"What if you only had a year to live...and you knew it?"
Literally. Ben Wolfe, a high school senior with a rare/fatal
blood disease, only wishes to live the last year of his life
in normality. Oh how wrong he was. Chris Crutcher's novel,
'Deadline', is a dazzling story of desire, wit and emotional
honesty. It's a no-holds-bar book that does not relent on
the dramatic issues it suspends right in front of the
readers eyes. Ben, in the course of a year, becomes a
football star, romanticizes the girl of his dreams, attempts
to cure the town alcoholic, dismantle the order of his
history teacher's class structure, and keep the secret of
his disease under wraps. In a truly genuine fashion, Ben
Wolfe is a small town fictional rock star. In retrospect
though, 'Deadline' grips the reader from beginning to end,
giving the reader a great laugh at the same time their
wiping their eyes.
These character's a more than just words on a page. This
story is more than just a book. I've never read a novel
without looking at the pages to see how close I was to
finishing, and with this, I found myself craving for the
book to never end. I never would have imagined the
laugh-out-loud wit combined with the harsh issues faced by
this measly 18 year old would make a great book, but never
have I been so glad to be wrong. This book has rocked me to
my core.