Denton Little's Deathdate by Lance Rubin Pages: 352
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on April 14, 2015
Genres: contemporary, Death & Dying, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Source: eARC from Publisher
Fans of John Green and Matthew Quick: Get ready to die laughing.
Denton Little's Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day they will die. For 17-year-old Denton Little, that's tomorrow, the day of his senior prom.
Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle (as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend's hostile sister. Though he's not totally sure. See: first hangover.) His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton's long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters…. Suddenly Denton's life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.
Debut author Lance Rubin takes us on a fast, furious, and outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager's life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and (just maybe) a way to live on.
Denton Little’s Deathdate is a really funny, and strangely sweet read. I can honestly say that I have never read anything quite like it. It is not the most believable book ever, but you just have to embrace the concept and go with it. If you can do that, you will have a blast on Denton’s last 24 hours alive adventure. Denton Little’s Deathdate takes place in a world in the future that is very much like the world we know today. Technology and living hasn’t advanced too much, but there is one minor difference. In Denton’s world, as soon as you are born they can tell you the date that you will die. They can’t tell you how you will die, but they can predict 100% of the time, the day that you will die. And as you can imagine, this has caused some pretty strange customs to pop up.
Reading about the customs surrounding your deathdate were one of my favorite parts about this book. For instance, how would your funeral be if you actually spoke at it? And what kind of party would you throw if you knew it would be the night before you died? And Denton was an extra special case, because he was an “early”. An “early” are those not so lucky individuals that die before they turn 18. Denton goes through all kinds of mini existential crisis’s, so to speak in his last 24 hours, but he never stays down for too long.
This book is a ton of fun. I loved Denton. I loved, loved, loved his best friend Pow. I thought he was a great guy and so freakin’ hilarious. Pow and Denton became friends in kindergarten because they were both earlies. Pow has a deathdate 1 month after Denton. So without spoiling the book, let me set the stage for you. Denton knows he is going to die in a day, but he has no idea what from. So he goes to his funeral, he goes to his party, and then he is supposed to sit in his house until “it” happens. But then Denton gets a weird purple splotch on his leg, and he freaks thinking that is he is going to die from, which yeah, I think is a valid concern. So he sets off to try and find out what it is, and he ends up unraveling a mystery. The mystery aspect of the book took me by surprise, but I was already in a jolly mood from Denton and Pow’s adorable antics, so I happily went along for the ride.
Denton Little’s Deathdate is a lighthearted read that is the most fun I have ever had reading or thinking about death. I don’t think it is meant to be taken too seriously, and yes the deathdate thing didn’t make a lot of sense the way it was explained, but who cares? The result was a story that will have you laughing your butt off and falling in love with a 17 year old guy that just wants to figure out what the heck is going on before he dies- “literally any minute now.” This book was great. It is fresh and doesn’t feel like every other ya out there. Give it a read.
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1 Winner will get a copy of DEONT LITTLE DEATHDATE (Open Intl)
1 Winner will get an ARC, with original cover art (Open US)
5 Winners will get a bookmark + sticker set (Open INTL)
3 Winners will get a hand drawn cartoon, created by author Lance Rubin (Open INTL)
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kindlemom1
I love that line of “embrace the concept and go with it” because it is so true in so many of our reads and really does make a difference in how much you can and will enjoy a book. 🙂
Wonderful review Michelle!
Megan McDade
I don’t think I would want to know
Jaime Lester
THis one sounds so cute. NOt my normal, by far, but I enjoyed your review and I think I would enjoy this one!
Lekeisha
I don’t think I’d like to know. That’s beyond creepy. Surprise me God!
Kara
This book sounds so interesting, I don’t think I would want to know my death date..I would still be a bit curious though!
Olivia
Whatever happened I would not want to know the day I would die! I don’t think it is natural to live life that way and not the way we were supposed to. I like the idea of always believing there is a tomorrow, but still being wary enough to try and make the most of it. (Just in case there isn’t one!)
laawsuit
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