Restart
Gordon Korman (2017)
“What if you woke up and couldn't remember being a terrible person — would you still be one?”
At a Glance
Chase Ambrose, a thirteen-year-old bully, falls off the roof of his house and loses all memory of who he was. When he returns to school, he discovers he was feared and hated by most students but idolized by his cruel friends. Without his memories to guide him, Chase must decide who he wants to be — and whether the person he was before deserves forgiveness or erasure.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
Restart became one of the most widely assigned middle-grade novels in American schools within years of publication because it accomplished something rare: it made students empathize with a bully while never minimizing the damage bullying causes. The multiple-narrator structure gives equal weight to all perspectives — perpetrator, victim, bystander, and witness — making it a natural tool for classroom discussions about justice, forgiveness, and identity.
Diction Profile
Conversational and age-appropriate — first-person narration by a thirteen-year-old, with vocabulary that reflects middle school speech patterns without being condescending
Low to moderate