Author: Lance Rubin
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Simon and Schuster
Goodreads
Imminent death has never been so funny! Denton Little's Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own - except that everyone knows the day on which they will die.Review by Nara
For Denton, that's in just two days - 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 (the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend's sister. Though he's not totally sure - see, first hangover).
His anxiety builds when he discovers a mysterious purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? 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 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, gripping, and outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager's life as he searches for love, meaning and (just maybe) a way to live on . . .
Would you want to know the exact day you die? In the world of Denton Little's Deathdate, everyone does, due to some dubious sort of scientific test (yeah, don't question it, or you'll have trouble accepting the book). And Denton's is in one day's time.
Seriously, wow, this is the second book from Simon and Schuster this year that's really exceeded my expectations. Not going to lie, I certainly wasn't expecting this level of fun from this book. It's witty, it's suspenseful, it's unpredictable. Simply put, it's just some really great writing.
While there is that little splash of scifi with the idea of the death date, at it's core, I'd still most definitely consider this book a contemporary with a bit of mystery/thriller thrown in. It was full of gallows/dark humour, and it was almost to the point that I felt bad about laughing at the jokes and situations Denton got himself into...but they were just too hilarious not to be entertained.
I actually had thought that this book was a standalone, and while I was reading I was quite confused as to how the author was going to tie all the loose threads in so few pages. Well, there was no need to worry, because there is a sequel. A sequel whose title you probably shouldn't look at if you don't want to be spoiled. Although I guess even the existence of a sequel is probably a mild spoiler.
Well, in any case, I definitely recommend this book if you want a fun read. It's perhaps a little over the top in some cases, but it's the sort of over the top which adds to the fun rather than detracts from it, so I'm all for it.
Really liked it
RatingsOverall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 2/5
