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Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."
The Horn Book
(High School) After learning that he has a terminal disease and, at most, a year to live, eighteen-year-old Ben Wolf decides to keep the information to himself and to forgo all treatment, thinking that ""my chances aren't about living, they're about living well."" He changes sports from cross-country to football (now coached by Louie Banks, from Crutcher's Running Loose [rev. 8/83]) and becomes aggressive -- and successful -- in pursuing the smart and sexy Dallas Suzuki. He wants to ""maximize his education"" and becomes an autodidact, challenging what he sees as the meaningless drivel taught in high school. That Ben's social awareness parallels many of Crutcher's previous themes (freedom of speech, individual choice, free expression) will come as no surprise, but Ben's nothing-to-lose perspective allows both him and Crutcher to raise the stakes. As the year progresses, Ben realizes that his decision is more complicated than he first knew: by not revealing his secret, he's also lying to family and friends. Ben particularly worries about his younger brother, fellow football-player Cody. Can he survive without Ben, or will Ben's death allow him to stand on his own? Multiple subplots -- the most notable involving a guilty ex-priest -- don't always add to the story and can inch over the top. But Crutcher's latest is for the most part an exhilarating read that will make readers wonder about the meaning and worth of their own lives. Copyright 2007 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Reviews
Star cross-country runner Ben Wolf learns during a physical that he has developed a rare, aggressive, fatal blood disease. Ben is not wholly surprised by this diagnosis because in his heart he has always known that he would not live to grow old. Rather than seek treatment, he swears his doctor to secrecy, hides the truth of his health from his family, friends and coach, and decides to go after the things he's always wanted but never pursued. Those things include football (not usually the sport of choice for an athlete weighing 123 pounds), statuesque volleyball player Dallas Suzuki and petitioning to have a street in town named after Malcolm X. After football season, Ben succumbs to his illness all too cleanly and almost glamorously, describing none of his symptoms but fatigue. More disappointing than that, however, are Crutcher's heavy-handed lessons on the ills of racial prejudice and the need for gun control. Many characters, from athletes to incest survivors, are merely variations from the author's past works; their troubles are treated with care but they are often too good, or bad, to be true. Ben, like the book itself, is likable enough, but ultimately forgettable. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Made me cry. Mortality through the eyes of a young man.