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A review by hastings91
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
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.