READER’S FORUM

January 6, 2026 at 04:02 am Reply

Joey Papa

Hey Gordan, I don't really know how to start this but I just came across this blog where you're responding to everyones posts and couldn't possibly pass off writing you something. My class read restart in the 5th grade which would've been 4 years ago for me now, and I loved it. My favorite character was Brendan because I saw alot of myself in him (I'm an aspiring filmmaker and am actually working on filming a movie right now), and I just thought the plot was so interesting and I loved all the characters. I love how with basically all your books (from what I've read: restart, the fort, mixed up) you have endings where you as the reader can decide where all the characters end up in life. If you don't mind, I have some questions that would mean ALOT to me if you answered.

1. As you were writing restart, how did you imagine your characters to look? For example, For Brendan I pictured him as having shoulder length brown hair, glasses (of course), and the type of person to wear cargo shorts all the time. I also imagined him as being pretty short for his age. You don't have to give me a super long description but I think it would be cool to see how accurate my depictions were from how you imagined them.

2. If most people in the main friend group (in restart) grew apart but there was still a duo left over, who do you think would be the two to stay close? (for the record I think the main 5 stayed close throughout highschool but its an interesting thought)

Sorry if I overwhelmed you with the long questions lol. Again, would mean the world if you responded, thanks for your books they mean alot to me.
January 6, 2026 at 09:51 pm Reply

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Hi,Joey,

Thanks for writing. Fire way:

1. I usually only have a vague notion of what a character looks like. I'm more into the essence rather than the physical. That's a good description of Brendan, minos the too-long hair. He would be small and studious-looking.

2. The two would be, maybe, Brendan and Chase. I also have hopes for Brendan and the girl he likes so much. And maybe even Chase and Shoshanna.

Thanks again for your interest and your support for my work. -----Gordon Korman-----
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Hi,Joey,

Thanks for writing. Fire way:

1. I usually only have a vague notion of what a character looks like. I'm more into the essence rather than the physical. That's a good description of Brendan, minos the too-long hair. He would be small and studious-looking.

2. The two would be, maybe, Brendan and Chase. I also have hopes for Brendan and the girl he likes so much. And maybe even Chase and Shoshanna.

Thanks again for your interest and your support for my work. -----Gordon Korman-----