Elizabeth’s Reviews > Deadline > Status Update

The section where a girl in Ben's class is saying the Malcolm X book should be banned because of the ideas it brings out, reminded me of the book Fahrenheit 451.B/c she didn't agree with the book and she didn't want people thinking like Malcolm X, she wanted to burn the book and get rid of all copies just like many of the people in Fahrenheit 451.It seems these type of people are afraid of a world w/ different ideas.

A part of the book I found confusing was when Hey-Soos was comparing life to a video game. He was saying if you play it once you could last a long time, but if you play it again something could jump up and get you, like a disease. To me, it didn't make sense how something could surprise you if you're playing it twice because you should know it's coming.

A part I really liked in this book was when Ben's father was talking about his mother. Ben's mother is sick and acts a bit crazy. Ben asks his dad if he's going to leave her when they go off to college, and his dad responds with no. He says how he made a promise and will never leave her. I really liked this passage and I think it characterized his dad as a faithful man.

Ben's point of view of telling people he's dying, is that he doesn't want people treating him like he's dying. He just wants a normal life, but as it's getting closer to his time, he's feeling guilty about leaving his parents, brother, and girlfriend.

Something I can't stop wondering about this book, is how it will end. Everything seems to be going great for Ben and I can't picture how the author is going to kill him off. I'm predicting he's not going to die.

I would recommend this book to football fans. Deadline isn't necessarily about football, but it does include it in a way that I believe football fans would enjoy. A great football scene is the homecoming game in chapter 8.

A part I find confusing is whenever Ben is talking to Hey-Soos in his dreams because the author never says who is talking, so it is hard to keep track.