Restart by Connor Guarnieri

     Throughout this year, I have read many books, mostly dystopian and mystery, but today I want to take a step back for my final blog and write about a new genre. I remember picking this book up because my 6th-grade teacher recommended it to me. I've heard of the author before and seen some of his other books, but have never actually read one of them. So I thought I should check it out.

    Restart is a realistic fiction book, centered around a main character named Chase. To be right, this kid is an asshole. He has bad friends, he bullies people, intimidates them, and hurts them. But he is a star football player, he has well-respected parents, and whoever doesn't hate him already, loves him. Chase believes he has the perfect life, and is being offered some scholarships for his athletic talents. But it all comes crashing down, literally. He, being a reckless moron, falls off headfirst of his roof, suffering brain damage. He becomes an amnesiac and forgets about everything and everyone in his life, and he can't even remember his own name. He then tries to set everything back to the way it was but realizes along the way that maybe he doesn't want it the way it was anymore.

                                         

    At the time of rereading this book, I noticed many more things than I did when I first read it. Firstly, I never actually grasped how strange it must feel to wake up, remember nothing, and have a bunch of strangers around you, claiming to be your family. You wouldn't know what to believe. I thought the waking-up scene and the thoughts of Chase at the moment were pretty well-handled. I also liked the pacing and setup of the book. You wake up with Chase, in the hospital, knowing the same amount of things about the character as he knows about himself. It really seems as if you are with him, discovering his past. And him slowly realizing that he wasn't a good person is well set up with the hints on the way and the way people behave around him. I also liked the mystery surrounding a particular thing, but without going into spoilers, is a pretty surprising twist that fits the story. I do think that it could go into more detail about the toll this amnesia can take on a person. Overall, it's a pretty interesting new topic for a book, and a solid 8.5/10.