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rachelmfcoles's review against another edition
5.0
Good Book! It gave me a better perspective of life.
cburgbennett's review against another edition
1.0
Very sad book, but WAY too much swearing. Not recommended.
darastar's review against another edition
4.0
this book was a surprise. i got it for free at ALA, and started reading it and was a little amazed. and it was wonderful, and i finished it last night at 11:30 when i should have been sleeping, and instead i cried a little bit.
thumbs up.
thumbs up.
trid_for_kicks's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Ben's snarky, smart-alec narration. I loved how the love interest had dimension and character--not another "damsel in distress". I loved the relationships Ben had with other characters, and how so many people were not what they seemed. I loved the message of the book, which was essentially: do the best you can, learn as much as you can, and hope that others benefit from it--try to make your life impact the universe for good, even if it's just a little bit.
redinteeth's review against another edition
3.0
Real Rating: 3.8/5 Stars
It's really, really hard for me to not give this book 4/5 stars. I found it in my school library a few days ago, picked it up, put it down, and then came back the next day to grab it. It's one of those books that stuck in my mind after reading it, a trait I usually give 4 stars to in a book.
Funny, quirky, and an interesting take on the end-of-life scenario, this book seems to have everything. In fact, it's almost hard for me to say anything bad about it.
But here it is: The football focus.
Not a reason to stop me from recommending this book, but there where so many lingering descriptions of random plays and practices that I found myself skimming over paragraphs. I hate skimming over paragraphs.
Maybe someone more educated on football would find this more enjoyable, but I felt like it really made some parts tedious.
THE PROS:
X Funny. I found myself reading lines of the book out loud to friends just because they where quirky.
X Characters who talk like teens talk. Always a plus in YA. I was worried that with the "real" subject matter, the dialogue was going to be ridiculous.
X A happy-sad book.
X Protagonist who changes over the course of the book, and creates change within the secondary characters.
THE CONS:
X Lengthy descriptions of football scenes.
X Random connection between events. I don't really remember hearing about Rudy and then BAM, random chapters with him in it. This happened with a few other things in the book. The transitions aren't always so smooth.
X "Read this book" references the entire time.
RECOMMENDED TO: Fans of If I Stay, Speak, etc.
OVERALL, I really enjoyed this book. I kept waiting for the book to get sad, and when it did, it was the good kind of sad that makes me happy I read the book. Definitely pleased with it, though I'm not sure I'd want to re-read it immediately.
It's really, really hard for me to not give this book 4/5 stars. I found it in my school library a few days ago, picked it up, put it down, and then came back the next day to grab it. It's one of those books that stuck in my mind after reading it, a trait I usually give 4 stars to in a book.
Funny, quirky, and an interesting take on the end-of-life scenario, this book seems to have everything. In fact, it's almost hard for me to say anything bad about it.
But here it is: The football focus.
Not a reason to stop me from recommending this book, but there where so many lingering descriptions of random plays and practices that I found myself skimming over paragraphs. I hate skimming over paragraphs.
Maybe someone more educated on football would find this more enjoyable, but I felt like it really made some parts tedious.
THE PROS:
X Funny. I found myself reading lines of the book out loud to friends just because they where quirky.
X Characters who talk like teens talk. Always a plus in YA. I was worried that with the "real" subject matter, the dialogue was going to be ridiculous.
X A happy-sad book.
X Protagonist who changes over the course of the book, and creates change within the secondary characters.
THE CONS:
X Lengthy descriptions of football scenes.
X Random connection between events. I don't really remember hearing about Rudy and then BAM, random chapters with him in it. This happened with a few other things in the book. The transitions aren't always so smooth.
X "Read this book" references the entire time.
RECOMMENDED TO: Fans of If I Stay, Speak, etc.
OVERALL, I really enjoyed this book. I kept waiting for the book to get sad, and when it did, it was the good kind of sad that makes me happy I read the book. Definitely pleased with it, though I'm not sure I'd want to re-read it immediately.
ogreart's review against another edition
5.0
Outstanding! I've posted a long overdue review of this on my blog. Please stop on by...
http://mrbsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/03/deadline-by-chris-crutcher.html
http://mrbsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/03/deadline-by-chris-crutcher.html
lerat42's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful book that should be read by teens and adults alike. Chris Crutcher has created a masterpiece about the meaning of life and death.
arundlestl's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick read. It's one of those "dying kid" books, but not at all sad or sappy Lifetime movie. If you like football (or even know how the game is played, which I don't) you may enjoy it. I wished for a more satisfying ending though.
hastings91's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
Here is the thing: I'm glad this book exists. It tackles great themes about race, religion, and the dangers of rape and child molestation. That being said...I just didn't like it very much. I feel like anything I got out of this could have been learned by browsing articles on the internet. Every second chapter was basically an article. And because Crutcher tried to tackle so many ideas, I think half of them got to jumbled to be truly impactful. Also, the plot. Where is it? Basically nothing happened until the last couple chapters.
To be fair, I also hate football, so that part of the book was completely lost on me. I think if I was a fan, this would be way more enjoyable. I liked the main character, but also had tons of problems with the way his character was developed. Ben's motivation for not taking treatment was practically non-existent. And if he grew throughout the book, I must have missed it. Most of the other characters I felt pretty neutral on. The one side character I really adored was The Coach. He was so nice and supportive of Ben!
In conclusion, this book explored a lot of great themes, but not in a way that couldn't be put effectively into an arcticle. It may be enjoyable if unlike me you are a fan of football.
Here is the thing: I'm glad this book exists. It tackles great themes about race, religion, and the dangers of rape and child molestation. That being said...I just didn't like it very much. I feel like anything I got out of this could have been learned by browsing articles on the internet. Every second chapter was basically an article. And because Crutcher tried to tackle so many ideas, I think half of them got to jumbled to be truly impactful. Also, the plot. Where is it? Basically nothing happened until the last couple chapters.
To be fair, I also hate football, so that part of the book was completely lost on me. I think if I was a fan, this would be way more enjoyable. I liked the main character, but also had tons of problems with the way his character was developed. Ben's motivation for not taking treatment was practically non-existent. And if he grew throughout the book, I must have missed it. Most of the other characters I felt pretty neutral on. The one side character I really adored was The Coach. He was so nice and supportive of Ben!
In conclusion, this book explored a lot of great themes, but not in a way that couldn't be put effectively into an arcticle. It may be enjoyable if unlike me you are a fan of football.