Met the Deadline for Deadline....

Ok, so I finished the book in two nights, and last night as I read well into the AM hours I thought about coming downstairs to blog , but I decided I'd wait, but here it is...As a whole, I must say I loved the book, I could not stop reading it! Only thing....I am not too comfortable with I guess ANY of the characters...I just couldn't "buy" them....I wasn't sure why, until I considered the question "what is it about my own life or experiences that would cause me to have the reaction I had?" and I think it's that I never knew anyone like Ben, and his small town is alien to what I knew growing up. I had over 500 kids in my graduation class alone, not to mention the ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders in my school. I just could not relate..he actually annoyed me a little at some parts, like he was too corny....Also, his relationship with his brother did not seem real to me..it was too smooth, there was no conflict at all...ever...what kind of brother relationship is that? It just seemed to lack dynamic. But enough about that, as I said, I did really like the book and I think it is because of the very wise and philosophical insights with "Hey-soos." I was amazed at the insight into the meaning of life, and I really liked the "life as a video game" metaphor....very cool...Ben and Cody's family (the parents) also added a dimension that caused me to enjoy it,life can never be too "nice" when you have to deal with a parent with a mental disorder. and that is bound to make them grow up a little fast. The ending was shocking....you know Ben's going to die (even though a part of me hoped it was a mistake the whole time!") but the other boy, that was real sad, and I really felt for his father...he had a lot of guilt on his hands. Oh! one last part I thought was AWESOME was when Ben would argue about bigotry and racism....the points he was making were excellent and I loved it! He was a very smart and insightful kid!! I would (and have already on Facebook) tell others to read this book!