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izzy_1004_'s review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book!
The writing was boring, I have to say, but the plot was so good, it didn't matter.
If you believe in or are facsinated in recarnation then this book would be very interesting to you. It was for me!
The writing was boring, I have to say, but the plot was so good, it didn't matter.
If you believe in or are facsinated in recarnation then this book would be very interesting to you. It was for me!
charonlrdraws's review against another edition
3.0
You know what sucks the first half of this book is great and then it kind of took a nose-dive and I lost interest and no longer cared for the characters which sucked, yeah this isn't the first Gemma Malley book I've read and this book sounded so good but I was a little disappointed with this book as it had so much potential for being a great book. But it was way too short and it was rushed.
A summery for The Returners:
Will Hodge is being followed by people who insist they know him, though he does not remember them, and his terrifying dreams have begun spilling over from night-time into day. He is also a witness in a murder trial and is coping with the death of his mother. Life couldn't get much more difficult. Or could it?
Slowly, Will discovers that his past is not all that he thought it was, and the people following him aren't really strangers. They are Returners, and they have an important message about some truths Will has forgotten - terrible truths he may wish he had never known...
I will continue to buy Gemma Malley's books but yeah I did feel a little let by this book which is sad really.
A summery for The Returners:
Will Hodge is being followed by people who insist they know him, though he does not remember them, and his terrifying dreams have begun spilling over from night-time into day. He is also a witness in a murder trial and is coping with the death of his mother. Life couldn't get much more difficult. Or could it?
Slowly, Will discovers that his past is not all that he thought it was, and the people following him aren't really strangers. They are Returners, and they have an important message about some truths Will has forgotten - terrible truths he may wish he had never known...
I will continue to buy Gemma Malley's books but yeah I did feel a little let by this book which is sad really.
piperbunny's review against another edition
2.0
Not exactly the book I was expecting. I was hoping for something a but more time travel than radical politics!
The main character Will or Hodge I just couldn't get on with. He had "freaks" following him for two years and yet he did nothing about them? And it took half of this book for him to actually talk to them, the first part was him whining about school/dead mum/hateful father. The second part of the story was Will wanting to better himself based on his past life memories (okay that was probably the last couple of chapters rather than the second half!).
The B story was more focused on his Dad's extreme, bigoted political views with a bucket load of racism and xenophobia thrown into the mix. I did like the morals of the story but not how dark the story went to tell it. It's a scary though thinking there are people out there who believe in such things!
The main character Will or Hodge I just couldn't get on with. He had "freaks" following him for two years and yet he did nothing about them? And it took half of this book for him to actually talk to them, the first part was him whining about school/dead mum/hateful father. The second part of the story was Will wanting to better himself based on his past life memories (okay that was probably the last couple of chapters rather than the second half!).
The B story was more focused on his Dad's extreme, bigoted political views with a bucket load of racism and xenophobia thrown into the mix. I did like the morals of the story but not how dark the story went to tell it. It's a scary though thinking there are people out there who believe in such things!
dairyqueen84's review against another edition
3.0
Will Hodges is a loner type in school with a bit of an anger management problem like his dad. He witnesses the aftermath of a murder for which a former immigrant friend is charged. Will tells this story and about the nightmares that have plagued him in recent months where horrible things are happening to people and he wakes up in a sweat. He is also being followed by people who act like they know him and stare at him with hollow, sad eyes. When they finally get close to him, they tell him that he is a “Returner” like them. He doesn’t know what this means and he doesn’t want to know, until his nightmares begin intruding on his waking life. Told in Will’s anguished and angry voice the story winds from the present to the near past to the more distant past and back as what being a “Returner” means for Will is revealed. Returners come back again and again to absorb the pain and suffering of humanity. But Will finds out he is something more, something darker and he has to decide if he accepts his role as destiny or if he can change the course of his life. The Returners say he cannot escape his destiny but Will has to decide for himself. The narrative unfolds in a slow, mysterious way which may not suit all readers, but the twists in the book make this a worthwhile read.
oberjean's review against another edition
3.0
The Returners is a newly published novel by Gemma Malley.
Will Hodges’ life is a mess! His mother is dead, he has no friends and he thinks he is being followed by a strange group of people who tell him they know him. But Will can’t remember them …at first. And when he does, he doesn’t like what he can remember. While Will is struggling with unsettling memories, he learns that his past is a lot deeper than many people’s, and he has to find out if he is strong enough to break links with the powerful hold that history has on him. This compelling novel, set in an alternate future, challenges readers to consider the role we all have to play in making our society, and asks how much we are prepared to stand up for what’s right.
When I received this in the post, I was really excited. I have read Gemma Malley’s other books, The Resistance and The Declaration, and I really, really enjoyed them!
I think The Returners had really good ‘ingredients’ to it, and the synopsis makes it sound really amazing, but to be perfectly honest I thought the book was let down when hardly anything actually happened. It wasn’t until the last couple of chapters some things started happening.
However, Gemma Malley is an incredibly good writer, and if it had been a less good writer I would have completely hated this book, but the way Gemma Malley describes the characters interactions and their emotions makes it much more enjoyable, even though there was hardly any action.
I think Will Hodges as a character was very well described, though at times I thought he was a bit self centred and didn’t really care about other people’s feelings, until he started finding his own past.
Gemma Malley always creates a believable future that we humans could create, and I thought that the situations the characters are in in this future (it is 2016) are very realistic and is very possible, not just fiction.
All in all, if it wasn’t for the very good writing quality, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. The lack of a plot and action made the novel fail to hit the awesome mark, but it still left a lasting impression after I read the last page, because of the interesting questions raised during the book.
Rating = 3 Stars
I would recommend this book to other Gemma Malley lovers, but not to people who would like lot’s of action, like in Gemma Malley’s other books.
Will Hodges’ life is a mess! His mother is dead, he has no friends and he thinks he is being followed by a strange group of people who tell him they know him. But Will can’t remember them …at first. And when he does, he doesn’t like what he can remember. While Will is struggling with unsettling memories, he learns that his past is a lot deeper than many people’s, and he has to find out if he is strong enough to break links with the powerful hold that history has on him. This compelling novel, set in an alternate future, challenges readers to consider the role we all have to play in making our society, and asks how much we are prepared to stand up for what’s right.
When I received this in the post, I was really excited. I have read Gemma Malley’s other books, The Resistance and The Declaration, and I really, really enjoyed them!
I think The Returners had really good ‘ingredients’ to it, and the synopsis makes it sound really amazing, but to be perfectly honest I thought the book was let down when hardly anything actually happened. It wasn’t until the last couple of chapters some things started happening.
However, Gemma Malley is an incredibly good writer, and if it had been a less good writer I would have completely hated this book, but the way Gemma Malley describes the characters interactions and their emotions makes it much more enjoyable, even though there was hardly any action.
I think Will Hodges as a character was very well described, though at times I thought he was a bit self centred and didn’t really care about other people’s feelings, until he started finding his own past.
Gemma Malley always creates a believable future that we humans could create, and I thought that the situations the characters are in in this future (it is 2016) are very realistic and is very possible, not just fiction.
All in all, if it wasn’t for the very good writing quality, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. The lack of a plot and action made the novel fail to hit the awesome mark, but it still left a lasting impression after I read the last page, because of the interesting questions raised during the book.
Rating = 3 Stars
I would recommend this book to other Gemma Malley lovers, but not to people who would like lot’s of action, like in Gemma Malley’s other books.
bookmarked642's review against another edition
4.0
I have a vague recollection of reading this some time in the past which is kind of ironic considering the topic of the book itself. While I felt a repeated deja vu throughout this book, I can't seem to remember when I actually would have read it before. I also couldn't remember much of the main plot, which is pretty weird.
Anyway, the review.
It's a good book. honestly, the opening paragraph of this review sums the book up quite well - it's good, but not overly memorable. When you read it, you often think, "this is good" or "cool" or whatever, but a few months later you'll forget all about it. At least, that's how I felt.
Gemma Malley is an author I used to love when I was in my preteens, and I'm not sure if that's why her books feel very adolescent to me, or if it's because they actually are. Basically, I feel too old for them now. The protagonists are usually "cool" mid-teens, who the reader is supposed to look up to in some way. But I'm older than most characters and actually find their attitudes a bit pathetic and petty.
The story was good but I felt like there were a few loopholes, honestly. The idea of the "Returners" is interesting but not developed enough - who actually 'controls' them? Where did they come from? What is their real purpose? I felt like their purpose was a bit wishy-washy. Douglas's refusal to change his attitude because it "isn't their role" or whatever just sounded a bit... lame. Like a cop-out, I guess. I really would've liked to know more about the Returners and why they actually exist.
It's only short and this may contribute to it feeling quite young, but it is well written and really enjoyable to read. Will is almost an anti-hero, and as the reader I both loved and hated him. His thoughts and attitudes were quite sporadic and it was sometimes hard to keep up, but that may have been the intention. I did like how we learned things at the same time as Will - we followed him through his own story. It was also really interesting how Will decided to handle the life he'd been forced into.
4 stars.
Anyway, the review.
It's a good book. honestly, the opening paragraph of this review sums the book up quite well - it's good, but not overly memorable. When you read it, you often think, "this is good" or "cool" or whatever, but a few months later you'll forget all about it. At least, that's how I felt.
Gemma Malley is an author I used to love when I was in my preteens, and I'm not sure if that's why her books feel very adolescent to me, or if it's because they actually are. Basically, I feel too old for them now. The protagonists are usually "cool" mid-teens, who the reader is supposed to look up to in some way. But I'm older than most characters and actually find their attitudes a bit pathetic and petty.
The story was good but I felt like there were a few loopholes, honestly. The idea of the "Returners" is interesting but not developed enough - who actually 'controls' them? Where did they come from? What is their real purpose? I felt like their purpose was a bit wishy-washy. Douglas's refusal to change his attitude because it "isn't their role" or whatever just sounded a bit... lame. Like a cop-out, I guess. I really would've liked to know more about the Returners and why they actually exist.
It's only short and this may contribute to it feeling quite young, but it is well written and really enjoyable to read. Will is almost an anti-hero, and as the reader I both loved and hated him. His thoughts and attitudes were quite sporadic and it was sometimes hard to keep up, but that may have been the intention. I did like how we learned things at the same time as Will - we followed him through his own story. It was also really interesting how Will decided to handle the life he'd been forced into.
4 stars.
spaghettisaurusrex's review against another edition
5.0
This book was INCREDIBLE. To read it in 2018, it's mind-boggling to realize it was written in 2010, considering just how much it felt like it was written in the year it was set, 2016.
The Returners is a gripping work of social and political commentary on both anti-immigration sentiments and the idea of neutrality in a polarized society. If you're into history, sociology, and politics, read this! Seriously!
The Returners is a gripping work of social and political commentary on both anti-immigration sentiments and the idea of neutrality in a polarized society. If you're into history, sociology, and politics, read this! Seriously!
christinap's review
3.0
The Returners was a good book, and it gives young adults courage to be able to stand up for what is right. Will teaches the reader that mistreating others is not acceptable, especially if the people being mistreated are from another culture.
Yes, the book teaches teens that mistreatment and predudice are unacceptable. However, there are parts of this book that I am wary of. In Chapter 1, it talks of "sneaking a fag from the employee." In the beginning of Chapter 15, there is talk of Will drinking whiskey. Will is trying to cope with his destiny: He "reincarnates" because he needs to endure pain and suffering so that other people don't have to. However, instead of being the person receiving torture, Will is dishing out the torture and punishment.
If I was a high school librarian, these two issues that I have would prevent me from purchasing the book for my library. I'm in no way saying that prejudice is acceptable. I am in no way trying to censure teens from reading this great book...because librarians should give students access to all kinds of books, no matter the content. However, this book has a strong message, and you should know your audience and community before purchasing it for your high school library. If you do purchase it, I would have a discussion with students before letting them check out the book, so that they better understand message of the book as they read...especially when it comes to the two issues in chapters 1 and 15. If you don't purchase the book, and don't want to necessarily ban the book from being read by students, the students should at least be told that the book can be borrowed from their local public library.
Yes, the book teaches teens that mistreatment and predudice are unacceptable. However, there are parts of this book that I am wary of. In Chapter 1, it talks of "sneaking a fag from the employee." In the beginning of Chapter 15, there is talk of Will drinking whiskey. Will is trying to cope with his destiny: He "reincarnates" because he needs to endure pain and suffering so that other people don't have to. However, instead of being the person receiving torture, Will is dishing out the torture and punishment.
If I was a high school librarian, these two issues that I have would prevent me from purchasing the book for my library. I'm in no way saying that prejudice is acceptable. I am in no way trying to censure teens from reading this great book...because librarians should give students access to all kinds of books, no matter the content. However, this book has a strong message, and you should know your audience and community before purchasing it for your high school library. If you do purchase it, I would have a discussion with students before letting them check out the book, so that they better understand message of the book as they read...especially when it comes to the two issues in chapters 1 and 15. If you don't purchase the book, and don't want to necessarily ban the book from being read by students, the students should at least be told that the book can be borrowed from their local public library.