Deadline, by Chris Crutcher Review
If you found out that you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, how would you react? Would you immediately tell your loved ones, or would you wait until the very last minute to say anything? In the 316 page book, Chris Crutcher tells the story of how people should not keep important aspects from loved ones, and how life is short, so you should do what you can while you can.
In Deadline, Crutcher shows the consequences of keeping a major secret from everyone. He shows the path of an eighteen year old boy from Trout, Idaho, who decided not to let the important people in his life know what was going on. When he refused to tell people about his disease, he also refused the treatment plan that could have saved his life.
Ben Wolf is a senior in high school who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness that gives only one more year to make his mark. During the next twelve months of his life, Wolf does everything in his power to make his last days memorable. He goes out for a sport he has never done before, he goes after the one girl he’s liked since freshman year, Dallas Suzuki, and spends some time with the town drunk, Rudy McCoy. When Ben realizes that he isn’t the only person in Trout who is hiding a secret, his world begins to crumble.

If I had to rate this book, I would give it a four. My reasoning is because although the book is a great read, it jumps around quite a bit. Crutcher goes from Ben playing his new sport, to him dancing with Dallas, and then back to the sport. On the positive side, Crutcher tells a story that most people can relate to. It’s a story of how someone goes from being the happiest person ever to someone who is miserable all the time. I would recommend this book to teens, mainly because of the fact that it’s a teen book. But also because of the fact that Chris Crutcher uses vivid details when describing a scene. He uses the language of teen so he can reach out to his younger audience.

Anyone who enjoys reading about sports, family, school problems, and life changing secrets, then this book is the one for you. To find out what happens to Ben and everyone else, read the book yourself.