Jenny Downham biography

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Jenny Downham

Jenny Downham

Jenny Downham Biography

Jenny Downham (born 1964) is a British novelist and an ex-actor. She is the author of Before I Die, You Against Me, and Unbecoming.

Her first book, Before I Die, the fictional account of the last few months of a sixteen-year-old girl who has been dying of leukemia for four years, is told in the first person. The book was acclaimed and was short-listed for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008 Carnegie Medal and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the 2008 Branford Boase Award. It was also adapted as a movie, retitled to, Now Is Good.

Jenny Downham's website

This bio was last updated on 12/27/2017. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

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Books by this Author

Books by Jenny Downham at BookBrowse
You Against Me jacket Before I Die jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Jenny Downham but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Laurie Halse Anderson

    Laurie Halse Anderson

    Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous international, national, and state ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Before I Die

    Try:
    Wintergirls
    by Laurie Halse Anderson

  • Lara Avery

    Lara Avery

    Lara Avery grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and graduated in 2010 with a creative minor in writing from Macalester College.

    Lara is the author of A Million Miles Away and Anything But Ordinary. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnestoa,... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Before I Die

    Try:
    The Memory Book
    by Lara Avery

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