“It isn't okay to write "smutty" for "smutty's" sake, it is okay to write a little bit racy and still deliver a good story, a story with characters that students can relate to — Shaun Hutchinson did this with 'The Deathday Letter." — Miss Remmers
The clock is ticking... Ollie can't be bothered to care about anything but girls until he gets his Deathday Letter and learns he's going to die in twenty-four hours. Bummer.
Ollie does what he does best: nothing. Then his best friend convinces him to live a little, and go after Ronnie, the girl who recently trampled his about-to-expire heart. Ollie turns to carloads of pudding and over-the-top declarations, but even playing the death card doesn't work. All he wants is to set things right with the girl of his dreams. It's now or never...
Why I read this: The cover really appealed to me. I don't think I even read the (awesome) synopsis until I actually sat down to read it months after receiving it.
Plot: The plot of this novel is definitely one of a kind. The easiest way to describe it is simply saying that the story is set in an alternate reality, one much like our own except 24 hours before you die you receive a mysterious Deathday letter. This it the situation Ollie is faced with — what does he do with the last 24 hours of his life. Even before the first page I was sucked into this novel as a result of the brief prologue (although I don't think prologue is the best word). I found this book to be a complete page turner — a book I read in one sitting.
Characters: The characters of this novel, especially Ollie, are so honest and real. The tone of this novel, because of the strong characters, was fantastic — very much like the tone of "The Duff. " Together, the tone and the characters, made this novel. Ollie thinks, acts, and speaks like a teenager; in the beginning I thought that no one really acted/thought like that... but after consulting the fiance, it turns out that most teenage boys' brains are occupied by two things: sex and girls. Beware: I have never heard of or read so many inappropriate jokes in my life — but this is precisely why my struggling male readers will love this novel: it was written for them.
Cover: Absolutely ADORE!
Random Thoughts: I loved Ollie's Grandma! For such a small character she was developed extremely well.
Final Thoughts: While filled with sex jokes and inappropriate insinuations, this book will be PERFECT for my male students. It's racy enough to be "rebellious" but has a great enough story and, dare I say, moral to be appropriate for school. My girls loved "The Duff" because it was real and honest and my boys will love "The Deathday Letter" for the same reasons. Both of these novels are could be "border-line" school appropriate, but this is due to the honesty and relatablity of the novels. I'm lucky to have such a great school librarian and administration who would put these books on the shelves even if I didn't ask. The question is this: would you rather have loads of books on the shelves that students don't read because they can't relate to the characters and the characters don't sound like them or are you willing to take a risk on a novel that, depending on the school or community, is "questionable" but that the students will devour and still receive a good story? It isn't okay to write "smutty" for "smutty's" sake, it is okay to write a little bit racy and still deliver a good story, a story with characters that students can relate to — Shaun Hutchinson did this with "The Deathday Letter."
*Before reading "The Duff" and "The Deathday Letter" both books were already on our school library's shelves.
Originality: 10/10 Ending: 10/10 Characters: 8/10 Plot: 9/10 My reaction/enjoyment: 9/10 Theme: 9/10 Imagery: 9/10 Setting: 5/5 Voice: 5/5 (AMAZING sense of voice) Style: 5/5 Tone: 5/5 (Tone was absolutely fantastic!) Cover: 10/10 Overall: 94/100 A
To the FTC, with love: Gift