Where Things Come Back

This book kept me interested which can be hard to do. I really enjoyed reading it and couldn't wait to finish it. when I finally got towards the end of the book it surprised. I do recommend this book to anyone.

So this book could have been the most boring book I've ever read. I couldn't even tell you what happened in the first 100 pages if I tried to. It really slow until the last 20 pages and by that point the only reason you're reading it is to get to the last page so you can finally just be done with it.

This book is engaging and will pull at your heart strings, while making you laugh! The author introduces wonderful characters and I loved them instantly. The author is a true talent and I can not wait to read more of his work!!!!

Check the full review at Inkish Kingdoms! Check the profile to get the link!

It is bizarre enough to make you read the book. It is a bit complicated as how the narrator tells the story, but I can relate to the way of Cullen’s thinking. The rambling around, the ocean of ideas, and rich imagination when one reaches a situation that does not know how to handle. Nightmares, daydreams, conflicting emotions, the incapability to live one’s life after something so big happens, shutting down oneself to the world as nothing and nobody can make you feel better.

It is so true that not all people know how to react to one’s grieve and pain, and most of the time, one only needs to be treated as the person it is. Pity is usually what makes things worst. Different scenarios in a single household that allows you to see all the things that happen in a house since everybody reacts differently to life.

The conflict goes beyond what to do after high school, but the struggle on what to do with one’s life. There are private symbols in the whole novel that are so tangled with the plot of the story, and the paradox of the novel seeing in the phrases “Where Things Come Back” and “No second changes in Lily, Arkansas” because everything and everyone always come back to Lily for a second chance in life.

Sometimes, when I read young adult titles, I have trouble pinpointing exactly what makes the story so meh for me. Is it the often shortened length, which usually prohibits an in-depth plot from developing? Is it the age of the book's main character, who, by and large, is between fifteen and eighteen? Is it the fact that a teen living with his or her parents, in school full time, and generally "taken care of" fails to rouse my Interesting Fiction flags? Because, for the past couple of years, I just haven't been feeling YA titles. Somewhere along the line, I passed the point at which I could relate to a teenager, no matter how unnormal or fantastical their circumstances.

So... there was nothing inherently wrong or bad about John Corey Whaley's novel about the summer seventeen-year-old Cullen's brother, Gabriel, disappears; it just wasn't for me. Whaley's introduction of threading plot lines and a narrative goal had me hooked enough to keep reading, but, once I was finished, that same plot didn't really amount to much. Maybe it was just that I needed an answer to my question of how Benton, the aforementioned "young, disillusioned missionary in Africa" fit into the puzzle that included Benton's college roommate Cabot, Cullen's fling Alma, and, ultimately, Gabriel. (I mean, you don't give somebody their own chapters for nothing.) And once I got the answer, well, great. Mission accomplished.

Because, basically, my interest peaked there, right at the moment we figure out when and how Gabriel goes missing. The ongoing B-plot involving John Barling and an extinct (or is it???) woodpecker failed in its attempt to enhance the plot or provide a substantial metaphorical backbone. The eventual resolution proved that, even though stuff happened, it kind of felt that nothing did.

Rating: 3.5/5

Where Things Come Back won the ALA’s Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and its William C. Morris Debut Award a few years back, so you know it’s no slouch. The book’s protagonist, Cullen Witter, is seventeen and lives in Lily, Arkansas, with his parents and his younger brother, Gabriel. Lily is a teeny tiny town in the middle of nowhere with no claim to fame. That is, until a scientist from Oregon pays a visit to Lily and claims to see a woodpecker that has been extinct for over sixty years (side note: it just so happens to be the same bird as The Good Lord Bird’s titular woodpecker—in this book, Cullen’s best friend, Lucas, says that Native Americans called it the “Good God Bird,” because “They used to see it flying over their heads and in the trees and the only thing they could do was yell ‘GOOD GOD!’ ‘cause it looked so big.”).

The town goes nuts at the thought that the Lazarus Woodpecker is back. They change the name of hotels, they have parades, and Burke’s Burgers even creates the Lazarus Special (it’s just a #3 without cheese). Cullen’s brother, Gabriel, understands why: "Gabriel believed our town needed that bird to exist made absolute sense to me, whether I liked it or not. They needed something to be hopeful about."

But, just as Cullen begins to understand the hope that the return of a bird can bring to their town, Gabriel goes missing. As if by magic, one moment he’s there and the next he is not. No one knows what has happened, but Cullen believes deep-down that Gabriel is dead. But he holds out hope that, like the Lazarus Woodpecker, Gabriel will come back.

Whaley employs a split storytelling device, alternating by chapter. The book begins with Cullen’s first-person narration. The next chapter (and every other chapter thereafter) is told by a third-person omniscient narrator about eighteen-year-old Benton Sage, who begins as a missionary in Ethiopia, where he learns about The Book of Enoch and “Gabriel, the Left Hand of God himself,” who sent the fallen angels (the Grigori, who “were teaching the humans too many things like astrology and the arts”) to hell. The two narratives seem very disparate at the beginning of the novel, but they wind their way together at the end.

This book’s awards are well deserved. Whaley does not shy away from serious issues (suicide, religion). He deals with teenage drama (sex, the future) in ways that are realistic and matter-of-fact, rather than glorified or exaggerated. He employs some obvious but meaningful symbolism. My one major gripe is that the climax and ending are a little rushed/abrupt and far-fetched. But, otherwise, it's an enjoyable book for kids and adults alike.

Lily, Arkansas is a hopeless place full of sad people who tried to leave but failed. Cullen Witter, like a lot of people, wants desperately to get out of this stifling small town. The summer before his senior year in high school Cullen sees his first corpse. Then he sees the body of his cousin who overdosed on drugs. Later, after the corpses and the end of school, the entire town becomes obsessed with a woodpecker--long thought extinct--who may or may not be hiding in the woods around Lily. Stranger still, Cullen's brilliant brother, Gabriel, disappears.

Chapters from Cullen's first person narration are interspersed with third-person narratives from two unlikely missionaries. Other reviews will talk about these stories entwining in strange and surprising ways. They might also call this novel a mystery. I disagree with both statements.

Whaley's debut novel was the winner of both the 2012 Printz Award and the 2012 Morris Award. While the prose is extremely literary, I contend there is very little mystery in this story. The narratives are not particularly shocking in the ways in which they overlap or the general story. Given the plot structure, the big reveal was ultimately predictable.

Where Things Come Back is about nothing so much as it is about waiting. The town is waiting for a woodpecker to return and change its fate. Cullen is waiting for his chance to get away and also for a simpler but much harder thing: the return of his missing brother. There are interesting ideas to be unpacked in this world of waiting--ideas that Whaley does examine in interesting ways.

Unfortunately that is never quite enough to make the story into a page-turner or anything more than a thoughtful, brief, meditation on the randomness of life.

Writerly prose can be found throughout the story which works in some instances to help Cullen develop a very unique voice. At the same time, it always feels like this novel is trying very hard to be thoughtful and contemplative in a way that feels forced.

Cullen's mind wanders throughout the narrative as he goes off on tangents. While these flights of fancy are amusing (as Cullen imagines his town overrun by zombies and the like) they distract from the plot immensely. The structure reminded me so much of the "If you give a mouse a cookie" books that it became the only thing I could imagine as I read these imaginings. Worse, these elements added nothing to the story except to create a titillating ending that leaves a tiny bit of room for discussion.

By the end of the story, Where Things Come Back became a strange and arbitrary novel with a mildly interesting (and very open) ending.

Where Things Come Back is a "rib-sticking" good book. Comparing it to a meal that leaves you satisfied and not having you hungry in another half-hour, was my first thought when I closed the book.

As many of you may know (or maybe not), Ginger at GReads is a fan or Where Things Come Back. I added it to my wish list after reading her review and seeing her pushing it on everyone via Twitter. Once I found out that Corey won the Printz award, I requested it from the library and started it right away.

I'm surprised at how long it took me to read this book. It's relatively short, but it took me a great deal of time to finish it. I caught myself setting it down just to let things sink in and to try and contemplate where Mr. Whaley was taking his story. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how he was going to bring the story together at the end...but he did it and he did it well. About 20-30 pages before the end of Where Things Come Back, the pieces seem to fall in place. I caught myself reading with my hand over my mouth.

I wouldn't call Where Things Come Back a complete tear-jerker. I admit, I cried at the end of the book just a little. I had that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you know/think/assume something bad might have happened and you're just playing the waiting game (or trying to read faster game) to see how everything works out.

Cullen Witter's thoughts and dialogue were true to reality and heartfelt. The book titles that Cullen wrote and were included in the story, added something different to this particular story. I loved Lucas, Mena, Gabriel, and all of the other characters who are in this story.

Where Things Come Back is a well thought out novel and I can't find one thing wrong with it. John Corey Whaley deserves all of the praise and awards he is getting from this book. I'm hoping he is working on another novel. :) I want to thank Corey for this novel and I want to thank him for teaching me what "elephant ear plants" are.

Apparently I'm on a "weird books about boys" streak. I don't quite know what I thought about this book (I guess I'm still processing). The story is told in two parts: that of an average small-town boy, Cullen Witter, and that of a lonely missionary Benton Sage (and later Cabot Searcy). The parts do eventually come back together. Two strange events converge the summer after Cullen's Junior year in high school, the illusive (possibly imaginary) Lazarus woodpecker is spotted in Cullen's hometown and his younger brother Gabriel goes missing. The story weaves between the emotions of losing a sibling and the strangeness of being 17.

I just don't know if it worked...for me. I understand what the author was trying to go for, but I never really grew attached to any of the characters. It was only a little over 200 pages, so maybe the lack of depth was what had me looking for more?

I would recommend this to: mystery seekers, those who like contemporary fiction, stories of friendship, stories about siblings.

May you enjoy it more than I. Hey it won a Printz for goodness sake, someone obviously liked it!

About the only thing Lily, Arkansas has in abundance is trees. So seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks. Everything changes when a reclusive ornithologist named Dr. John Barling comes to town and discovers the long-dead Lazarus woodpecker living in those trees.

Next thing you know, the name "Lazarus" is applied to everything in Lily from burgers to a carnival. And Cullen's praying that the Lazarus miracle will happen for his missing brother, Gabriel, who looks eerily like him, but Cullen believes is the better person.

Cullen's life is having a carnival ride life, experiencing love for the first time while seeing his own family deteriorate over the loss of two young men. The story's dark and yet has that odd Arkansas humor that creeps up and makes you laugh at odd moments.

"Where Things Come Back" reminds me somewhat of "Stand by Me" probably because it begins with Cullen and his family viewing the body of his cousin, Oslo, who died due to drugs. It's a grisly beginning and the inevitable end for a young man who wasted his chance.

This book is for the sophisticated young adult reader who's a bit tougher, with a bit of a dark sense of humor, and can appreciate the nuances of a textured life. There's some strong language and adult content within the pages. In my opinion, the content is probably not worse than many kids younger than Cullen's seventeen years have experienced from the media.

My one issue with the book is that I really wish the chapters had been dated. I found myself having to stop and sort out timelines for myself while I was reading. In the end, I would still strongly suggest "Where Things Come Back" to the audience I listed above. I actually wish I could have read the story when I was Cullen's age.

Rebecca Kyle, August 2011

This entire novel carries a very quirky surreal, magical-realism feel while maintaining a sense of normalcy during abnormal times. It follows the story of 17-year-old Cullen whose 15-year-old brother suddenly disappears just as his small town descends into woodpecker mania over the sighting of a supposedly extinct bird. Intertwined is a side story that's honestly too complicated to even begin to explain, but does eventually tie into the primary narrative in an unpredictable way.

I'm kind of on the fence as to whether I liked this one or not. Cullen was a believable character who makes you cry and laugh as he goes through his daily life. There were parts, though, when I felt the author was weak in capturing how he would be acting over the disappearance of his brother. I did like that Cullen and his brother had a great relationship and the secondary characters had real depth. However, what the heck was with the entire woodpecker storyline? It was confusing and seemed completely unconnected.

The final intertwining of the story lines was mostly satisfying. It may just be me, but I felt like the secondary story had a very retro feel to it, so I was surprised when it turned out to be contemporary. Like I said, maybe I was crazy for that. I also hope that the average reader walks away understanding that that guy was crazy and nothing close to a Christian. Nothing close.

SPOILER

From reading other reviews, it seems most people think that Gabriel really did come home in the end, but I had to wonder if the ending was as happy as it seemed. Every time Cullen descended into third person (which was a lot), it was usually because he was off in some fantasy. Not saying this was meant to indicate that, but just something to consider.

END SPOILER

My copy of this novel was provided for free through the Goodreads First Reads program. However, it took me three tries to get through the whole thing because the first quarter of the book or so dragged.

Ink and Page's Quick & Dirty Review

Rating: 4

The Low Down: Cullen Witter is an introspective teen who sometimes likes to pretend he is a pessimist. It helps that he has grown up in the small Arkansas town of Lily where nothing happens much. Then an ornithologist whips Lily into a frenzy, claiming that he has seen a Lazarus Woodpecker in their midst, a bird that is supposed to have been long extinct. The townspeople cling to the hope that something worthwhile has happened in their town as people pour in to try to find the elusive bird. Then Cullen Witter's brother, Gabriel, goes missing.

Meanwhile, Benton Sage, a college student in Georgia, tries to understand why he failed his father again when he quit his missionary post in Africa. Benton feels misled by God in his quest to help the world. His roommate, Cabot, is drawn to Benton's study of the Book of Enoch, which talks of fallen angels and their half-human children and how God sent Gabriel killed them for knowing too much. Seeing this as his calling, Cabot becomes obsessed with his role in helping mankind.

Will anyone be able to prove that the Lazarus Woodpecker has, indeed, come back from the dead? After weeks of being gone, can Cullen's family hold out hope that Gabriel will be found alive? Can things come back?

Best Thang `Bout It: This is such a deep, thoughtful book. Reminds me a little of the tone in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Shine. Books that when you read the words, you feel the meaning, the impact behind those words, more than the words themselves. In life, there are no "throw-away" moments; everything shapes who you are and what you become. For the good and bad. Sometimes people hide how they're really feeling to make others feel better. Sometimes, you do get what you wish for most.

I'm Cranky Because: I was a little confused when the secondary story kicked in, but that fell away quickly enough.

Should You?: Yes. Everyone needs to stop and really consider things now and again.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley was published on May 3, 2011 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Genre: Young Adult Fiction Contemporary
Ages: 14 and up

The main character of this novel, Cullen Witter, would describe himself as an average kid in an average small town. Cullen has a really great younger brother, whose sudden disappearance turns his family's life upside down. Cullen's best friend, Lucas, a popular kid who is also on the football team, helps him ride out the pain and anxiety in the months that follow.

The story's setting is almost timeless. It could be happening any time in the last thirty years, and the themes of love and finding oneself would not be affected. The town seems perfectly nice. Its smallness alone seems responsible for the restless desire to escape that Cullen attributes to all of its citizens. He sees them as one generation upon another of people who have failed to make it out of there, and yet hardly anyone else truly seems all that dissatisfied.

In many ways, this is similar to Cullen's opinion of himself. His brother, Gabriel, comes across as a loveable, open-hearted nerd who marches to the beat of his own drummer. Gabriel is genuinely sweet and possibly as wonderful as Cullen thinks, but - as with the football player, who is truly a good friend and an incredibly nice guy - you get the sense that Cullen himself is rather special, if only for how much he truly values the people he loves and for all of the good he so readily sees in them.

The town's other characters include Cullen's crush, Ada Taylor, who may or may not be cursed (her boyfriends wind up dead), and a visiting professor who claims to have spotted a woodpecker previously believed extinct. But the greatest draw is Cullen himself, and the mystery of his missing brother. This rich, unhurried story has a soulful sweetness that holds true to the completely satisfying conclusion.

This is one of those books that I unfortunately judged by its cover, now I know that the cover might appeal to some people but it didn't appeal to me. To me it was a little bit plain and it really didn't attract me to the book or made me want to read it, but I had heard from a couple of people that the book was actually really good and they were definitely right, it was such a great unputdownable read that this review will not do it justice.

From the very beginning Where Things Come Back surprises you with Cullen's voice, it was smart, snarky and very much like a teenage boy sounds, very realistic in my opinion and I loved his mind, it was a weird but a fascinating journey being inside it. Pretty soon into the book you find out that Cullen has a wild imagination. He would all of a sudden just start wondering and thinking random scenarios, and you're not really sure at the beginning if it's really happening or he's imagining this things but since they are pretty crazy you begin to tell apart what's real and what's not. It might sound confusing but it's not, you get used to Cullen's wild and crazy thoughts and you end up liking them, because you get to know him and understand him a lot better. Now Cullen is not the only narrator in the story we also get a few snippets of different stories and lives from a couple of other characters who are in totally different places, they don't seem to be related in any way but you somehow know that there's a reason their stories are being told in the book. The book focuses on Cullen and his life mostly, but you can sense that there's going to be a connection between him and the rest of these characters that are also very intriguing and will keep you curious to find out more about them.

I ended up loving Where Things Come Back, the writing was great, the characters were interesting and different, the plot was fascinating and I was able to very easily connect with Cullen, feel his pain and frustration about the town overlooking his brother's disappearance. Even though I did get frustrated with the town about its obsession with this bird, it was also at times funny and sad on how serious they took it, how they saw it as a chance for them to shine with all of these tourists that kept coming. Where Things Come Back has quite a few unexpected and shocking twists thrown at you throughout the novel that you don't even really care that there's not much romance in the story, you just wan to know how it's all going to end. It was a novel about family love and bonds, friendships that may last forever, hope and getting second chances. I highly recommend it and I'm hoping that a lot of people won't overlook this one.

Where Things Come Back tells the story of Cullen Witter, a teenager growing up in Lily, Arkansas. It also tells the story of Benton Sage and Cabot Searcy. Cullen's brother disappears one summer day, and John Corey Whaley keeps his readers on the edge of their seats while Cullen tells what happens that summer. Eventually, the two stories intertwine. Plan on reading the last quarter of the book in one sitting, because there is no way you will be able to put this book down.

There is an element of mystery, of love, and of religion. The one criticism I have for it is that at the story is not always told in chronological order, so occasionally, especially towards the end, I got a little confused. However, I figured it out and probably would not have been so confused if I could have slowed down and read more carefully.

Where Things Come Back was an excellent novel, definitely one of my favorites. It is touching, but not to the point that made me extremely emotional. I absolutely loved it! This book is incredible, especially for a debut novel. I hope to see more from this author in the future.

Cullen lives in a dull small town in Arkansas, where nothing interesting ever happens. When a birdwatcher claims that he has spotted an extinct woodpecker, Cullen's small town is thrown into a frenzy and they forget everything else--like the fact that Cullen's little brother has disappeared without a trace. Even though Cullen can't help but imagine the worse, he would never guess the extraordinary truth behind his brother's disappearance.

Whaley's debut novel is a fascinating blend of first person narrative, memories, and dreams, interspersed with separate chapters throughout the narrator's story that tell a seemingly unconnected but vital part of the story. The novel is incredibly sharp, and Whaley writes stream of consciousness very well, but it is Cullen's strong voice that really pulls the story together and keeps the tone consistent in this bizarre, thoughtful, and surprisingly humorous story. If John Green and A.S. King were to ever write a novel together, it might be something like Where Things Come Back.

John Corey Whaley's debut novel, Where Things Come Back, is a story about a bird thought to be extinct being spotted in Cullen Whitter's hometown of Lily, Arkansas. At least that is what I first thought when I heard about this book. However, it is also about so much more. Cullen Whitter is just seventeen when he learns many lessons over one summer. Not only does a reknowned bird watcher show up in his hometown bringing along media and press also suffering from woodpecker mania, but Cullen's fifteen year old brother disappears without a trace. In addition to dealing with the stress at home, Cullen is also trying to understand girls and dating.
Whaley's novel is well written, and with several turns I didn't see coming. Somehow by book's end he manages to wrap up all story lines in a satisfying way, tying everything together. While parts of this book are humorous, there is also a bit of sadness to Cullen's story as he navigates some rough times in his life.
Where Things Come Back is most geared to readers in high school, but should also appeal to adult readers.

I read John Corey Whaley's second novel, Noggin, a few months ago and made a special note to seek out his first book. I'm glad I did.

Where Things Come Back is a smart, complex (but not too) novel with engaging teen characters placed in a well-drawn community. There's so many things I liked about this book, but one is that it didn't just focus on teens. It was so refreshing to see a book take place on a larger canvas with adult characters whose lives intersect with the main characters of the book.

I enjoyed the narration of Cullen, who seemed like he could be a living, breathing person, unlike some of the teens populating John Green's novels. Where Things Come Back is the rare YA novel that can be enjoyed by teens and adults equally. I guess we just call that a novel. Period.

When I first began reading Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, I had little idea what the book would entail. In reading the first two chapters, I found it hard to judge what direction the story was headed. Because of the slow, boring start, my expectations for the book were lowered. Yet, I grudgingly endeavored further into the book to see where the story would take me.
Luckily, I found myself falling in love with this book as I continued to read. Within his novel, Whaley alternately tells two stories, each about different teenagers and their normal lives. Even though this confused me at first, I actually took pleasure in reading two completely separate stories at once. This kept me interested in reading because I was constantly looking for clues as to how the two stories would eventually come together. I found myself flipping pages quicker than I ever thought I could read, eager to find out the fates of the main characters.
Not only did the two stories keep me engrossed in the book, I also found this novel enjoyable because I could relate to the characters. Cullen, the most prominent character, is a teenager in high school just like me. Throughout the book, he has relationship troubles, school problems, and family complications. Additionally, he lives in a small town with not much to do and not many people. As a teenager myself living in a small town, I found some situations in Where Things Come Back very similar to my own. I could understand his frustrations with wanting to escape his small town, but not knowing how. I could empathize with how he felt when he was put under pressure to do well in school. I related to his general struggle of growing up and trying to find out what he wanted to be in life. Because of his realistic life, I enjoyed seeing how someone else with similar problems to mine would handle these situations. Even though he was fictional, I felt as if Cullen and I could have been good friends.
More so than the realistic circumstances in this book, the most appealing element was definitely the ending. Until the last few pages of the book, the reader was not informed about how the characters of different stories were related. We were aware of Cabot, a college student turned kidnapper, and Cullen’s brother, Gabriel, a missing boy. It was not apparent if Cullen’s brother, Gabriel, would ever return home. In fact, when I reached the last page of the book, I began to think that John Corey Whaley was going to leave the ending of the book for his readers to interpret. If this were to happen, I would have been extremely upset. Thankfully, within the last lines of the book, Gabriel is seen walking towards the front of his house after his months of captivity. After much anticipation and a heavy sigh of relief, I was very satisfied with Where Things Come Back. I would highly recommend this book to any other high school student who seeks a thrill, love, and mystery story all in one. This book definitely is one of the best books I have ever read and I look forward to the books John Corey Whaley will publish in the future.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley is the kind of book that both mystifies and grows on you. It's an odd little story that I'm not completely comfortable with, but yet there were moments I was completely captivated and caught up in the ridiculous yet mundane goings-on of Lily, Arkansas.

Cullen is just like most seventeen-year old boys in small towns. He's bored out of his mind, he hopes he'll have a more exciting future ahead of him, but while he's stuck there, he's going to make the best of it. Then, celebrity lands in Lily in the form of the long-thought extinct Lazarus woodpecker. Cullen is indifferent to the supposed woodpecker but that indifference turns to anger when his younger brother, Gabriel, goes missing and his name does not make the headlines. Gabriel Witter's disappearance is buried under the infatuation with the woodpecker.

I couldn't help thinking what sly insight the author has into our society as a whole. When something garners its fifteen minutes of fame, in this case, the woodpecker, other more important matters go unnoticed. A fifteen-year old boy goes missing for over eight weeks and there is definitely not the search and rescue parties one often sees in cases like this. The local law enforcement was not helpful and Cullen continues to grow disenchanted with his hometown.

Intertwined with Cullen's story is that of a boy named Benton and his college roommate, Cabot. I honestly found their story more interesting through the first half of the book, until Cabot went religious crazy which always rubs me the wrong way. However, how the author makes these storylines work together is inventive and brilliant. And, the author does a great job, writing wise, of making Cabot seem crazy (at least I thought so). One of my favorite lines in the entire story was on page 166 which reads "He had taken Benton's notes and not blown them out of proportion so much as he had strapped an atom bomb to every letter of every word." It's this kind of larger than life writing style that makes these characters come to life.

This book is different. It doesn't have a love triangle, it has a strong male friendship, it has two siblings and a family who patently care about each other but yet, there is dysfunction of sorts within all these relationships. How that plays out on the page keeps you reading. The fact that this book is very different, yet very normal (teen stuck in a small town, girl troubles, envy at the popular guy who has the girl he wants, etc) will resonate with teens. There is scorn, there is heartache, and there is family. On first looking at the book, it doesn't look as impressive as it appears to be, but there is definitely something special about this story. On the other hand, I think there are spots where this book suffers from lack of movement. The story gets bogged down in descriptions of actions, rather than dialogue and actual action so that, at least for me, led to me skimming several passages throughout this story (pages 184-187 in particular seem to suffer from this problem). The long paragraphs of text do not make for necessarily easy or even pleasant reading.

On the other hand, Cullen is really just a normal teen boy and I like that about him. Nothing flashy, no extraordinary talents, at least outright visible like athletics or something. He's just a guy who cares about his brother, has a crush on an unattainable girl, and is not impressed with the Lazarus woodpecker. Reading about the utterly normal has a power all of its own and I think John Corey Whaley showcases that very well.

I really liked this book because, for its time, it was very unique in the YA genre because (1) it read from a male perspective and (2) it was contemporary yet not angsty. Everything about it was a bit ethereal; the setting, the birds, the eccentric mind of a teen boy, and I really enjoyed reading what I thought was the male-YA version of an SAA book. That being said, its surrealism kept me from loving it in this case because it tended to be a bit awkward. At times, it seemed as if our protagonist couldn't care less that his brother was missing. I mean, he said he cared, but it didn't feel like he did. Its awkwardness and predictability is something to get over though, because it was quite interesting.

This actually is an excellant book in many ways, but this one detail may easily cause confusion in reading the book.

The main story follows 17 year old Cullen Witter from the death of his cousin from a drug overdose through the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother. His story is told mainly in the odd numbered chapters. The even numbered chapters start with the story of a youthful missionary for his church, Benton Sage, and then a room mate, Cabot Searcy, and their interest in the apocryphal Biblical book of Enoch. The difficulty comes with the reader's assumption that this story is running concurrently with Cullen's story, but actually, this second story is occuring a matter of time before Cullen's story and it's only when one character connects the two stories that we realize it.

The portrait of a small Arkansas town is well done and the urges of the teenagers to leave are quite understandable. Cullen is a likeable narrator of his part of the story, an intelligent teen who's constantly coming up with titles for books he doesn't write. The sighting of a woodpecker whose species is thought extinct is a symbolic subplot, along with Benton's coming of age.

I recommend the book highly for high schoolers, but do be aware of the time lapse in the even numbered chapters. You will find humor, some suspense, and sympathetic drama here.

I picked up John Corey Whaley's Where Things Come Back because it won the Michael Printz award. After reading Looking for Alaska by John Green (my favorite YA novel) for the same reason, I thought Whaley's book would be promising. This melancholy novel is an account of two characters, Cullen Witter and Cabot Searcy, whose stories are told separately until they meet in an odd coincidence near the end of the book. With only a few mildly enjoyable aspects, this novel just didn't do it for me.

Cullen Witter's brother, Gabriel, has gone missing. I spent the entire book reading just to find out what happened to Gabriel. Will he come back? As the title hints, he might. What actually happened to Gabriel is insane, and while crazy stories are usually interesting, this one is not. As we follow Cabot Searcy, we eventually find out that Cabot is involved in Gabriel's disappearance.

Cabot Searcy's college roommate, Benton Sage, was incredibly religious. Benton's influence on Cabot was life changing, so much so that Cabot felt himself to be called by God to fulfill a sort of prophecy which ultimately leads him to Cullen and Gabriel.

The book is full of references to the bible and hints at some symbolism in the form of angels (the angel Gabriel), but it really is difficult to muster. How does it all connect? How does it all make sense? It does't seem to have any real sort of significance, which is what makes this book so frustrating. By the time I finished the book, I said to myself, I can't believe I spent all this time reading this.

Also a warning, Where Things Come Back does not portray the Christian religion in a positive manner, which may upset some readers or parents of teen readers. While this does not bother me personally, I can imagine some religious families objecting to this novel.

Perhaps Whaley wanted the book to be frustrating, as life is. The book is full of depressing moments and moments that just don't make sense or seem right. In the last chapter the main character offers some kind of answer: "But I'll tell you the meaning of all this. . . the meaning of this was not to save you, but to warn you instead. To warn you of confusion and delusion and assumption. To warn you of [things or people] who say they can help, but never do." The author seems to be saying that life will be full of horrible moments, people will disappoint you, and things will not make sense. Yet in the end it all works out the way it is supposed to? Even if it seems to be meaningless? What?

When Cullen asks about the meaning of life, he gets this response from his counselor, Dr. Webb: "life has no one meaning. It only has whatever meaning each of us puts on our own."Again, this was in the last few pages, and while it was somewhat enjoyable to contemplate such things as the meaning of life, the resolution was still aggravating.

I like the bittersweet tone of the book, a mix of desperation and hope as Cullen Witter yearns to have his brother back. Cullen's voice was somewhat entertaining; I enjoyed his tendency to speak about himself as "one:" "When one is sitting in his bedroom and, happening to glance out the window, sees his little brother walking slowly down the driveway, he immediately jumps up..." (228). His occasional launch into third person storytelling provided a change of pace that was needed.

Even so, these moments were not enough to redeem this book. Perhaps I didn't look deep enough. Perhaps I wasn't open minded enough. These are things I tell my high school students to do. Look at the symbolism! Perhaps the author wrote it that way so you would ask questions! He wants to make you think!

Thinking about this book is a pain. It's not rewarding. I very much enjoy books where you have to draw your own conclusions. Unfortunately, after pondering the theme of this book, you're likely to find yourself hitting your head against the wall. Whaley's initial storyline and conflict kept me reading, but I wish I had stopped when I started.

This is an interesting read because it skillfully uses different points of view, which is hard to do. It begins with the perspective of Cullen, a high school student from a small southern town, whose brother Gabriel goes missing. It then shifts to a character who, after an unsuccessful stint as a missionary, attends college, where his religious views inspire his roommate into some rather extreme ways of thinking. The read is so engaging that one doesn't begin to wonder how the storylines tie together before they begin to do so. I can't really say much more about that without giving away the plot.

One of my favorite books is Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan, which is told in a similar style (two different narrations intersecting). As much as I love John Green (and Will Grayson is in fact funnier, though it is meant to be), I was actually more impressed with this book because of how well the two narrations and different plot points come together.

Another element worth mentioning is voice. This book, frankly, could be described as a downer. It begins with having to go to identify a body, involves a suicide, a missing kid - not exactly cheery topics. The voice of the main character, Cullen, immediately engages, and it prevents the reader from drowning in the seriousness. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read and particularly strong characters.

You know you're reading a fantastic book when you read the last paragraph and immediately turn back to the beginning to start it over again.

Where Things Come Back is just such a book. Personally I don't know just what it was that made this as irresistible read as it was. I don't know if I should praise the realistically flawed yet endearing characters. The fascinating mystery/introspective nature of the story. Or just the general captivating nature of the writing itself.

What I can say is that Where Things Come Back is a must read book for everyone, both teens and adults. And that if you had to only read one book this month (I say month because there are some other fantastic books that came out this year and I'd hate to limit you), then it should be Where Things Come Back.

Not your typical storyline. This story was a light read that grabbed me from the very beginning and wouldn't let go. Cullen lives in Lily, Arkansas, a small town that soon finds itself in national headlines due to the sighting of an extinct woodpecker. What happens next, though, is unreal. His brother Gabriel goes missing, and the story continues in the aftermath of Gabriel's disappearance without a trace. Cullen tries going on with his life, but struggles with it at the same time, and all the while making fun of the gentleman who claims to have spotted the return of the extinct bird, even laughing at the absurdity of the town changing their image to highlight the notorious Lazarus woodpecker. Powerful storytelling at it's best. A must read!

Although there are parts of this book that I genuinely like, specifically the way small town life is portrayed and the way the two story lines overlap, I thought the book as a whole fell flat. I didn't get a sense of who any of the characters were, nor did I understand their motivations. I didn't see any character development or growth throughout the novel. It read more as a series of events than as an introspective novel meditating on grief and life, as the summary suggests. The author hinted at the narrator's sense of loss with regards to his brother's disappearance, and perhaps it was intentional, but I felt like any time there was a chance to explore real emotion, the narrator went off in a different direction. There were parts where the author could have explored familial love and the loss of a sibling, instead that pain was mentioned only briefly. Perhaps this is a misreading on my part; perhaps the narrator was meant to live on the surface. I just never got the sense that the character felt any of his emotions. He always seemed surprised to find himself crying and quickly repressed any negative feelings. Given the lack of emotion throughout the story, the ending left me without feeling any catharsis or relief.

However, the lack of dynamic female characters is not a misreading on my part. None of the female characters have any depth whatsoever. The narrator is most definitely a Nice Guy: the Nice Guy who claims to be nice in order to get girls to like him but never proves that he actually is nice, nor does he understand that his niceness is not enough to replace a personality. The female characters, in turn, are little more than props to him. They rarely have dialogue and are always seen in relation to another male character.

The book felt like a young, male author's debut novel wherein the meaning of life is explored.

This is a wonderfully crafted book that explores death...and life. His characterizations are rich, as is his use of setting. I found both plots interesting as I kept reading to find out how and when they would intersect. The ending, while I certainly predicted it, was exciting and satisfying.

The story was great, good twists, concept, and characters. On the other hand I didn't like how it was written, he used the phrase "when one..." wayyyy to much when starting paragraphs and it was pretty slow at a some points, I honestly didn't enjoy it until i finished it and everything came together with a twist, but up until that point i was really disappointed.

I rarely ever read "young adult" literature, and to be honest I wouldn't have read this book had the author not been from (roughly) my neck of the woods here in north Louisiana. But I will happily admit that I would have been wrong to dismiss this as a kid's book. Matter of fact, I think that if young adult lit weren't all the rage these days (thanks to Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc.), or if this book had come out ten or fifteen years ago, it wouldn't have been labeled as such. I mean this as a compliment, because I, a nearly thirty-one-year-old, thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book, and never once felt like I was reading below my grade level.

Whaley paints a perfect picture of a small southern town and its adult and teen inhabitants. He not only nails the descriptions of the physical setting, but also of the characters' emotional and psychological reactions to their surroundings. I remember feeling exactly like Cullen Witter when I was seventeen, and it's that kind of identification that ultimately makes this type of novel work. The prevailing flaw of most first-person-narrated, coming-of-age novels is that the protagonist/narrator is too quirky and far too articulate for their age. They always seem to be constructed out of the author's memory of what he or she thought they acted like when they were teenagers. However, with this book, Whaley manages a much more realistic tone. His teenage characters are bright, observant, and articulate, but not beyond their years. They are quirky, but just enough to where they don't quite fit into their surroundings, and not quite enough to be at home in, say, a Wes Anderson movie.

Overall, I thought this was a very good novel, deserving of its accolades. My only caveat is that I'm not sure a younger teen would get this book in the same way that someone as old as or older than the narrator would. So for that reason, I think the book should have been marketed outside the "young adult" market. But maybe that's just me. I look forward to seeing what Whaley does next.

This is a wonderfully crafted book that explores death...and life. His characterizations are rich, as is his use of setting. I found both plots interesting as I kept reading to find out how and when they would intersect. The ending, while I certainly predicted it, was exciting and satisfying.

The story was great, good twists, concept, and characters. On the other hand I didn't like how it was written, he used the phrase "when one..." wayyyy to much when starting paragraphs and it was pretty slow at a some points, I honestly didn't enjoy it until i finished it and everything came together with a twist, but up until that point i was really disappointed.

I had to read this book for a graduate literature class. I had never heard of it before but now I can say I am truly a fan. This is a great book that kept me reading and wondering the whole time. I read it quick because I could not put it down. I would recommend it to anyone.

I did not find this book hopeful, but ultimately depressing. However, I can see that the complexity of it, as well as the connections that are ultimately made between the characters are somewhat intriguing. So, while it manages to get past being just plain weird, it fails to rise above the dark and the bizarre and into the profound in its examination of small town life.

At least one other reviewer commented on the inappropriate language in this book. Let me be more specific: before I gave up keeping track, if one were to spread out the crude or inappropriate language, there would be an average of one word, phrase or term that would get a kid kicked out of class (or this review banned from the store) on 75 per cent of the pages of this book. So while this book may be aimed at teens, it would mystify me if this volume were to be put into a school library with so much gratuitous profanity. Some of it helps set the tone and characterize some of the characters, but the constant barrage of crudeness ultimately distracts and detracts from the story.

Not recommended.