Rent: Deadline
By Chris Crutcher
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About Deadline - Book Description
Ben Wolf has big things planned for his senior year. Had big things planned. Now what he has is some very bad news and only one year left to make his mark on the world. How can a pint-sized, smart-ass seventeen-year-old do anything significant in the nowheresville of Trout, Idaho? First, Ben makes sure that no one else knows what is going on—not his superstar quarterback brother, Cody, not his parents, not his coach, no one. Next, he decides to become the best 127-pound football player Trout High has ever seen; to give his close-minded civics teacher a daily migraine; and to help the local drunk clean up his act. And then there's Dallas Suzuki. Amazingly perfect, fascinating Dallas Suzuki, who may or may not give Ben the time of day. Really, she's first on the list. Living with a secret isn't easy, though, and Ben's resolve begins to crumble . . . especially when he realizes that he isn't the only person in Trout with secrets.
Deadline Reviews by BookSwim Members
What I love most about Chris Crutcher's books is his honest and real look at ordinary teenagers in extraordinary situations. Ben Wolf--who seems to have a lot going for him and a lot to look forward to--takes the news of his impending death as a challenge to live the days that remain to their fullest. The supporting characters--including some favorites from Crutcher's "Running Loose" days--are just as thought-provoking as Ben is. I loved the premise; I loved that Ben confronts and challenges his civics teacher; I loved Ben's relationships with his brother, with Dallas Suzuki, and with the town drunk; I loved Hey-Soos; and I loved that Crutcher brings back Louie Banks as Ben's coach. This is definitely one of Crutcher's best!
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Excellent book by an excellent writer! It deals with some big issues in life and is a page turner. Please get it, you'll enjoy the material!
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"Put your own oxygen mask on before you try to help anyone else. Life is your practice field. The state playoffs are inside you."
I love the way Crutcher seeps deep inside your head and makes you think. Ben is a great character. He is "normal" but beyond this years in the way he sees things in his shortened life. It makes you wonder if it wouldn't be better to know of your impending death.
The way Ben challenges his teacher is any "great teachers" dream of a great student. I teach, I would love the passion Ben has to question what he is learning.
Don't pass up this book! If I could give it more than 5 stars, I'd double it.
I love the way Crutcher seeps deep inside your head and makes you think. Ben is a great character. He is "normal" but beyond this years in the way he sees things in his shortened life. It makes you wonder if it wouldn't be better to know of your impending death.
The way Ben challenges his teacher is any "great teachers" dream of a great student. I teach, I would love the passion Ben has to question what he is learning.
Don't pass up this book! If I could give it more than 5 stars, I'd double it.
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EXCERPT: "Crutcher's oeuvre is full of plot-heavy novels; the issues crammed into this one include alcoholism, child molestation, absent/abusive parents, bigotry, teenage motherhood and depression. But the narrative never drowns in a sea of woe. With the help of Hey-Soos, a laidback confidant who appears in Ben's dreams, he parses the dilemmas his secret produces. Ben succeeds both on the gridiron and with the comely Dallas Suzuki. ("Submit this story to an editor and it's returned as too much fantasy even for fantasy," he says after she asks him to Homecoming.) Ben's voice often sounds distinctly like the author's, but here's predicting readers will not care one whit. The message at the core of Crutcher's latest--"Life's short. Do what you love."--is delivered inside an entertaining, thought-provoking tearjerker. Ages 14-up."
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Freedom through truth. Peace through truth. Chris Crutcher is an author who is blissfully unafraid to tell it like it is--even when telling it like it is leads to questions for which there are no easy answers.
As I was reading Deadline, I was struck again and again by the no-holds-barred frankness--- the unblinking honesty-- with which Crutcher empowers Ben Wolf, his terminally ill hero.
Deadline is unforgettable. It questions again and again why people believe as they believe, and leaves no doubt that keeping oneself insulated from truth, even when the intention is to protect loved ones from grief, is a selfish act.
I have read all of Chris Crutcher's books, and without exception, I have always come away from them feeling as if I have been infused with knowing a greater truth, whether about myself or the world. Deadline leaves me infused and nearly without words for it-- so powerful a punch it packs.
Thank you, Chris Crutcher, for another thought-provoking book.
As I was reading Deadline, I was struck again and again by the no-holds-barred frankness--- the unblinking honesty-- with which Crutcher empowers Ben Wolf, his terminally ill hero.
Deadline is unforgettable. It questions again and again why people believe as they believe, and leaves no doubt that keeping oneself insulated from truth, even when the intention is to protect loved ones from grief, is a selfish act.
I have read all of Chris Crutcher's books, and without exception, I have always come away from them feeling as if I have been infused with knowing a greater truth, whether about myself or the world. Deadline leaves me infused and nearly without words for it-- so powerful a punch it packs.
Thank you, Chris Crutcher, for another thought-provoking book.
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| Published | 09/01/2007 |
| Similar Subjects | Children's Books |
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
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