cd1310's review against another edition
5.0
So many good quotes. I don't want to take it back to the library. I will be writing a bunch of quotes in a journal though!
graceburts's review against another edition
3.0
I thought I didn’t care about this book but now I’m done and all I can do is cry
maurax2's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book. The characters were so well developed that I felt like I knew them and had been part of their lives. I loved the little flickers of humor between the siblings and friends.
I'm so glad that my book club is introducing different styles of books that I wouldn't normally read!
I'm so glad that my book club is introducing different styles of books that I wouldn't normally read!
page_karla's review against another edition
3.0
I'ts a good book, but I just got confused with the timeline. And the imagination of Cullen was so wild sometimes that I'm not sure if what I'm reading is real or not. Since I'm using my Kindle, I did not want to go to previous pages just to reconcile the timing (damn you e-readers, that's why paperbacks are the best). And I would have wanted it to have a clear-cut ending.
goodbetterbetsy's review against another edition
5.0
What a GREAT book! I read a lot of reviews about this book but I must not have read very carefully because I had already decided I wouldn't like it, so I didn't pay attention to what it was really about.
I was under the impression the story is about a guy in a small town where a thought to be extinct woodpecker has been spotted. It was SO much more. There were several stories woven together in a way I didn't expect at all. The end may have been the best part (in fact the last 3-4 chapters were just awesome).
I can see why this is getting so much buzz for the Printz award. Love this book. Love love love. I cannot say it enough.
I was under the impression the story is about a guy in a small town where a thought to be extinct woodpecker has been spotted. It was SO much more. There were several stories woven together in a way I didn't expect at all. The end may have been the best part (in fact the last 3-4 chapters were just awesome).
I can see why this is getting so much buzz for the Printz award. Love this book. Love love love. I cannot say it enough.
minty's review against another edition
3.0
Not exactly sure what I thought of this. Didn't love it, didn't dislike it. But it's better than a 2-star.
tiffyofthemonts's review against another edition
3.0
Confession: The only reason I was ever remotely interested in this book is because it was inspired by Sufjan Steven's song for the lord god bird, an ivory-billed woodpecker that was rediscovered in Brinkley, Arkansas, in the mid 2000s. I loved that song when it was first released, and when I heard in 2011 that some guy had written a book inspired by it, my attention was piqued.
Where Things Come Back is a slow story. It feels like being outside on a hot summer day: sluggish, dull, you'd rather be anywhere else. There are a few key story lines that weave in and out of the book, and it makes your head spin, trying to figure out how everything comes together. The build-up is tiresome. It moves forward at a snail's pace and the different stories really only gel in the last few pages.
For me, one of the most difficult things about reading this book was that, intentionally or not, Cullen Witter is a condescending asshole. I think he's meant to be witty and clever and sharp-tongued, but he just comes across as a judgmental, pretentious 16-year-old boy with some internalized girl hate that stems from his own insecurity. (Okay, maybe I'm reading into things. My point is that I didn't enjoy reading this book from his perspective.)
The other characters were just not that interesting to me either. I think they could have been. I think if John Corey Whaley had tightened up the story and made all those characters (Ada, Mena, Benton, Cabot – even his brother Gabriel) more relevant, instead of having them pop in and out for no particular reason, I might have enjoyed this book. But that would have been a different book entirely. This story really lacks meaningful character development, so up until the last twenty pages or so, we're just wandering around, feeling like nothing is happening. That, paired with Whaley's writing – which often seems like it's trying hard to be quirky and different – makes the entire story feel stilted.
Where Things Come Back was just not the right book for me. But for what it's worth, it won the William C. Morris YA Debut Award AND the Printz Award in 2012, so clearly others enjoyed it.
More reviews, including this one, on my blog: Bookplates for Brunch.
Where Things Come Back is a slow story. It feels like being outside on a hot summer day: sluggish, dull, you'd rather be anywhere else. There are a few key story lines that weave in and out of the book, and it makes your head spin, trying to figure out how everything comes together. The build-up is tiresome. It moves forward at a snail's pace and the different stories really only gel in the last few pages.
For me, one of the most difficult things about reading this book was that, intentionally or not, Cullen Witter is a condescending asshole. I think he's meant to be witty and clever and sharp-tongued, but he just comes across as a judgmental, pretentious 16-year-old boy with some internalized girl hate that stems from his own insecurity. (Okay, maybe I'm reading into things. My point is that I didn't enjoy reading this book from his perspective.)
The other characters were just not that interesting to me either. I think they could have been. I think if John Corey Whaley had tightened up the story and made all those characters (Ada, Mena, Benton, Cabot – even his brother Gabriel) more relevant, instead of having them pop in and out for no particular reason, I might have enjoyed this book. But that would have been a different book entirely. This story really lacks meaningful character development, so up until the last twenty pages or so, we're just wandering around, feeling like nothing is happening. That, paired with Whaley's writing – which often seems like it's trying hard to be quirky and different – makes the entire story feel stilted.
Where Things Come Back was just not the right book for me. But for what it's worth, it won the William C. Morris YA Debut Award AND the Printz Award in 2012, so clearly others enjoyed it.
More reviews, including this one, on my blog: Bookplates for Brunch.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
I am inclined to give this a 3.5. I did like it and enjoyed the mysterious qualities. It took me awhile to warm up to the characters, but I did care about them eventually. This next bit is petty, but I read the words a$$ hat about 10-15 times too many.
laurawikoff's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book about 10 years ago and have wondered about it ever since. I think its best suited for a younger audience, but i still enjoyed rereading it. Theres a lot of ambiguity. Its a book about second chances where they almost always still dont work out. But sometimes, things do come back.