[Liam]

Hey! I’m J.R.’s friend, and he told me about restart and when I read it it was amazing!

Thanks, Liam. I hope J.R. will get you reading more of my stuff. Thanks for posting.                     ---Gordon Korman---

[J.R.]

Sure will!

[Mrs. Anhder]

Dear Mr. Korman, 

On behalf of our school district’s alternative high school, I want to thank you for your story. I read your book several years ago and thought Chase’s experience would be very relevant in my students’ lives. Each of my students has experienced  a “restart” (or two) of their own and now we all meet together for school in our district’s alternative high school. I would like to share several of my students’ comments with you about the ways your book has impacted their life: 

“All throughout middle school I was Chase, I used to bully a lot of kids, but only the kids who were bullies too. I know it still counts though. I started losing my school credits because of my attendance. I messed up and got really depressed and unhappy in the dating relationship I was in. I lost myself trying to help rescue someone else. I restarted again my freshman year, when I came to the Alternative correctional academy.  I started paying attention, helping others with their work, or helping with anything at all. I became the nicest person to everyone, even the people I didn't know. I got outta that bad relationship. I want to learn to be happy without depending on anyone's attention or presence. Even though I made him happy, I knew it wasn't good for me. Now I'm focused on school, and I got a job. I'm going to start focusing on taking care of my studies to better myself.” 

“I think that your book was really easy to listen to and easy to follow along. The book reminded me of my own restart. I came to the alternative learning center because I was falling behind in my school credits. Now I go to school everyday and my attendance has improved. I try hard on my assignments. I realize a high school diploma is important in order to be successful in life.”

“This story is relevant for people who are bullies, but also for people who have been bullied. Shoshanna had a hard time believing Chase’s change was real and so did everyone else. This made me realize that when people start over and try to do better, we need to give them a second chance.” 

“Thinking about restart made me think about how I had a great restart too. I was expelled for two years.  I started at this school because my probation officer told me I had to go back. I had a bad bad attitude, one that hurt most of the people around me. I had the worst mindset when I started coming back to school. I just wanted to make the teachers miserable and get expelled again. I had no hope and I thought that school had nothing to offer me.  Then I started maturing and realizing that maybe school isn't that bad. Maybe I'm just overreacting and so I decided to give school a chance. School started going really good and I started getting really good grades. I didn't have a single F, even though I was a straight F student before. I also used to be a big bully but I had a restart with that too. Now I'm doing super good and I’m graduating from high school a year earlier than I thought I would. Thank you, your book really made me think of myself 2 years ago.” 

“Your book reminded me of what I went through when I was a kid. I liked how Chase changed his life. I liked it when Chase decided to be nice to everybody and give back that medal. He didn’t have to, but he did. He cleaned up a lot of his mess that he had made. He couldn’t take back all of the bad things he did in the past. Sometimes you can’t fix things, but you can try to make up for it.” 

“A Star Bully of the School to A Boy of Kindness and Forgiveness.  I like the book and how you made the progress of remembering parts of your life by other people bringing up the past or having a moment that feels familiar and remembered. I like the way the narrative changes from one character to the other because it works really well. The types of people I found in books are kinda boring, but you used some unique characters. I especially liked the way you ended the book, how everything settles and shows that a person can change with or without an incident as drastic as amnesia.”

“I had a second chance at the alternative learning center. Before I was always failing and now I'm graduating early.”

“Our decisions can really shape who we are and how people view us. I used to mess around a lot in my freshman year and sophomore year to the point that I was viewed as a bad guy because of all the things I have done in the past. I got moved to the alternative school as like, I guess you could say a fresh start for my life, and to be able to change my perspective on life and how I should fix myself for the better. Reading the book was like how my life was in the past - going after people for no reason just to be funny. I hurt a lot of people prolly, and I'm sorry for hurting those people, you know? I had no respect for no one or myself and I feel I have changed a lot since then.” 

“I think the book was good but I would have loved it if it was set in high school just because it would have seemed more realistic. Overall, the story developed really well and had some surprises. I loved how the point of view would go from one mind to another.” 

As a group, we have a few questions that we have been wondering about. We hope you can give us some answers. 

1. 
   

   All of us in our class think this story should have been in a high school setting because then you would get more high school age kids reading your book. What made you decide to have this story take place in middle school?

   
   


2. 
   

   We are dying to know where you got your idea for this story. Some of our students think that you were Chase earlier in your life. Other students in our class think you had a Chase figure in your life at some point and it gave you the idea. Can you let us know how you thought of this story idea? 

   
   


3. 
   

   Is it harder to write chapters from different points of view? We really enjoyed this aspect of your book. 

   
   

Thanks again for writing such an inspiring story!

[Gordon Korman]

First off, let me say how impressed I am with your students' takes on RESTART. I write my books primarily to be enjoyed, but to see readers so thoughtfully applying my work to their own lives is incredibly gratifying!

To your questions:

1) I agree that RESTART could absolutely have taken place in a high school setting. I might even have been able to explore the story and characters in different way if that had been the case. I chose middle school because - while I have written about high schools in the past - most of my recent work has been about kids that age. So when I began to brainstorm the plot line of RESTART, it was always set in a middle school.

2) Good guesses, but RESTART didn't come from anything in my life. I was thinking about where our personalities come from - the nature versus nurture debate. And as a kind of "thought experiment," I wondered: if your memory is wiped clean through amnesia, do you ultimately go back to the person you were before, or might you become someone totally different?

3) I love the multiple-viewpoint style of telling a story. A lot of my recent books are narrated that way. It doesn't work for everything, but when it does, you can explore a store from every conceivable angle. I'm so glad it was such a hit with you.

Thanks again for your incredible responses to RESTART!

                                                                     ---------Gordon Korman----------

[Mj]

Hey Gordon, after reading Restart and interacting with the fandom, I have a question to ask. Did you ever write any of your characters to be neurodivergent? (ie, Autistic/ADHD) some fans like to headcanon Brenden specifically could be neurodivergent, any thoughts on that?

Hi, Mj,

Thanks for posting.  Neurodivergent. That's definitely a $50 word!

Have you read the 2 (soon to be 3) "GIFTED" books? The two available are UNGIFTED and SUPERGIFTED. Due out in a year or so is #3 in the series, called HYPERGIFTED. I specifically wrote Noah Youkilis to be what you call neurodivergent. He is a genuine genius, with a touch of ADHD plus his own special personality. He thinks on a different plane, which is not necessarily a higher one. He's definitely -- different.

As for Brendan, I don't think so. Mind you, he IS oddly creative, so you might have something there ...

                                                   Regards,                                                           -----Gordon Korman-----

[Jason Bluestein]

Hi, Mr. Korman,

My name is Jason Bluestein, and I am the Principal of Burr Elementary School in Fairfield, CT. I run a weekly book club with four reluctant fifth grade boy readers (Carter, Cam, Ethan, and Spencer.) We just finished Restart together, and I wanted to take a moment - on behalf of the boys - to thank you. They loved the book. I loved the book. From the themes about forgiveness and change to the intersecting plot lines to how relatable the characters were for all of us, we loved reading and talking about the story - specifically Chase's journey. These four boys could read - they just didn't. To see them totally enthralled with the story, wanting to meet and talk, and reading on their own (which shocked some of their parents) - it was a beautiful thing to behold. (A nice reminder for me about how every reader just needs to find the right book.) My favorite memory from our book club was when we were reading the ending. The boys literally cheered when Mr. Solway came to the rescue in the courtroom. So, for all of us, again, a huge thank you.

They wanted me to ask you a few questions, so here goes:

- How long did it take to write Restart? Where did the idea come from? Are any of the characters - especially Chase - based (even loosely) on people you know?

- They thought it had a lot of visual elements and would make a great movie? Any plans to turn it into a film?

- Here's one from me: Any advice you could offer reluctant, adolescent boy readers?

Thank you again for writing a book that truly moved us.

Jason (and Ethan, Spencer, Cam, and Carter)

 

Hi, Mr. Bluestein, & Ethan, Spencer, Cam, & Carter,

I'm really pleased to hear that RESTART went over so well with your group! I'll try to answer all your questions.

1. It took between 7 and 8 months to complete RESTART to a point where I was satisfied with it, and reay to hand it to my editor at the publisher. The idea came from the same place I get all my ideas -- plain old hard work, and a lot of thinking and plotting. I wanted to write something about second chances, and RESTART was it! Characters and events: all fictional, which means I made the whole thing up.

2. There is a film company presently trying to put together a project that will turn RESTART into a movie. That doesn't mean  it will happen, but there's a good chance it might because the book is very popular.

3. Reluctant readers will eventually find an author they like, or a style they enjoy, and become readers. Have faith, Mr. B.

While you're at it, guys, try THE FORT. Some suspense, action, great guy friendships, and plenty of laughs guaranteed!

Thanks for reaching out!                                                                                -----Gordon Korman-----