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Hi, Reid,

Thanks for posting. I’ll try to answer your questions.

Every story is about something. RESTART is about second chances and forgiveness. If Chase had not been mean in the beginning, how would he grow to be nicer in the story? Think about the story and what is required to tell it. The same goes for Joel getting a black eye. That was the climax of the story. Chase had a bad reputation, so people automatically believed that he hit Joel on purpose — which was NOT the truth, right? There again, that incident was part of the story, which was basically about Chase turning his life around after his accident. And why did everyone hate Chase? Well, wouldn’t you? He was a bully and an all-around rotten kid before he lost his memory, saw his world differently, and got the chance to start over.

OK? I hope that helps you understand the workings of storytelling and the whys of RESTART. Thanks again for your letter.

                                                                                                              —–Gordon Korman—–