Ben joins the football team, earning his place as one of the better members on the team as he rushes headlong into human walls without any fear of being hurt and ruining the rest of his life. He manages to accomplish much in his short time left. He makes it his goal to truly live life while he can, and not to let anyone hold him back because of his illness. Understanding that if anyone else knows about his condition they will force him to spend the rest of his now short life in bed, taking medicine, and doing nothing, Ben decides to keep it a secret. The characters are a bit exaggerated but then again, aren't most characters exaggerated? Ben is going into his senior year of high school when he finds out that he has a terminal illness. Most importantly to Ben, however, he begins a relationship with his long-time crush, Dallas Suzuki.This is not a book that I would typically choose to read (I am a man of fantasy) but I thought it was really good. He also begins visiting the local drunk, Rudy McCoy, to help him clean up his act. In addition to trying out for football, Ben stirs controversy and debate every day in his government class to fight against his conservative, narrow-minded teacher.

The coach of the football team, who Ben maintains a friendly, almost familial relationship with, initially doubts his abilities but agrees to put him on the team nevertheless. At only 123 pounds, Ben is one of the smallest players on the team. The only people who know about his disease are his doctor and his new therapist, Marla, a young psychologist from Boise.Īs sports season begins, Ben decides to go out for football rather than doing cross country, which he has done consistently during his past high school years. Despite Doctor Wagner's disapproval, Ben chooses not to tell his parents about his disease. However, rather than following his doctor's advice, Ben decides he must pack “a lifetime of living” into one year and begins making radical changes for his senior year. Doctor Wagner gives him only about a year to live and recommends that Ben seek treatment in a more urban part of the state. He lives with his father, his mother, who is mentally ill, and his younger brother, Cody, who is a superb football player and attends the same high school as him.ĭuring school one day, Doctor Wagner, the town doctor, diagnoses Ben with a rare, terminal blood disease. The story follows a high school senior named Ben Wolf, who is given one year to live after being diagnosed with a rare, incurable blood diseaseīen Wolf is an 18-year-old high school student from Trout, Idaho. Deadline is a young adult novel by young adult writer Chris Crutcher that was published in 2007.

Deadline chris crutcher audiobook