10 Things to Do Before I Die (Hardcover)

by Daniel Ehrenhaft (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Ted Burger's friends Mark and Nikki counsel the protagonist to step outside his usual pattern of cautious behavior as they consume their usual after-school fare at a Manhattan diner. Suddenly, a recently fired fry cook bursts in and threatens mayhem–with what turns out to be a water pistol. Mark takes quick and effective control of the situation while Burger watches and feels himself getting physically sick. No sooner does he get home than he is told that the crazed cook has poisoned him and he has just 24 hours to live. Rather than seeking medical attention, he decides to tackle the list of adventures his friends have devised for him, including liberal doses of alcohol and sex, taking on a bully from his past, and partying with the punk-rock band he worships. As the hours pass, and his nausea waxes and wanes, Burger begins to make plans of his own–an escape from the city to Africa. Instead, he wakes up in a Brooklyn hospital, diagnosed as suffering from panic disorder, rather than food poisoning. While all of the characters are engaging and likable, Ehrenhaft's plotting feels erratic. The buildup to the poisoning is long in coming while Burger's numerous escapades all get packed into about eight hours. The moral and ethical issues come fast and furious–the old bully is now in a wheelchair and saintly, the punk rockers are bored with themselves, Burger's shallow parents ultimately seek depth in their son. There are several great scenarios here, but the stitches needed to gather them into one story don't bear up to even casual scrutiny.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 8-12. It's the first day of spring break, and bright, nerdy 16-year-old Ted Burger is hanging out with his best friends at a New York City diner. Ted's friends are constructing a "to do" list for him, the first item of which is "lose virginity." Then Ted discovers a disgruntled employee has poisoned the fries he has just eaten, and he'll be dead in 24 hours. Suddenly the "to do" list takes on new meaning. The novel, which is broken into cleverly titled snippets, takes a while to gather speed, but the premise is fun, and Ehrenhaft employs many different literary devices, including lists, screenplays, and delightfully bad puns. Urban teens will enjoy the lighthearted romance and its unlikely hero. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (November 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385730071
• ISBN-13: 978-0385730075
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,084,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!, March 24, 2006

By	B. Picariello "Benny P>>>" (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

I loved this book, I was laughing the whole way through, especially when Mark decides to get drunk and order a prostitute :) and Ted is the one whose dying.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I thought!, April 14, 2005

By	annmmar "ASMB" (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

From the title you assume the character is going to die. Ted Burger is somewhat your typical teenager. He plays the guitar likes the group "shakes the clown, and is a bit of a clown himself. On average day he hangs out with his best friend Mark and Mark's girlfriend Nikki.After school they usually hang out at the Circle Eat diner. One day it so happen the cook who worked there and was eventually fired came back and told them he poison the fries and whoever eats them will die of a fast death. Since Ted usually order fries and was starting to feel sick he begins to belive the cook and so he starts telling you how it feels to be dying and knowing you have lest than 24 hours. It took me reading practically midway to realise perhaps he is not going to die.Ted eventually begins having a list that his friend Mark put together of things Ted should do before he dies. In conclusion as said before I started reading it thinking it was going to be sad because of the character death only to find out its a tongue in cheek book about death.In the end I did not really enjoy this book.I felt the author was making a joke about death which I do not see as funny.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killer, May 13, 2006

By	HCA "HCA" (AK) - See all my reviews

This book was so awesome. I have trouble finding books that I actually enjoy reading. This one, is an exeption. It is just so different from all the other books that I have encountered. The way that it is written is just so enjoyable to read. I read this book in 3 days. Not because it was easy...no...no...because I couldn't put the book down! I was even up in the middle of the night JUST to finish it! This is an totally killer book, i highly reccommend it for teens, especially those who don't find reading "fun", because this book'll change your mind!!!