Jenny’s outstanding debut novel Before David Fickling Books published I Die in July 2007, went straight to No 1 in the YA paperback list in 2008 and has become an international bestseller. It won the Branford…
Plot and Synopsis Tessa is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Despite four years of chemotherapy, she has discovered that her cancer is terminal and her doctors give her a short time to live. Tessa, with…
The latest book from the bestselling author of Before I Die is a dense web of ‘unbecomings’, a story exploring the societal, familial and self-imposed limits placed on girls and young women, and the experience…
After a spotlight a few days ago, I’m excited to host this Q&A with the author of Furious Thing. Jenny Downham answers a few questions in today’s post about her writing and her newly released YA Contemporary novel.…
Novels don’t have to be set in made-up worlds to be exciting. In Unbecoming, award-winning novelist Jenny Downham has given herself the luxury of more than 400 pages to build up this gripping tale of family…
Three generations of women confront difficult situations in this rich, complex and thoughtful novel In this long, thoughtful novel, Jenny Downham presents the archetypal trio of maiden, mother and crone in a very modern situation.…
My mother opened her front door a crack and peered at me suspiciously. “What?” she asked. “Entertainment’s arrived,” I said, smiling. Her mistrust turned to delight. “A sing-song?” She chivvied me in. “No one told me you were…
As a child what were your favourite books and which authors inspired you? What about now? As a young reader I devoured poetry, folk and fairy tales (Grimm, Andersen), and stories from the Arabian Nights…
Jenny Downham’s first novel plainly announces its theme in its title: “Before I Die.” The narrator, 16-year-old Tessa, has recently learned that the leukemia she has been living with for four years is now terminal,…
