If you only had a short time to live...

kiya@evpl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:28:00 GMT

What if you only had a short while to live? What would it change about how you live? Would you take more chances or fewer risks? Would you tell everyone, a few close friends, or no one? Would you make plans for the future or focus on making memories for those you would leave behind?

Chris Crutcher explores this issue in Deadline, the story of 18 year old Ben Wolf. While at the doctor for his sports checkup, he learns that something is not right with his blood. Further tests show that he has a rare blood disease that is certain to kill him - aggressive treatment might extend things a bit, but there is no "long-term" left in his world. All of this happens in the first ten pages of the book. Then Ben starts wrestling with the big questions - what is the best use of the time he has left? What meaning will his life have had once he's gone? What risks are worth taking? As always, Crutcher explores these issues with a side order of humor.

Forever Changes, by Brendan Halpin, also looks at these questions. Brianna Pelletier is a high school senior, gifted in mathematics, who also has Cystic Fibrosis. Her case is fairly severe, and she doesn't think she has a whole lot of time left. All of her friends and classmates are making plans for college and the future, and she's not so sure she has a future to consider. Halpin is good at grabbing the reader's interest. My son picked up the book, thinking he'd read a chapter or two, and finished the book a few hours later.

Interestingly enough, both books have a music link. Ben Wolf finds that the song Too Old to Die Young resonates with him, while Brianna discovers a CD called Forever Changes by the group Love touches her deeply. You can find both of these at EVPL - see the links below.

Deadline, by Chris Crutcher
Chris Crutcher's website
Too Old to Die Young on Linda Ronstadt's Adieu False Heart
Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin
Brendan Halpin's blog
Brendan Halpin's MySpace
Love's Forever Changes

Love's Forever Changes concert

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Moe Bandy's version of Too Old to Die Young

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How Ya Like Me Now

kiya@evpl — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:54:00 GMT

I've always enjoyed the adult books that Brendan Halpin writes, so I was excited to see a new novel for Young Adults from him. How Ya Like Me Now pulls the reader in pretty quickly, as we meet Eddie just as his life is changing yet again. First his father died, then his mom retreated into whatever pills she could find to numb her pain, leaving Eddie to manage his own life. He did pretty well for a fifteen-year-old, but it came to an end when his mother was arrested for forging a prescription. The book opens with Eddie getting ready to leave his suburban home to move in with his aunt and her family in downtown Boston. Suddenly he's trying to get along in a place where everything is different - a loft in the city, surrogate parents, a cousin his same age, and a small charter school in the middle of the city - his new life is completely different from anything he's ever experienced.

It didn't take me long to begin caring about Eddie, and cheering for him as he finds his way. After finishing the book, I took it home and gave it to my 16 year old son. He was slow to start it (what teen wants to read his mom's suggested book?), but once he began the book, he read it in one sitting. He liked how "real" the characters felt to him, and the interaction between Eddie and the other students. We both recommend this book.

More Information:

Teens Blog : Brendan Halpin

If you only had a short time to live...

How Ya Like Me Now