Title: Dead Ends
Author: Erin Jade Lange
Publication Date: 2013
Genre: Contemporary, Coming-of-age
My Rating: ★★★★★
Favourite Quote: “But I guess it didn't matter how long you walk alone; once you get used to someone travelling next to you, you sort of come to count on it. And once it's gone, no matter how hard you try, you can't remember what it felt like to have no one there.” - Dane.
Synopsis
"A bully and a boy with Down Syndrome. It's the unlikeliest of partnerships, but Billy needs Dane's help. He is sure the riddles left in an atlas are really close to finding his dad again, and he convinces Dane to join the search. Together they work through the clues, leading to unmarked towns and secrets of the past. But they're all dead ends. Until the final clue...and a secret Billy shouldn't have been keeping."
First of all, I just want to say: WHY HAS THIS BOOK NOT GOT THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES? It truly is an excellent book. Two weeks after I finished it, I was still thinking about it whilst eating dinner, and on the train to work, and on the toilet. Basically ALL. THE .TIME. I have like a whole film of the book in my head. This is one of those books where you start reading it and before you know it, you've reached the end- it's that good.
I came across this hidden gem in a charity shop, the front cover initially arousing my interest. There was barely a synopsis, just a few good reviews which included words that drew me in like "touching", "life-affirming" and "rewarding" and so I thought, it's only £2, why not? I'm so thankful I picked it up because it's definitely become one of my favourite novels.
So, Dane's a fairly notorious high school student with good grades and anger issues. His main hobby is beating up anyone who provokes him, (the only exception being people with special needs and girls) and so he's one more fight away from being expelled. Dane meets new neighbour Billy D, a boy his age with Down Syndrome. Much to Dane's annoyance, Billy D latches onto Dane in hopes that walking to school with him will keep other bullies away. Despite this unlikely pairing, they both have one thing in common: absent fathers. Unlike Dane, Billy D wants nothing more than to find his dad and he is convinced he can achieve this by solving the written clues that his dad left him in his atlas. Of course, the last thing Dane wants to do is get involved, but with expulsion looming over his head he makes a deal with Billy D: if Billy D can prove to the school that Dane is a good kid, he will help him search for his dad. As they solve riddles together they learn things about each other, discover things about themselves, partly flaws they'd rather not see, but also qualities they didn't even know they possessed. And what becomes of it? Something neither of them has ever had before- a true friend.
"You said you wouldn't beat me up- because of how I look, right?"
Billy D. endeared himself to me almost straight away. I've noticed that many times authors who present characters who are intellectually and/or physically different from what is considered "the norm" frustrate me because I feel like the portrayal is overtly stereotypical and at worst, mocking. With Dead Ends, however, Billy D's Down Syndrome isn't a defiant trait in his character. Whilst he may not be on par with other 16-year-olds, he's not an idiot. He's his own person, capable of taking care of himself and doesn't need other people's pity. He's not a character simply there to represent a minority either- he has his own motivations, so I really admired how Lange portrayed him. Furthermore, he's a high- functioning, intelligent, smart-arse, which is one of the reasons why I fell in love with Billy D.
What's so great about this book is that two vastly different boys come together and make the world a more bearable place for each other.
“I’d always said that I didn’t hit girls or challenged kids, and when it came to a fight between the two, I didn’t know which side I’d pick – I’d probably just stay out of it. But when it came to anybody versus Billy, there was no question whose side I was on.”
Dean and Billy D's relationship is heartwarming. I loved watching their friendship grow. I must admit, I rolled my eyes at Dane's attempts to deny that they were friends. Yes, at first it was just about Dane getting into his school's good books but when Dane helps Billy D in his quest it becomes so much more than that.
One of the strengths in this novel is the character development, particularly Dane's. Dane goes from calling Billy D a "retard", embarrassed to be seen walking with him (practically making him walk on the other side of the road) to threatening anyone who so much as looks at Billy strangely or treats him like an idiot.
The two boys infuriate each other, but they also bring out the best in each other and themselves. What works well about this duo is that they are both flawed, but both have a good heart buried behind their exterior. Lange doesn't try to portray either of them in a better light. They are both misunderstood by the world, and they both just need a friend. Just as Billy D and Dane learned to appreciate each other, it didn't take me long to appreciate the pair of them as well.
"Mark calls you a dick but I know what a dick is, and it's not a name. In my life skills class, they call it a penis."
"Dude! I don't wanna talk about dicks with you."
Yes, this book at times was emotional but, it's also funny and I was surprised at the amount of humour in the story. What Lange establishes so well is the humour between the two of them, their banter is natural. Dane is incredibly witty and sarcastic, and I absolutely love sarcasm. Alternately, Billy D is humorous in his habit of questioning the meanings of metaphors, sayings and colloquialisms. And I call Billy D a smart-arse because he purposely asks Dane philosophical questions to shut Dane up because he knows Dane can't answer any of them, yet Billy has an answer for everything. Combined, these two different approaches to humour seem to form a perfect blend of innocence and dryness which makes you laugh out loud.
I loved the multiple The Karate Kid references along with the riddles and ridiculous town names (I mean who knew that Dickshooter and Hellhole Palms are REAL American towns?) Also, it was interesting to see the dynamics between the different relationships presented in the novel, whether that be friendship, parental, romantic*, or the teacher/student interactions.
(*There's a little romance in the story between Dane and a cool, kind skater chick named Seeley. I don't want to go too much into that though because it's not overly important/the focus of the book.)
The only small complaint I have about this novel is that sometimes Dane and Billy D's relationship is a little irregular. Like one minute they're the best of friends, bantering together, and the next minute they're arguing and shouting at each other. Then again, is friendship ever perfect? We all argue with our friends from time-to-time, and it just goes to show how real this book is, displaying the ups and downs of friendship.
I glared sideways at Seeley. "If you mean people like Billy D can't ride a skateboard, you're wrong. He can stand on a piece of wood as good as anybody."
This is an awesome story about not judging people. It's about friendship and building bonds you never believed possible. It's about absent parents and their child's longing to know them or reunite with them. This book reminds us that friendships are not always smooth and that we never stay in one place forever because we're always searching for something or running away from something.
I came across this hidden gem in a charity shop, the front cover initially arousing my interest. There was barely a synopsis, just a few good reviews which included words that drew me in like "touching", "life-affirming" and "rewarding" and so I thought, it's only £2, why not? I'm so thankful I picked it up because it's definitely become one of my favourite novels.
So, Dane's a fairly notorious high school student with good grades and anger issues. His main hobby is beating up anyone who provokes him, (the only exception being people with special needs and girls) and so he's one more fight away from being expelled. Dane meets new neighbour Billy D, a boy his age with Down Syndrome. Much to Dane's annoyance, Billy D latches onto Dane in hopes that walking to school with him will keep other bullies away. Despite this unlikely pairing, they both have one thing in common: absent fathers. Unlike Dane, Billy D wants nothing more than to find his dad and he is convinced he can achieve this by solving the written clues that his dad left him in his atlas. Of course, the last thing Dane wants to do is get involved, but with expulsion looming over his head he makes a deal with Billy D: if Billy D can prove to the school that Dane is a good kid, he will help him search for his dad. As they solve riddles together they learn things about each other, discover things about themselves, partly flaws they'd rather not see, but also qualities they didn't even know they possessed. And what becomes of it? Something neither of them has ever had before- a true friend.
"You said you wouldn't beat me up- because of how I look, right?"
What's so great about this book is that two vastly different boys come together and make the world a more bearable place for each other.
“I’d always said that I didn’t hit girls or challenged kids, and when it came to a fight between the two, I didn’t know which side I’d pick – I’d probably just stay out of it. But when it came to anybody versus Billy, there was no question whose side I was on.”
Dean and Billy D's relationship is heartwarming. I loved watching their friendship grow. I must admit, I rolled my eyes at Dane's attempts to deny that they were friends. Yes, at first it was just about Dane getting into his school's good books but when Dane helps Billy D in his quest it becomes so much more than that.
One of the strengths in this novel is the character development, particularly Dane's. Dane goes from calling Billy D a "retard", embarrassed to be seen walking with him (practically making him walk on the other side of the road) to threatening anyone who so much as looks at Billy strangely or treats him like an idiot.
The two boys infuriate each other, but they also bring out the best in each other and themselves. What works well about this duo is that they are both flawed, but both have a good heart buried behind their exterior. Lange doesn't try to portray either of them in a better light. They are both misunderstood by the world, and they both just need a friend. Just as Billy D and Dane learned to appreciate each other, it didn't take me long to appreciate the pair of them as well.
"Mark calls you a dick but I know what a dick is, and it's not a name. In my life skills class, they call it a penis."
"Dude! I don't wanna talk about dicks with you."
Yes, this book at times was emotional but, it's also funny and I was surprised at the amount of humour in the story. What Lange establishes so well is the humour between the two of them, their banter is natural. Dane is incredibly witty and sarcastic, and I absolutely love sarcasm. Alternately, Billy D is humorous in his habit of questioning the meanings of metaphors, sayings and colloquialisms. And I call Billy D a smart-arse because he purposely asks Dane philosophical questions to shut Dane up because he knows Dane can't answer any of them, yet Billy has an answer for everything. Combined, these two different approaches to humour seem to form a perfect blend of innocence and dryness which makes you laugh out loud.
I loved the multiple The Karate Kid references along with the riddles and ridiculous town names (I mean who knew that Dickshooter and Hellhole Palms are REAL American towns?) Also, it was interesting to see the dynamics between the different relationships presented in the novel, whether that be friendship, parental, romantic*, or the teacher/student interactions.
(*There's a little romance in the story between Dane and a cool, kind skater chick named Seeley. I don't want to go too much into that though because it's not overly important/the focus of the book.)
The only small complaint I have about this novel is that sometimes Dane and Billy D's relationship is a little irregular. Like one minute they're the best of friends, bantering together, and the next minute they're arguing and shouting at each other. Then again, is friendship ever perfect? We all argue with our friends from time-to-time, and it just goes to show how real this book is, displaying the ups and downs of friendship.
I glared sideways at Seeley. "If you mean people like Billy D can't ride a skateboard, you're wrong. He can stand on a piece of wood as good as anybody."
This is an awesome story about not judging people. It's about friendship and building bonds you never believed possible. It's about absent parents and their child's longing to know them or reunite with them. This book reminds us that friendships are not always smooth and that we never stay in one place forever because we're always searching for something or running away from something.
There isn't much else I can say about the plot without spoiling it, but I will say this: Dead Ends is a poignant book, with intelligent writing and fleshed out characters. I can't recommend this novel enough. It touched my heart, and if you decide to read it, I really hope it touches yours too.
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