Deadline by Chris Crutcher

“I figure if Doc is right about the time I have left,I should wrap up my adolescence in the next few days, get into my early productive stages about the third week of school, go through my midlife crisis during Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, redouble my efforts at productivity and think about my legacy, say, Easter, and start cashing in my 401(k)s a couple weeks before Memorial Day. ”

What if you only had one year to live...and you knew it?

18 year old Ben Wolf knows he is going to die. After being told by his doctor he has an aggressive terminal disease he makes the seemingly crazy decision not to tell his family. The reasons behind this decision become clear as the reader discovers his home situation. With a terminally crazy mother and a father with too much to cope with, Ben craves for his last year to be as 'normal' as possible.

This book is a roller coaster of emotions as the reader is taken along on Ben's journey. Whether you agree with his decision or not I found him to be a character of strength to be admired. His humour mixed with the determination to make the best of the time he has left made this read one of the best I have picked up for some time.

Should come with tissues.

Posted by Cookie Fan

Catalogue Link - Deadline by Chris Crutcher