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Sep 24, 2020TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Restart is a mostly solid and satisfying, if not spectacular, novel that allows the reader to remain invested from start to finish. The premise is not very different from what Korman has written before, but it's fascinating in theory. Gordon Korman has demonstrated with his previous novels his understanding of the general preteen mindset; this explains why his body of work (like Restart) is free from a bag of irritating cliches. Restart isn't the novel that escapes the cliches in the dialogue (which needed to be better), but it surely avoids them with the events that take place. The narrative structure is impressive; I was reminded a lot of Wonder whilst seeing it play out here, but only this time, it's used superbly for the development of the characters. We relate to them a lot easier because we understand the psychology, the mindset. There's a lot going in Restart's favour that I wished it were better. The plot points soon begin to become familiar, with heavy echoes to Slacker and Ungifted, and it begins to feel a bit too generic. I wished it were a tighter novel, at least by 30 to 40 pages. Yet, there's no denying that Restart is worth reading, even if it has its flaws. Rating = 3/5 @SSGDP of the Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board I love Restart! I love how the main character is someone who has done bad things, not just your typical hero. The fact that the main character has lost his memories adds suspense and mystery to a normal high schoolers life. Usually characters already know things about themselves and there are things like flashbacks to explain them, but in this book, readers are discovering things about the character while he's discovering them about himself. It really gets readers thinking about whether they have done things like that, things that if they lost their memories and learned things about themselves they would be ashamed of. It makes you think if I had a second chance, what would I do with it? I absolutely love Restart, and think that everybody could learn something from it. 4/5 stars @ToastieTaco of the Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board