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jgraydee's review against another edition
2.0
Ben Wolf is a wiz-kid, light-weight high school senior who learns that he has a terminal illness at the beginning of his senior year. An 18-year old with "rights," he decides to deny treatment and to not let his friends or family know about his illness. Ben's rationale is that if he has only one year left to live, he wants to live it to the fullest, and does not want the pity of others or the rigors of treatment (which would only prolong his life, not save it) to hinder his final year of high school. Alas, Ben goes on to the have the dream senior year of high school: he dates the hot chick of his dreams and becomes a football star beyond anyone's wildest imaginations. It's a teen book, so I'm game with all of this so far. (If you're gonna dream, then dream big).
And the book has some redeeming qualities: Coach's character and both of Ben's parents (his dad in particular) are well grounded men who give sound advice when asked. Also, Ben has dreams with Hey-Soos (which sounds an awful lot like...) that are thought provoking at times (but NewAge-like almost all the time). Finally, Ben and his brother Cody have a strong, supportive relationship.
What I did not like about the book is that it reads very, very slowly. Ben finally works out that he needs to tell his friends and family about his illness, but the reader has to wade through pages and pages of inner turmoil to get to that point. Crutcher needs that introspection to make the story progress, but I would like to have seen that written with more dialog, more interaction with the characters of the story (Hey-Soos does this the most; but, perhaps Ben's psychiatrist or his doctor? They were both prominant characters toward the beginning of the book, but just disappeared by the middle?). Also, if you're not a fan of football and play-by-plays, prepare yourself to skim a few passages. Snore...
What I really did not like about this book though is the liberalism is promotes, and the amount of shockers that Crutcher put into his book. Maybe I'm naive, but (despite what I hear teens have to deal with these days), I think putting a manic-depressive mother, a once-molested girlfriend with a 5-year old son, and an alcoholic, ex-priest, child moslestor ALL into a teenager's life (who, don't forget, has an untreatable terminal illness) is a bit much?
And the book has some redeeming qualities: Coach's character and both of Ben's parents (his dad in particular) are well grounded men who give sound advice when asked. Also, Ben has dreams with Hey-Soos (which sounds an awful lot like...) that are thought provoking at times (but NewAge-like almost all the time). Finally, Ben and his brother Cody have a strong, supportive relationship.
What I did not like about the book is that it reads very, very slowly. Ben finally works out that he needs to tell his friends and family about his illness, but the reader has to wade through pages and pages of inner turmoil to get to that point. Crutcher needs that introspection to make the story progress, but I would like to have seen that written with more dialog, more interaction with the characters of the story (Hey-Soos does this the most; but, perhaps Ben's psychiatrist or his doctor? They were both prominant characters toward the beginning of the book, but just disappeared by the middle?). Also, if you're not a fan of football and play-by-plays, prepare yourself to skim a few passages. Snore...
What I really did not like about this book though is the liberalism is promotes, and the amount of shockers that Crutcher put into his book. Maybe I'm naive, but (despite what I hear teens have to deal with these days), I think putting a manic-depressive mother, a once-molested girlfriend with a 5-year old son, and an alcoholic, ex-priest, child moslestor ALL into a teenager's life (who, don't forget, has an untreatable terminal illness) is a bit much?
alicebme's review against another edition
2.0
I recently read Going Bovine, and this book also has crazy dying boy hallucinations. I decided to skip that part. It only hindered the plot a little bit. Of course, I probably missed a lot of "the message". Ugh. Do teenagers want a message? I don't think so. I will add it to my library though, because I think if I bill it as a football book, I can get kids to read it. Once in, they'll perhaps soak up some thought provoking ideas about being the underdog, living in the moment, and bigotry.
chuskeyreads's review against another edition
3.0
When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued by the concept. However, by the third chapter, I was bored with the predictability of the main character, Ben. The plot holes were distracting, and the shallow, poorly developed characters made the book difficult to finish. I ended up checking out the book three times just to get through it. I felt the book was more about indoctrinating the reader with the author's political views than what I initially expected: a heart-wrenching story about a boy who learns to live only after he discovers he's dying. I'd have to say that I'm sorely disappointed and can only muster awarding a two-star rating - one for the book's premise and the other just for the heck of it.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
great story. Ben finds a very strong reason to pull out all stops on his life, go out for football although he's short, approach the girl of his dreams, read as much as he can, and get the most of out his classes at school.
He reaches goals, learns about life, and is told secrets far beyond his imagination, and then feels the repercussions of keeping his own secrets from those he loves. (I still think he was right to keep his big secret.)
Ben had a wise reflection of himself that he was able to communicate with when he was sleeping-called Hey Soos. I had my own bibliotherapeutic experience while listening to this book. Now i gotta read more Crutcher.
He reaches goals, learns about life, and is told secrets far beyond his imagination, and then feels the repercussions of keeping his own secrets from those he loves. (I still think he was right to keep his big secret.)
Ben had a wise reflection of himself that he was able to communicate with when he was sleeping-called Hey Soos. I had my own bibliotherapeutic experience while listening to this book. Now i gotta read more Crutcher.
suedd's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting premise that approaches a serious subject both philosophically and humorously--naming a street to honor Malcolm X in a lily white suburb! I also liked the reference to several books and think the kids might be able to use this as a list for further reading...just wish I'd kept a list of the titles. Lies My Teacher Told Me was central among them.
A little language; probably good for sophomores and some juniors, both boys and girls
A little language; probably good for sophomores and some juniors, both boys and girls
yunabean's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book for the most part. Often times I felt myself forcing myself to read it, however, and that must be why it took me two months to finish. In the beginning it was much based around football, and I can't bring myself to watch the sport on TV so I really didn't want to read about it. Also, the characters seemed super unrealistic at times, especially when it came to Ben's disease.
The whole thing with his Mom confused me quiet a bit, too. Unless I missed it, there was never a real explanation to her behavior or whether or not she has some sort of mental issue, which is the feeling I got.
Overall, it was a decent read. I don't think I'll ever read it again, though.
The whole thing with his Mom confused me quiet a bit, too. Unless I missed it, there was never a real explanation to her behavior or whether or not she has some sort of mental issue, which is the feeling I got.
Overall, it was a decent read. I don't think I'll ever read it again, though.
thebrainlair's review against another edition
2.0
I loved Marla the therapist. She was believable and interesting. That said...this book felt so contrived. I disliked the main character and did not care what happened to him. He was very egotistical and unbelievable. Everything went right for him. I couldn't believe that he would get the girl, I couldn't believe that Rudy would change. I don't understand why Dallas and Rudy had the backgrounds that they did. There was no preparation for any of that. I read 182 without any connection. The only reason I finished the book was because it was a book club book.
I wonder if I didn't like this book because of the books I read right before this: Crooked Kind of Perfect, The Opposite of Invisible, Book Thief...maybe these books biased me. As of today though, I didn't like this book. I gave it two stars because we did have a good discussion about it!
I wonder if I didn't like this book because of the books I read right before this: Crooked Kind of Perfect, The Opposite of Invisible, Book Thief...maybe these books biased me. As of today though, I didn't like this book. I gave it two stars because we did have a good discussion about it!
4saradouglas's review against another edition
4.0
This is a touching book with a lot of humor mixed in. Crutcher certainly never lacks for plot. The relationship between the two brothers in this book is wonderful to read, but the parents are almost non-entities and should have been written in more depth. Dallas is a good character, but reminds me too much of Jennifer in Crutcher's Chinese Handcuffs. I think Crutcher needs to mix it up a little more so that we'll continue to read his works; but I can't say he's not talented!
lanica's review against another edition
3.0
I loved [b:Whale Talk|49746|Whale Talk|Chris Crutcher|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320482376s/49746.jpg|2291193], but had not read anything else by this author until today. I don't know why he slipped away from me. I really liked the idea of this book, I loved the quirkiness of the relationships, but the same quirkiness made the characters seemed...unbelievable.
I wish someone had told me that I should read this as a parable, rather than a young adult novel.
LIBRARIAN REVIEW: It's a very interesting male protagonist...and I love having books that I can hand to the boys in my libraries.
Football takes center stage for the first half of the novel, another plus for getting guys to read.
Sex, swearing and other 'mature subject matter' put this strictly into the theoretical 'Mature Young Adult' shelves for me. Incest, rape and suicide are topics of some import in this novel as well. Not for someone seeking a light read.
Not for middle school.
I wish someone had told me that I should read this as a parable, rather than a young adult novel.
LIBRARIAN REVIEW: It's a very interesting male protagonist...and I love having books that I can hand to the boys in my libraries.
Football takes center stage for the first half of the novel, another plus for getting guys to read.
Sex, swearing and other 'mature subject matter' put this strictly into the theoretical 'Mature Young Adult' shelves for me. Incest, rape and suicide are topics of some import in this novel as well. Not for someone seeking a light read.
Not for middle school.
chelseachips's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0