Review: Denton Little's Deathdate by Lance Rubin

Denton Little's Deathdate is a deliciously dark and offbeat YA comedy/drama about coping with death at a young age ... or not. Set in the not-so-distant future, Denton Little lives in a world where everybody knows the exact date of their death, though they have no idea how it will happen. And seventeen-year-old Denton Little's death date is fast approaching, though not before he gets through a few firsts, such as his first hangover and his first and, somewhat awkward, love triangle. From there, the author creates a number of surprising twists and turns, including a strange virus (featuring a very unusual purple rash) and some almost-brushes-with-death with a yellow car.

Although the premise was a little far-fetched, this novel was bloody amusing in all the right ways and I found myself happily suspending my disbelief throughout a number of odd twists and turns that will no doubt appeal to the target YA audience. Many of the characters felt very human and it was interesting to see the way that they coped with the surefire knowledge that, on this given day, someone who they care about will die. And then, of course, there is the way Denton himself reacts to the news. The author has a lot of fun exploring the subject matter, for example, there are some great scenes where Denton's funeral is held the day before he dies and he gets to deliver his own eulogy. The ending was something of a surprise, though, going back, I could see that the author had perfectly set all of the groundwork. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. 

Highly recommended.

Finally, a bit shout out and you to Simon and Schuster Australia and Netgalley for my review copy. 

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