Reviews

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters

caseycarnage's review against another edition

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3.0

SPOILER ALERT AT THE END! This was a great book... I gave it 3 stars because it was also a greatly disturbing book. I still can't get it out of my mind. It was so well written, from the point of view of a 15 year old girl that is struggling eternally. No one understands her and she just wants to die. After many failed attempts she is determined for this one to be a success. It hurts me that there are actual people, even very young children that feel this way and do kill them selves. I normally read paranormal books but this book was always calling out to me in the book store. It was a little too real for me... Scratch that.. It was way too real for me. I loved this book but I just hope someone that is thinking about suicide never reads it. That all being said, it is driving me mad that I really don't have a definite answer that she did kill her self in the end. I just hope Santana was able to talk her out of it. I loved his character by the way.

xestibalizx's review

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5.0

Daelyn Rice se quiere suicidar. No es algo que se nos oculte al principio del libro, ya que queda bien claro. Y al igual que Daelyn se quiere suicidar, lo intentó una vez. Una y otra y otra y otra vez. Todas las tardes, cuando Daelyn espera a su madre para que la lleve de vuelta a casa, se sienta en un banco con un chico. A medida que pasa el tiempo, ese chico la habla más y más. Pero a Daelyn no le gusta eso. El chico en cuestión se llama Santana. Y poco a poco, y sin que Daelyn quiera, se va haciendo parte importante de su vida.

Un día, navegando en la red se encuentra con A través de la luz, una página secreta para suicidas que te ayuda a elegir tu tipo de suicidio y cuenta con un foro para que te desahogues y dejes en el tus razones del suicidio. No lo duda dos veces. Se registra. Y entra en una espiral en la que jamás podrá salir.

Este no es un libro cualquiera, es EL libro. Como sabréis por mis muchas reseñas con puntuación máxima, los libros con temas realistas son mis preferidos. Sobre el suicidio solo había leído un par antes, Por trece razones. Y es mi preferido, pero en él nos cuentan la historia de una chica que ya se suicidó. En este nos cuentan el día a día de una suicida que va a volver a intentarlo, esta vez con altas expectativas de conseguirlo. Podemos leer cada pensamiento suicida de Daelyn, cada motivo, su historia completa, como se sintió. Y no es agradable leer como se consumía por dentro.

Volviendo al tema, A través de la luz no es un sitio en el que entras para animar a la gente a que no lo haga. Al contrario, les animas para que lo hagan. Son egoístas y egocéntricos. Solo piensan en sus motivos y en como hacerlo. Si animas a alguien a que no lo haga, eres baneado automáticamente. Y así, Daelyn pasa sus últimos días de vida en la red. Esperando en la cuenta regresiva para quitarse la vida.

Pero aparece Santana, ese chico hablador con aires de don Juan que pretende conquistarla y conocerla más a fondo. Y así, Santana va perforando el caparazón de Daelyn hasta ser parte de su vida. Pero ella no quiere. Ella está decidida a suicidarse y lo primero que tiene que hacer es dejar de tener cariño a la gente.

Los personajes en si me han parecido perfectos, aunque considero que Daelyn es demasiado pesimista y cabezota. Y la vida la ha educado muy desconfiada, algo normal al ser una suicida. Y por otro lado está Santana, que padece el síndrome de Hodking, y tiene riesgo de muerte. Pero si hay algo que caracteriza a Santana es su testarudez. No paró hasta que Daelyn habló con él. También tenemos a los padres de Daelyn, bastante controladores para mi gusto. Y Ariel, la madre de Santana que no me parecía buena individua para ejercer de madre de un niño con cáncer.

Lo que no me ha gustado es su final. Demasiado abierto. Con un gran interrogante. Demasiado para suponer.

Sin duda, un libro perfecto de pe a pa. Altamente recomendable.

arcanewolf's review

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3.0

I honestly thought this book would be another "mental illness romanticized" book, but I was wrong about that. The main character doesn't instantly get better just because she meets a boy. Which is more realistic in a way.

I did feel the book was a little bit too short though.

Good book to open your eyes about mental illness and teen suicide. It can be distressing if you are easily triggered, but it can really open your eyes and make you think.

lorilaws's review

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2.0

I had every intention of liking this book. I bought it with high hopes after reading great reviews. The blurb pulled me in. It sounded great. Unfortunately my love affair with this book didn't last very long.
This book is sad, depressing and a little irritating. I usually really like sad books. I usually even like disturbing books but no matter how hard I tried I could not like this book.

The story behind this book is that Daelyn has been bullied all her life. She has never fit in. Never had good friends and she never got any sympathy from the adults in her life. But to me, the bullying situations that were described in the book just didn't seem like enough. Enough to make Daelyn as miserable as she is. I know, who am I to say what is enough? It just seemed to me the author could have given us more back story or a stronger back story.

Also, that ending? Um....NO! I did not like. I honestly would have left this book unfinished if it weren't for two things. One, I wanted to know how it ended. Plain and simple. But instead of walking away from this book feeling satisfied, I walked away feeling zero closure. Needless to say I was a bit annoyed.
The second reason was, Santana. He was hands down the best thing about the book. Maybe the author should have left Daelyn out completely and just wrote a book about him.

aameem's review

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3.0

I hate how this story has no power over me anymore. A year ago, I would've been swept away by it, but now it just completely fails to move me.

jaelen's review

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4.0

Read this book in high school and I am writing this in my first year of Grad school, this book has stayed in my head since and I think everyone should read this once in their life. Even if it is haunting.

brideofchucky's review

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4.0

jesus.

zoesyo's review

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4.0

It was good but the ending I guess I'm confused. Did she do it or not? I'm wanting to be optimistic but she is very determined to follow through.

sarah749's review

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challenging dark

3.5

sarah_choate's review

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challenging dark

3.5