Restart

Restart by Gordon Korman has become one of my favorite read-alouds for fourth and fifth grade. The story begins when Chase Ambrose wakes up in the hospital after an accident with no memory of who he is. As he learns about his past, he realizes he wasn't the kind of person he's proud of. Suddenly, he's surrounded by friends who expect him to act like the old Chase, while also facing classmates who remember how badly he treated them. Watching Chase figure out who he wants to be, and having the courage to become a kinder, more respectful person even when it's hard is what makes this story so powerful.
My students were completely invested in the story and would always ask me to read a little more! It led to some great discussions about show more bullying, honesty, kindness, respect, forgiveness, and whether people really can change. The conversations felt authentic because the situations in the book were so relatable to upper elementary students and the kids felt the emotional pull of the characters.
I also love that Korman doesn't preach the lesson, but rather lets kids wrestle with tough questions and come to their own conclusions alongside the characters. I highly recommend this book as an upper elementary read aloud… It's an engaging, relatable read that keeps students hooked while opening the door to important conversations about character, choices, and second chances. show less

After a fall from his rooftop, Chase Ambrose doesn't remember anything at all -- not his family, not his friends, and certainly not how he was the biggest bully in his middle school. Post-accident Chase is ready to start with a clean slate as a nice guy, but will anyone in his school ever forgive him for his past actions?

This was an interesting take on the wish we all sometimes have of magically erasing our past transgressions. What's nice is that Chase becomes a more empathetic person, but he doesn't have an easy go of convincing others about this right away. It's important for kids to learn that while they can do better in the future, that doesn't wipe away what's already been done -- and therefore it's important to choose wisely from show more the start.

Another good thing about this book was how it wasn't written entirely in Chase's perspective. We also see kids who are victims of bullying as well as some other school bullies. With the audiobook, multiple narrators really bring all these characters to life.

Korman does a fine job of mixing just the right amount of humor into this book about rather serious topics. And while it's perhaps a little too neatly wrapped up at the end to be considered 100% realistic, sometimes it's nice for kids (and adults) to have a happy ending with everyone getting their just desserts. show less

Publisher's Blurb:
"Chase's memory just went out the window.
Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again... starting with his own name.
He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return.
Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.
One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.
Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is - it's a question of who he was... and who he's going to be.
From the show more #1 bestselling author of Swindle and Slacker, Restart is the spectacular story of a kid with a messy past who has to figure out what it means to get a clean start."

My Comments:
Borrowed as an e-book as soon as I saw who the author was. Fantastic book whereby the school's greatest quarterback and biggest sporting-jock bully gets a chance to do himself over. Can read passage at the start out to grip the students in. Very realistic and believable, I went online and read up about personality changes after coma/brain injuries and there are some fascinating stories....maybe your personality IS a part of your brain. But I digress, this book will appeal to older boys - swearing and violence and the cover is a winner too. show less

A bully falls from a roof and ends up with amnesia. Does not remembering your past make you a new person? Or once a bully, always a bully? And what happens when the horrible things you've done start coming back to you, but they come along with the feeling of power and invincibility you once had? Add to that a final scene that had me bawling my eyes out and you've got a winner of a story. Absolutely adding it to my grade 4/5 school library—and I think older kids and adults will love it, too.

3.5 stars

Can we talk about amazing books that straddle the thin divide between middle-grade and YA? The ones that fall in with both sides while clearly belonging to their own league?

This is one such book.

Memory loss and starting over may seem somewhat cliche, but I'm not sure I've seen it done properly for this particular audience. Until now.

I will be the first to admit that the book isn't flawless. There are reasons why it does not have five stars. And there are some things that (retrospectively) raise some questions. Like why the kids were allowed to reach such heights of depravity in the first place. Plus some characters are not as fleshed out as they could have been.

Overall, I would recommend this with little to no reservations. It show more does tackle accidental fresh start on lease of life surprisingly well. And does make one think about the influence of choices and true value of embracing your self.

FINAL VERDICT : GIVE IT A READ! show less

One of Korman's best. Gets at a lot of the same ideas as Schooled (what does it mean to be an outsider? how do you know who your real friends are? how do you make amends for something you've done wrong?) but it's much better written. Kids I've given it to have generally enjoyed it. My only quibble is that if a serious concussion changes your personality, it's likely to make you *more* impulsive, selfish, and incapable of thinking through consequences, not less. I could see this story confusing a kid about the public conversation around football head trauma, so a quick, "This is fiction; how concussions really work is xyz" is probably a good idea.

Restart is a fantastic book!
This is a story for a younger reader, 5th grade up to high school level, but this is honestly a book for all ages. I read Restart while transcribing it into braille for a 5th grade student.
Restart is centered around Chase Ambrose who wakes up in the hospital, suffering amnesia. Chase IS his town's middle school football star, and also his school's infamous bully. However Chase, having no prior knowledge of who he was before his accident, can't seem to reconcile his former self with the person he is after his accident. Classmates duck out of his way, flinch at even his presence. Worse still, Chase and his cronies bullying were responsible for one student's abrupt move to a boarding school.
When Chase first goes show more back to school, his principal brings up that Chase has a unique opportunity at a restart. That his former habits did not need to follow him around now, and that he could really start from zero. The issue Chase runs into is that although he is a different person, the people around him are unsure if they can truly trust whether he can actually have changed. And whether or not Chase being able to remember his past bad behavior covers over his actual former bad deeds. Chase struggles to learn if even he can learn to forgive himself.
I really enjoyed this text. The themes of forgiveness, redemption and change are played out in a manner that even the younger readers can pick up on, without being hamfisted in its delivery. I think any child going into that precarious age of preteen/teenage years would be benefited by reading this story. show less