13. Deadline

Crutcher, Chris. Deadline. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. Print.

ANNOTATION: Ben Wolf has a year to live. Diagnosed with a rare blood disease, he only has Senior year to make his mark on the world--so he’s going to try out for football, call out his teachers, and go for the crush of his life--but this can only happen if no one knows about his condition. Living with a secret isn’t as easy as he thinks it will be, and he isn’t the only person who has something to hide.

JUSTIFICATION FOR NOMINATION: I nearly put Deadline down. I didn’t think the main protagonist was acting rationally or realistically, and was about to quit--that’s when the story took a tremendous turn. And it did again. And again. What I originally perceived to be a flat, single layer cake turned out to be an elaborately tiered dessert that I couldn’t stop eating. I was absolutely blown away by Crutcher’s ability to throw in so many issues that teens deal with all the time, while staying true to his central message of honesty.

The characters in this novel are not what they seem. As in real life, the more you know about a person, the more interesting they become--we all are capable of good and evil, and this book allows the reader to explore human potential, as well as the human condition, in a safe and thought-provoking space. Although some are more developed than others, they act and react in realistic ways. Ben changes tremendously, and in more than one way; facing death makes him bolder, more willing to stand up for what is right, but his true metamorphosis comes in facing truth as something to give, as well as receive.

I was struck by the honesty of this book--Crutcher’s willingness to speak honestly about the issues of racism, bad teachers, family, religion and death, as well as the issue of truth, which was incredibly refreshing. Living honestly goes far beyond telling the truth--it requires a large degree of front-end philosophical work that Ben, dying, forces himself to do, and to share, with the rest of the world.

This book is great for teens as well as adults. The setting and style is set up for young adult readers, with a nice usage of imagery, symbolism and personification. I highly recommend this powerful read.

GENRE: Coming of Age