Ben Wolf is going to die, in less than one year. He’s a senior in high school, and he’s just been diagnosed with a rare blood disease. Against the advice of his doctor, he’s chosen to forego treatment, instead choosing to live out his last few months as normally as possible, instead of sick and bald from the treatment that would buy him only a few more months. In addition to not accepting treatment, he’s also not telling anyone. Not his brother, not his parents, nobody. He’s eighteen, and his doctor can’t do anything about it without breaking doctor-patient confidentiality.
Ben knows he’s going to die, and he wants to condense an entire lifetime into a few months. He wants to make his mark on the world, and rather than the usual fifty or sixty years a guy his age has left to do it, he’s only got a few months He figures it’s also time to take some risks. He is really short and 123 pounds, and he’s going out for football. He’s got his eye on Dallas Suzuki, too, who may sound like a Texan car dealership, he says, but is in actuality a smart, gorgeous girl he’s been lusting after for ages. And in school, he’s not putting up with the crap his civics teacher tries to teach him; he’s on a quest for the truth, now that he doesn’t have to worry about pleasing the close-minded teacher for a diploma. Living with the secret isn’t as easy as Ben thinks at first, though. What about the people who he’ll leave behind?
Chris Crutcher has once again proven himself to be a brilliant author. He manages to make this difficult subject matter funny, sad, touching, a whole range of human emotions. Crutcher really understands people, and he shows it in this book; all of his characters are amazing. This book is probably his best that I’ve read yet, and that is really, really saying something. It really threw things into perspective and made me think about my own life, as I’m sure it would do to anyone who read it. Perhaps the idea of a novel about someone who is dying at trying to make the most of living is not one that is completely original, but Crutcher really makes it his own, and, really, how many truly original ideas are out there these days, anyway? This is a brilliant, well-written, thought-provoking, and, to put it simply, truly amazing novel, one not to be missed.
Five Stars
October 31, 2007 at 7:05 am
This sounds really good! I’m going to get it soon. Thanks!
September 8, 2010 at 6:51 am
DONT DO IT!
September 20, 2010 at 3:59 pm
SERIOUSLY. DON’T DO IT.
September 23, 2011 at 4:26 pm
helll no dont do it
October 23, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Y’all need to get your stuff straight. this book is amazing!!
February 17, 2012 at 2:01 pm
this book is amazing i read it like 10 times and would love to read again
December 17, 2010 at 8:10 pm
SCREW THEM, DO IT. it’s the best book I’d ever read.
February 24, 2011 at 6:08 pm
The book is good. The idea is GOOD TOO! What do u mean its not original? the idea he is going to die in a year is not original? maybe. But he changed it completely and It was very very GOOD !!!!!I agree with everyone who doesn’t like ur review !
March 29, 2011 at 6:35 pm
It was a very intersting book and had twists I didnt expect. But now I have to do a book report on it and im finding myself stuck :P…
June 1, 2011 at 6:49 pm
me too any….. tips?
August 26, 2011 at 10:43 am
same.
October 2, 2011 at 10:40 am
im doing a book report on it to and finding it to be quite easy…
August 20, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Hate the book 💥📖🔫💨
September 26, 2011 at 12:22 pm
niggers stink and i hate them
November 15, 2011 at 6:14 pm
IGNORANT RACIST!
March 14, 2012 at 12:34 pm
kil em alll
May 3, 2012 at 6:29 pm
aggreable
April 7, 2016 at 8:28 pm
Truuuu!!!!
October 31, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I grabbed a copy of this the other day. I can’t wait to get started, especially after reading your review!
September 8, 2010 at 6:52 am
ITS SHITTY! I PROMISE.
October 6, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Actully the book is really good. I loved it so much i reqd it 3 times
December 22, 2010 at 11:19 pm
danielle.. get a life. for someone who hated it you sure were interested enough to
a) look up the review
b) actually read the review
c) readd the comments and say something about them
d) and you must of finished the book because you say it was “shitty” please go read your picture books or something. leave the GOOD books for those who appreciate them.
January 24, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Yo just shut up
ur so fuckingweird dont even fucking say that anonymous is right . Your a fucking bitch!!
November 24, 2007 at 1:13 am
Guad. I wanna read this book sooo bad!
But just by the review, it sounds like a very good book.
The suspense is killing me! lol =DD
September 8, 2010 at 6:52 am
after you read this book your going to hope you did actually die.
September 20, 2010 at 4:36 pm
stop saying that!!! I READ IT, and it was one of the few books I would actually read AGAIn
September 27, 2010 at 9:13 pm
you are an extreme hater
September 4, 2011 at 6:42 pm
exactly who the frick are you, man? and who shoved a stick of snark up your a$$?
December 11, 2007 at 1:19 pm
this book souds so good and my Language Arts teacher read it and she says its really good and she wants to learn more about Ben.Just by reading this I really want to read this book.=]
February 21, 2008 at 2:07 pm
This book was amazing! I loved the blunt, in-your-face way that Crutcher writes it. It made me cry, but had it’s funny points! I give this book 5 stars!
June 8, 2010 at 10:26 pm
did he die
September 8, 2010 at 6:53 am
yes and he pounds the girl.
September 4, 2011 at 6:44 pm
props to dying guy.
January 24, 2011 at 6:50 pm
yo have sex with me
March 29, 2011 at 6:37 pm
is that even necessary? lol
July 14, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Great Book! I read it twice ^.^ Really made me take a look at how i live my life day to day.
August 10, 2008 at 5:09 pm
This book sounds interresting
August 18, 2008 at 6:49 pm
this book was truely amazing. my mother and sister died about a year and a half ago (without any notice to people who have already read this book) i was trying to live my life to the fullest everyday, and this book just sent sparks flying. SIX STARS!
October 22, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I’ve read this 4 times to really be able to disect it. I absolutely love this book. I love it. That is really all I can think to say right now, but it’s great.
October 10, 2010 at 7:56 am
ok i’m a high school sutdent and i need the book to do some questions do u think u can send me a link where i can read this book
February 29, 2012 at 9:07 pm
can you please tell me what is dallas suzuki’s secret?
February 29, 2012 at 9:08 pm
can you please tell me what is dallas suzuki’s secret?
December 13, 2013 at 10:11 am
The secret is something about Dallas….o JUST READ IT!!!!! It is amazing. I also have to do a book project on it
October 23, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I read this book twice within about a week! It is so amazing!! im now doing a comparative analysis on it for school, comparing it to ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’. if you like this book you will for sure like thirteen reasons why, a complete opposite but still makes you think the same thing. Great review by the way!
October 2, 2011 at 10:44 am
i disagree i think the girl who died is the exact oppiste of ben and that they have nothing in common. sure it might make u think the same thoughts but the two books are nothing alike.
November 5, 2008 at 10:02 pm
im a sophmore. and my teacher wanted us to read this. the ending made me cry alot. but overall it was a truely amazing book. you can learn so much with each chapter..
November 13, 2008 at 6:43 pm
A-mazing book!! The part about the “town drunk” made me cry, but otherwise a great book! Ben seems so real and at the end when his brother reads a speech at his funeral is so sad!
March 26, 2009 at 3:08 pm
This book was terrible! Worst book crutcher wrote.
December 13, 2009 at 1:40 pm
nigga please dis book is da shit dude i even likd it
Sincerly the nigga
:)
January 17, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I bet u r not even black
September 9, 2010 at 5:24 pm
stop using the word nigger you cant even spell it right!!!!!!
March 29, 2011 at 6:37 pm
nigga and nigger are totally different anonymous lol
September 26, 2011 at 12:16 pm
oh nigga pleases nigga please
March 10, 2010 at 12:12 pm
i thougt this book was awesome but when i first start reading the book i thought it would of been dumb but in the end its good and sad.
September 4, 2011 at 6:47 pm
actually, as a manly chick who rarely cries, (ok, so when dobby died, but..)i have to say this is one of the best crutcher books i ever sobbed my eyes out over. and i mean that in the best possible way.
oh, and get urban dictionary, anonymus.
October 2, 2011 at 10:46 am
this book was amazing and im about 100% sure u didnt read it at all.
April 15, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I absolutely loved this book. It is a very touching and inspiring book, it made me want to do something with my life and go for what seems impossible. I really recommend this book to people of all ages. You wont regret reading it!
September 26, 2011 at 12:20 pm
what i loved about this book was its enormous black cock that would pop out and bust all over my labia. chris crutcher is really good at that. i was also shocked by the amount of jizz that actually ended up down my throat after this read
April 25, 2009 at 4:52 pm
this book sucks balls its so homosexual
December 3, 2009 at 6:59 pm
YOUR HOMOSEXUAL!
December 7, 2009 at 2:39 am
haha we cant read whats u typed down u needa get ur boyfriends jizz outa of ur eye so u can see what ur typing
December 22, 2010 at 11:15 pm
your mothers must be so proud you speak with such vulgarity. just kidding. if you were my child id be ashamed of you putting others down for a simple satisfaction.. maybe you need some help with your own self esteem.
December 23, 2010 at 7:41 pm
You’re homosexual is correct
September 4, 2011 at 6:49 pm
haaaaaaattteeeeerrrrrr….
May 6, 2009 at 5:19 pm
sweet book.i really liked it. i’m really gonna live my life to the fullest and not hold anything back
December 2, 2010 at 6:45 pm
this books suk monkey balls
December 9, 2010 at 1:13 pm
hes right tho this book totally sucks balls. only read it for the grade
May 20, 2009 at 4:52 am
[…] Teen Book Review […]
August 9, 2009 at 8:02 pm
This book is amazing i read it for a summer reading project. And i have to say this is the best book i’ve EVER read!! It is the best book ever!! People hurry and get a copy!
September 3, 2009 at 2:33 pm
hey thanks for the review now im gonna get a copy and read it
September 17, 2009 at 9:15 pm
yall nerds
October 5, 2009 at 11:11 pm
OOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 7, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I am in the process of reading this book right now I am at ch. 15 and still reading I think its boring at parts but other I really like it.
October 12, 2009 at 12:23 pm
gay gay gay gay gay gay <333333 lick my balls
December 14, 2009 at 5:36 pm
ur a homo u wont other men to lick ur balls
February 4, 2010 at 9:30 pm
?
Gay?
So, having homosexuality in a book makes the book, and the reader, gay?
So, movies that have death makes one a murderer?
So, Law and Order: SUV makes its watchers rapists?
Damn, I did not know that. Freaky, right?
September 20, 2010 at 4:40 pm
hallelujah someones not an idiot
December 22, 2010 at 11:13 pm
you are legit. enough said
December 23, 2010 at 7:42 pm
nicely said!
October 20, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Love this book, the ending made me cry , i dont ussaly read books but this one was great. I recommend
October 20, 2009 at 9:17 pm
this was a great book i read it twice and its da shizzz the ending was so sad i almost cried ,,, almost
October 24, 2009 at 4:32 pm
LOL. i READ THIS BOOK AND IT SUCKED…
December 14, 2009 at 5:35 pm
STFU
August 4, 2011 at 10:42 pm
yah it was ok but not going to read it again lol
November 23, 2009 at 4:50 pm
ive only read a few chapters of this book & soo far its okay
after readinng all the good & bad reviews of this book im not sure enymore but ill just have too see
hope its good ! {:
if not then that was just a waste of my tyme ! :p
May 7, 2011 at 6:51 am
It’s not gonna be. I just finished reading it this morning, and it was a truly amazing book. I loved it
December 13, 2009 at 9:36 am
this book was great, it really mad me think of wat i would do if i were dying
February 4, 2010 at 6:31 pm
A great book for anyone who doesnt quite understand life. It is a thrilling story hate to see Ben die! Im no big reader but a great book recomend to all
March 10, 2010 at 1:56 pm
It is totally AmAzInG!!!! Wowo I im a nerdo!!!lol
March 31, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Wow, I read this book for school and I had to walk out of class because I was crying!!
It was so good!! :)
Bwt great review!!!
April 12, 2010 at 8:02 pm
this book was alright…Kind of boring and long but not to bad
May 19, 2010 at 6:00 pm
gay
December 22, 2010 at 11:11 pm
why do you have to be so affensive to people who are different. and you use that word as an insult. looks like you have some insecurities… to sit here putting others down. for no reason at all. what a shame.
April 23, 2012 at 10:06 am
Lesbian fagg0t
June 3, 2010 at 4:52 pm
I read this book for lit class, it is BAD, like trust me, unless your a chick, don’t get this book, it sucks
July 19, 2010 at 2:02 pm
hope diss book is nt a wast of ma time i need to read it 4 a class assignment<33
August 12, 2010 at 4:51 pm
i thought this book was somewat boring in da beggining but turned out to b ok yet i got sad wen ben dies =(
well at least he got laid
=P
August 12, 2010 at 8:49 pm
i need an easy book to read. how many pages is this?
=dead line
==the absolutley true diary of a part time indian
=double take
=ellen foster
=the glass casyle
=monster
=my sis keeper
=the perks of being a wallflower
^those are the books i can read… i need help finding an easy book
August 13, 2010 at 10:39 pm
i started this book a couple weeks ago and have been reading off and on….i havent gotten very far but im at a very boring spot that is all about football…so i guess i should just sit down and read the book to get passed the part im at to really see the value and the good of this book that everyone has said about it….thank you everyone that had great feedback from the book…you helped me want to go pick it up and start reading:)
May 7, 2011 at 6:53 am
I didn’t like the football either, but you’d be surprised the meaning the game has for him.
September 16, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I loved this Book…Honestly? I love to read and I needed a book to read during class time so I picked up this one without reading the back. When I started reading it, I love Ben and his attitude and the whole way he is. This book reminded me of my friend and it made me scared for Ben. I loved this whole book. I cried a few times, because you can feel exactly how Ben felt and it didn’t even seem like someone else wrote this other then Ben. This shows basically exactly how a person dying feels. I loved it and will recommend this to anyone! :D
September 16, 2010 at 8:44 pm
oh and I was so engrossed with this book I finished it at 9pm..just sitting on my bed reading it…the exact day I got it! :D It’s a page turner!
September 26, 2011 at 12:23 pm
well chyenne u r obviously a complete whore who only read this book for its sexual themes. ur pussy is probly the size of a swimming pool u disgusting used tampon.
September 17, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Danielle this book was great, stop ruining it because you can’t read.
April 23, 2012 at 10:06 am
you suck bitch
September 19, 2010 at 12:22 am
this book was amazing, if u hav the oppertunity to read it i would most deff do it ! probably one of the best books i have ever readd ! five stars without a doubt !
September 25, 2010 at 6:38 pm
hi bye
May 7, 2011 at 6:53 am
wow you’re annoying
September 30, 2010 at 10:53 pm
this book was gay but at least the kid fucks the chick at the end
January 4, 2011 at 8:28 am
wayto be. thattells alot about who u are
February 16, 2011 at 11:59 pm
The book wouldnt have been bad even if he had a gay relationship in the end. Your close mindedness is so disappointing….
April 25, 2011 at 8:50 pm
If that was really everything you got out of the book, you completely missed the point. This wasn’t supposed to be a pornographic piece of crap, it was supposed to encourage the reader to live the best life
possible. And you got your one “fact” about the end of the book wrong anyway. That happened once pretty early on.
October 4, 2010 at 2:41 pm
i have too do a book report on this book tomorrow!! i need help. i plan on reading this book but i need atleast too have an idea of what happens so i can give the book report. help??
October 5, 2010 at 9:06 am
last time i laughed this hard i fell of my dinosour
November 11, 2010 at 9:14 pm
This is probably one of the greatest books i have ever encountered. My teacher handed me this book and said he thought i would like it. He was right. I now have everyone in my class wanting to read it.
Five Stars
November 22, 2010 at 9:48 am
i like this book. it is one of the best books i have read.
December 3, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Reading Is Gorss
September 4, 2011 at 6:52 pm
fail.
December 22, 2010 at 11:09 pm
this book is amazing. and surprisingly very spiritual. chris crutcher did an amazing job protraying a teenager. i felt i could really understand and feel what ben was going through. and to all the haters. if you hated the book soooo much then why are you wasting your time commenting the reviews.???
September 4, 2013 at 8:59 am
who are the characters i really need help
January 4, 2011 at 8:24 am
Why in the world would any one tell you not to read this book. it is by far the best book i have ever read and really makes the reader think. i personally love this book and dont see why any one else wouldn’t.
January 27, 2011 at 10:20 pm
It was a crazy bbook and i usually never do any reading
February 10, 2011 at 10:38 am
[…] Deadline is a book about a young man named Ben Wolf who is told that he only has one ear to live. He then tries to pack the rest of his life into his senior year of high school. Ben is not going to take the treatment from the doctor.. He’s also not going to tell anyone about his rare blood disease. Not even his parents. […]
February 15, 2011 at 6:50 pm
stop with the bad language!
May 7, 2011 at 6:55 am
you misspelled anonymous
August 24, 2011 at 12:41 pm
so did u l0l
February 15, 2011 at 6:51 pm
i am so excited to read this book!
March 9, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Danielle obviously doesn’t know how to read properly.
May 7, 2011 at 6:56 am
tru dat
March 19, 2011 at 8:53 pm
i think the book was okay, but i didnt like that everything that could happen , actually happened… i mean there were some scenes in it which were really predictable. the end was the only very good part, it was well written and made the reader think about it. it was really sad too. i did like the characters cody, rudy and coach
March 21, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Everyone who comes on these sites, just to be a f****ing a*****e, STOP IT!!! If this book wasn’t for you, then go cry like a little bitch somewhere else. I read this book, and it felt like i was ben. It was a breathtaking book. 5 of 5 in my book
April 14, 2011 at 11:12 pm
I know that some people are not interested in what i have to say about the book. But trust me its the best book everrr. i would put my life down to read this anytime anywhere! just read the book and u will understand. also its really goood but a bit sad but still READ IT!!!!!
April 20, 2011 at 5:08 am
it is actually a really good book and im an avid reader in high school and i usually only read science or sci-fi fction it is a very enjoyable book
May 22, 2011 at 2:12 pm
this book actually made my book report fun and interesting (though i wonder about how the school makes students read the book with some of the language, not that it bothered me)
July 11, 2011 at 9:58 pm
This book was at least 3 stars for me. This book didn’t have enough meaning for me. Should have at least made the point of what it really means to die more bigger. I also come from a country where we have no football or gridiron culture so it was abit boring but around of applause for Crutcher because that catch “Ben” made sounded amazing.
August 4, 2011 at 10:41 pm
well read it for high school…. it is ok i am not a fan of it but hey if u like it then i am glade :)
August 13, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Yea i read it for high school also as a summer reading assignment to be in honors english my freshman year. Loved it :)
August 13, 2011 at 5:25 pm
This book was the best book ive ever read. It made me look at life in a different perspective.! Really good and everyone should read it :)
August 14, 2011 at 4:48 pm
i loved this book…very suspenseful!! , by about the middle of the book, i thought for sure he wasnt going die. i was sooo sad he died! Crutcher did a good job with getting us attached to the main character.
August 24, 2011 at 12:43 pm
wlel this boock okey but usulaly donot reed alots
August 24, 2011 at 4:00 pm
book blows
August 24, 2011 at 4:01 pm
he shoulda blew his life savings on a hooker
August 25, 2011 at 8:03 pm
long distance relationship…
Deadline by Chris Crutcher « Teen Book Review…
September 2, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Awesome book, it had unexpected additions to it. It made for a great read, now only if it weren’t for required summer ciriculum (not sure I spelled that right). But any ways, this was a good book which i can relate to and so can any other teenage boy. Anyone who says the book sucked is wrong.
September 12, 2011 at 7:23 pm
hell yeah love this awesome boook.
September 20, 2011 at 9:02 am
what atually happenes
September 20, 2011 at 9:02 am
actually*
September 20, 2011 at 10:28 pm
I love to anal cows.
September 21, 2011 at 3:52 pm
yu fuck this book
October 6, 2011 at 9:29 pm
I personally love the book, and was hoping some way that Ben would somehow live, -just lead to disappointment- only part i would have to complain is him getting so close to graduation then dieing and would have wished that he could have lived to give his own speech
October 11, 2011 at 5:51 pm
I thought it was a great book! How about we not fight over an opinion on a book? k lol
October 17, 2011 at 3:33 pm
great book
October 19, 2011 at 8:59 pm
omg!!!!!! my new favorite book. definitly!!!!! it was so good i loved it (: <3
October 23, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Heck yes read this book!!! It is amazing!!!!!
November 6, 2011 at 12:00 am
Has this book won any awards?
November 28, 2011 at 5:01 pm
No
November 30, 2011 at 7:59 pm
its really a good book but its very sad at the same time
December 12, 2011 at 12:56 pm
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February 12, 2012 at 9:13 pm
fuck this book. ive torched it on my ass and pee on it god dam. fuck america. viva ussama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fuck you americain poeple and go fuck yourselves because im gonna blow your ass up bitch.
Thanks for watching. isuggest to burn this book.
Thank you all.
February 23, 2012 at 10:40 pm
This book is okay, I guess. It’s font would have to be ‘smart ass’. Then again… Its in the perspective of a smart ass teenager. Its not perfect grammar, and sometimes far from it.
There is profanity on every page almost, but thats not much of a problem beacuse it is a book, not a school’s textbook
February 29, 2012 at 9:03 pm
what is dallas suzuki’s secret.. can anyone please tell me.
March 14, 2012 at 11:46 am
What page number is Ben first diagnosed and what page is Rudy first mentioned?
August 2, 2012 at 4:46 pm
It sounds like a great book at first, and the plot us really good, but the way its written is horrible.
October 4, 2012 at 8:39 pm
OMg read half of it and it sucks!
February 21, 2013 at 7:15 pm
someone write me an essay on it
April 16, 2013 at 3:44 pm
What would you say the climax of the book is? Anyone help!
June 15, 2013 at 2:25 am
I read this book and found it to be very good but I do not see it being a teen book..I find it to be more of a book for 18 and older…I am a Christian and I do not believe that HS kids should be reading about molestation, cruse words, drugs and alcohol…Time could be spent better reading about life choices, up beat books about living good and self esteem and other things that don’t enter their minds to the things mentioned above… A concerned Christian mother..
October 10, 2013 at 6:29 pm
i love this book i will recomended it to othere people
January 8, 2014 at 5:02 pm
anonymous if your still wondering what’s Dallas’s it’s that she got raped and the little boy is her son.
January 8, 2014 at 5:03 pm
that’s her secret
January 8, 2014 at 5:04 pm
and shut up Felicia Osborn if they want to read the book let them im 13 and it was totally fine
January 8, 2014 at 6:08 pm
This is a book review not a place for people to put others down and tell them to shut up etc…what are you in kindergarten…most people on this book review are majorly using fowl linkage and rudeness to any human race..