My 50 Book Challenge Update & Review

I don't know if I mentioned this on my blog before, but last January I began keeping a list of all the books that I read this year. Soon after, it turned into a challenge. My goal was to read 50 books by about the second week of January.

Since then, I've read 47 books. I need three more books to complete my challenge. I fully. FULLY intend on completing it. I might even raise the bar for 2011 and go for 100. i don't know how possible that would be though.

So anyway, that's the update on my book challenge.

Now, here's a review:

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

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.

I can see why a lot of people might be hesitant to pick up this book. For starters, it's a book about suicide, which a lot of parents would be afraid to get for their teens for fear of emotional trauma. It's also rather disturbing, since it reads sort of like a how to manual. Detailing a lot of possible ways to kill yourself; including pain rates, and the time it takes to die from the method. So adults and teens alike could be deterred from it. I am what i like to call a fearless reader. I'm just not afraid of books that might be disturbing or include odd or sad themes...so i picked this up. In truth, it was a hard book to read and i more than once wanted to just put it down all together. At some points it was painful to read.

This book is only 200 something pages, but it packs a big punch. Straight in the stomach. You'll feel this character in your bones and you won't forget her. Even though it was kind of hard to read, it was great. It's something that i think people can learn from...to never antagonize someone because it can bring them straight to the edge. It's a disturbing book that should be read. Needs to be read.