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Hi, Miss Stahurski & 4th Grade Students,

Thanks for posting. I’m glad you liked RESTART so much. I hope you’ll all want to go on to read many more of my books — there are almost 100 of them, so you ‘ve got your work cut out for you! Meanwhile, I’ll try to answer your questions.

1. I didn’t choose the broken glasses, but I approve of the cover. The glasses represent Chase’s accident. They’re also a symbol of his broken life. The book is about how he goes about repairing that life.

2. I had Brendan narrate the last chapter because I knew he was going to be the readers’ favorite. I wanted to end the book, which was on a serious topic like bullying, on a lighter note, and Brendan was the logical choice.

3. Hiawassee is a made-up school with a native-American name. I don’t really know why I chose it. I just did.

4. How did I come up with all the characters? I’m a writer, that’s how. We tell our stories through characters, and the people in our books have to fit into the story and move the narrative along. All writers will tell you the same thing: we use characters to fill out the story we’re trying to tell. Making them up is hard work, but it’s something an author gets pretty good at with experience.

OK? Thanks again people. Keep reading!                                   —–Gordon Korman—–