When Chase returns to middle school after falling off the roof and losing his memory, he learns that the person he was before the amnesia is not someone he likes. - (Baker & Taylor)

A standalone novel in the vein of No More Dead Dogs follows the experiences of a former bully who gets a chance at redemption after a memory-impairing accident tests whether he can change or will revert to his previous ways. By the award-winning author of the Swindle series. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

Chase does not remember falling off the roof, in fact he does not remember anything about himself, and when he gets back to middle school he begins to learn who he was through the reactions of the other kids--trouble is, he really is not sure he likes the Chase that is being revealed, but can he take the opportunity amnesia has provided and restart his life? - (Baker & Taylor)

The amazing New York Times bestseller about what you can do when life gives you a second chance.

Chase's memory just went out the window.

Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again... starting with his own name.

He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return.

Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.

One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.

Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is -- it's a question of who he was... and who he's going to be.

From the #1 bestselling author of Swindle and Slacker, Restart is the spectacular story of a kid with a messy past who has to figure out what it means to get a clean start.

Gordon Korman is the beloved author of over one hundred novels for young readers, including hilarious middle-grade classics such as the Macdonald Hall series, I Want to Go Home, and Slacker. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Gordon grew up in Thornhill, Ontario, and now lives in New York with his family. Visit him online at www.gordonkorman.com. - (Scholastic)

Booklist Reviews

Recovering after a fall, Chase regains consciousness in a hospital bed surrounded by complete strangers—including his mother and brother. After he returns to school, he struggles to regain what amnesia has erased, but what he learns isn't reassuring. His two old buddies from the football team are bullies. The kids he wants to hang out with now, like those in the video club, were often their victims, and they're understandably wary of the new Chase. If he regains his memory, will he become the jerk he was before? Chapter by chapter, the very readable first-person narration shifts among seven students, giving readers access to many points of view. Their reactions to the changes in Chase's outlook vary according to their personalities and their prior relationships with him. The characters are well drawn, and the scenes in which Chase befriends an elderly veteran at an assisted facility are nicely integrated into the novel. A talented storyteller, Korman shows bullying, regret, and forgiveness from various perspectives and leaves readers with ideas to ponder. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Middle schooler Chase Ambrose falls off his roof and into a new life in this thought-provoking novel laced with Korman's trademark humor. As Chase, who has concussion-induced amnesia, realizes he used to be a bully, he decides his former identity won't be his future destiny. Told from the perspective of Chase and a few classmates, the novel addresses issues of bullying directly and realistically. Copyright 2017 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Will a bully always be a bully? That's the question eighth-grade football captain Chase Ambrose has to answer for himself after a fall from his roof leaves him with no memory of who and what he was. When he returns to Hiawassee Middle School, everything and everyone is new. The football players can hardly wait for him to come back to lead the team. Two, Bear Bratsky and Aaron Hakimian, seem to be special friends, but he's not sure what they share. Other classmates seem fearful; he doesn't know why. Temporarily barred from football because of his concussion, he finds a new home in the video club and, over time, develops a new reputation. He shoots videos with former bullying target Brendan Espinoza and even with Shoshanna Weber, who'd hated him passionately for persecuting her twin brother, Joel. Chase voluntarily continues visiting the nursing home where he'd been ordered to do community service before his fall, making a special friend of a decorated Korean War veteran. As hi s memories slowly return and he begins to piece together his former life, he's appalled. His crimes were worse than bullying. Will he become that kind of person again? Set in the present day and told in the alternating voices of Chase and several classmates, this finding-your-middle-school-identity story explores provocative territory. Aside from naming conventions, the book subscribes to the white default. Korman's trademark humor makes this an appealing read. (Fiction. 9-14) Copyright Kirkus 2017 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

When a middle school bully suffers amnesia after a bad fall, it gives him the chance to start fresh, but rebuilding his life is an uphill battle when everyone else still remembers the sins of his past. Eighth-grader Chase Ambrose attempts to reconstruct himself based on what his friends and family tell him, but the more he learns about how he mistreated others, the less he likes the old Chase. Unable to play football while he's healing, Chase joins the video club, whose members have good reason to distrust him. And while his former self did community service at a local retirement home, the new Chase comes to enjoy spending time with the residents—especially a grumpy veteran whose stories he values. In this compelling and sometimes humorous tale of nature and identity, Korman (Slacker) offers an intriguing exploration of the potential for redemption. By telling the story from multiple perspectives (Chase's, as well as those of several classmates), he conveys a complex, thorough picture of Chase's influence and impact on those around him. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (May)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 3–6—What would it be like to forget your whole life, your family, your friends, and even who you are? After falling off his roof, 13-year-old Chase Ambrose learns the hard way that reinventing himself can be pretty hard, especially when his past is not what he wants for his future. Before his fall, Chase was a jock, captain of the football team, following in his father's footsteps. He was also the biggest bully in his middle school, had made many students' lives miserable, and was serving a community service sentence for the damage that his bullying had caused. Even Chase's little stepsister was afraid of him. If it were up to his dad and his former best friends, Bear and Aaron, Chase would go right back to his bully-jock ways. However, the new Chase is a kinder, more sympathetic person who struggles with his past and becomes friends with his former victims. As he works with the video club geeks, he forms a relationship with elderly Mr. Solway. Korman juxtaposes Mr. Solway's sharing of his Korean War memories with Chase's search for his own past. Despite the strong antibullying theme, the story is never preachy or trite but thoughtfully presents questions about loyalty, identity, and the possibility of a new start in a way that appropriately fits the middle school setting. VERDICT A fresh approach to the familiar topic of bullying, kept credible by believable characters and events, with typical Korman humor and just the right touch of mystery. An excellent addition for all middle grade collections.—MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY