Book: By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters

Publishing Info: Published by Hyperion Book CH; 200 Pages in hardcover

By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead is about a suicidal girl named Daelyn Rice, who’s hoping that her next attempt will be her last.  She spends her free time on through the light, a website for “completers.”

I really liked it.  I was never bullied, but I can certainly understand Daelyn’s feelings and where she’s coming from.  Peters did such a good job with it.

Whenever I see a website (like through the light) mentioned in a book, I always wonder where it goes.  It has a reading guide, resources on where to go for help if you’re feeling depressed or suicidal, and information about both suicide and bullying.

It is a good read, but also a hard one.  I felt so angry at her parents- Daelyn needed help and it seemed like her parents were going through the motions in making sure she didn’t do it again.  And yet they were so clueless; they weren’t completely aware of what was going on in her life.  It’s no wonder she thought they’d be better off without her.  I was also angry at her various teachers and principals because they didn’t seem to do anything to help her.  And don’t even get me started on her classmates!  They were so horrible!

We got such insight into how she actually felt.  She didn’t talk, and I thought it was a good move on Peters’ part because we got to see Daelyn’s thoughts and feelings, instead of what she thought she felt.  The writing was so simple, and as the book goes on, the sentences go from short and terse to long and sophisticated.

The ending was pretty ambiguous, and you’re left wondering whether she attempted suicide and was successful in her attempt.  I thought it was a pretty good ending, and I like that the reader gets to decide for themselves what happens.  It really could go either way.  At the same time, it was slightly irritating, and I’m not sure why.  Maybe because it felt like the easy way out, but at least Peters didn’t have Daelyn decide she didn’t want to go through with it after all, because that wouldn’t have been realistic.

I give it 4 stars out of 5.  I thought it was pretty realistic and well-done.