Book Review: Denton Little's Death Date by Lance Rubin

Summary:   

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.

Release Date: March 2015

Age Group: YA, Comedy, Mystery

Source: Review Copy from Author

Reviewed By: Evan & Ms. Leger & Nat

Review:

This book made a tour through I'd So Rather Be Reading, which is VERY rare. Why? Because Evan read it and thought it was #boss but was worried about reviewing it because there was pot smoking. Evan typically reviews fantasy and normally faeries and dragons refrain from pot (although they do occasionally pull out a hookah and have a little fairy fun but hey tomatO or tOmato right?). I am not #propot but lets face it, most {all} teens are pretty desensitized to it. So, Ms. Leger gave it a go since she reads the "hard stuff". After many phone calls, texts and hallway conversations, it was a no brainer. The consensus--> MUST READ YA.

For parents who have children at an age where you are still able to monitor their reading choices (under 13), be warned that this comedic book entails youth smoking pot and having #thefeels for the opposite sex. With that said here are Evan's thoughts.

Comedic relief and death conspiracy don't usually mix, but this is not your usual book. Denton Little's Death Date is honestly one of the best and most original works I have ever read. It is a dystopian of sorts in that it is a world exactly like our own BUT everyone knows the exact day they die. Some might think that is depressing but the way that Rubin plays off the emotions surrounded with death is oddly comedic. 

There is a little sex but nothing graphic and recreational pot smoking (for this reason I wouldn't let my young teen read it). But I would highly recommend this book to YA lovers> 90's kids will have a real appreciation for this story. I read Bone Thugs & Harmony and lost it! It took me right back in time. 

The mystery is what makes this book a binge'er. The humor will literally make you LOL and cause people in the Wal-Mart line to give you odd stares (true story).

Lance Rubin may be a genius, amazing job! This book will not end up in the donation bag, it is a "borrow AND return". Denton is a permanent fixture on my bookshelf. 

And the best part... THERE IS MORE DENTON COMING! But the wait is killer---> 2017 with Denton Little's Still NOT Dead. An automatic TBR for I'd So Rather Be Reading Reviewers!

*image source: goodreads.com