OVERALL:
I enjoyed reading Dead Ends mainly because of the interactions between Billy D. and Dane Washington. A shy character with Down syndrome working together with an angsty neighbourhood bully is a pretty interesting dynamic!
BOOK BASICS:
TITLE: Dead Ends
AUTHOR: Erin Lange
RATING: 4/5 Stars
SYNOPSIS (Goodreads): “Dane Washington is one suspension away from expulsion. In a high school full of “haves,” being a “have not” makes Dane feel like life is hurtling toward one big dead end. Billy D. spends his high school days in Special Ed and he’s not exactly a “have” himself. The biggest thing Billy’s missing? His dad. Billy is sure the riddles his father left in an atlas are really clues to finding him again and through a bizarre turn of events, he talks Dane into joining him on the search.
A bully and a boy with Down syndrome makes for an unlikely friendship, but 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."
WHAT I LIKED:
1) The characters - Dane Washington and Billy D: I love it when authors write about characters who aren’t perfect. Just like Ed Kennedy in “I Am The Messenger”, both Dane and Billy great characteristics and flaws in their personality. Dane Washington is an anti-hero - a bully who uses physical violence on people he thinks are being rude or obnoxious. However, most of the time, he only hits or punches when he feels the urge to help someone else. In fact, to me, he feels like a realistic version of Kaz Brekker, minus the Six of Crows and the gloves. On the other hand, Billy D. isn’t just a helpless victim, subject to bullies who mock his Down syndrome. He is headstrong and stubborn, but also has a great deal of perseverance. When searching for his father, he doesn’t ever question if any of his work will lead to a dead end. He continues to try, and won’t accept no for an answer. These attributes and flaws all play out nicely in the book, which means as a reader, it’s hard to place the blame for a problem or mishap on just one character. For me, this makes a book all the more interesting and real.
2) The puzzle-like story element: Dead Ends has a plot based on Dane Washington and Billy D. working together to solve a giant puzzle/riddle Billy D.’s father created, in order to find Billy D.’s dad. The puzzle was comprised of many hints, questions, clues, maps, and maps. When I was younger, I loved reading mystery and books with puzzle elements in them. (I still do!) Think “The 39 Clues”, “The Mysterious Benedict Society”, and any Enid Blyton book. Sometimes when reading, I liked trying to solve the mysteries with the characters, but my favourite part of the book was always finding out the “Why?”, “Where?”, “Who?” and “How?!” at the end of the book. I think that the puzzle-like story element is one huge reason why I really enjoyed reading Dead Ends!
WHAT I DIDNT LIKE:
There wasn’t anything specific I didn’t like about Dead Ends - it was a solid, but not entirely perfect four star read.
YOU WOULD LIKE THIS BOOK IF:
If you enjoy reading books by John Green or books where characters embark on journeys to discover truths about themselves, I would recommend reading Dead Ends!