Jenny Downham
Young Adult
Jenny Downham is a British novelist and former actor born in 1964.
Her debut novel, Before I Die, tells the story of a 16-year-old girl's final months battling leukemia.
The book received significant critical acclaim, earning numerous award nominations and wins.
It was shortlisted for the 2007 Guardian Award and 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008 Carnegie Medal and Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the 2008 Branford Boase Award.
Downham's first-person narrative approach in Before I Die was particularly praised, contributing to the novel's emotional impact and literary recognition.
