesn't want to have another failed attempt. She happens to find a website called Through the Light. Here she picks the date that will be her last day on Earth and spends her time writing on the message boards about all the bullying she has endured.

Daelyn spends her last few weeks on Earth planning her distancing from classes and parents. But then she meets this boy that is persistent on hanging out with her. He just sits on the bench when she gets out of school. Daelyn wants to avoid Santana, but at the same time is curious about him. And boy is this wrong timing for her since her last day is almost planned out or is it good timing?

Will Daelyn follow the light???

Wow, this book was a good read. I'll admit, there were times when it was hard to read, but never the less, a good book. Daelyn is so deeply hurt and possibly damaged that I didn't know what to expect in the end for her. I wanted so bad for Santana to be the person that saves her because as much as I wanted the parents to wake up and realize their daughter is drowning, they seemed like the total clueless parental figures.

I definitely recommend this book to the mature young adults in high school and college. I would love for the high school students to read this because of the subject dealing with school bullies. These days, bullying is becoming more common because of the usage of the Internet and cell phones. Rumors and mean acts are more easily spread and this book really shows the affects that it has on the person receiving the bullying. I believe parents, teachers, and counselors should take interest in this book and discuss it with their students when they see one reading it. This book can lead to many informative discussions and can possibly help those victims of bullies and teach everyone to not tolerate bullying. ...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Susan rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fiction

Kudos to Peters for tackling such a difficult and misunderstood subject.

But, in a way that I can't quite put my finger on, I didn't feel she did a successful job of it. Perhaps, in trying to make her case, she made it so extreme that it comes off as unbelievable. No-one ever, Daelyn's her life before now, peer or adult, ever treated her with respect or common decency? Every teacher looked the other way? Really?

The reason this bothers me is that bullying in our schools has reached crisis propo ...more

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Mar 04, 2010 Katey rated it really liked it

I've never really read a book on suicide before but I did like reading this book, as morbid as the title is.
It was beautifully written and I really felt for all the characters, except for the bullies of course.

To me, the ending was left for the readers imagination and I'd like to think that by getting rid of the last of her things and "heading into the light" that Daelyn actually decided to start fresh and live her life instead of ending it. However the title does state that "by the time you re ...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Kathy rated it liked it

Shelves: teen

This novel gave some good insight into bullying and the toll it takes on the person being bullied. I was a bit aggravated by the open-to-interpretation ending, but I understand its purpose.

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