Restart

As children become young adults, they begin to value the opinions and advice of other young people, especially their friends, more than the opinions of their parents and other adults. Why do young people trust their peers more than they trust adults?

What lessons about bullying can be found in Restart? Do you see yourself either as a victim of bullying or as a bully? Eventually, Chase Ambrose became the victim of bullying himself. Was this something he deserved since he had bullied so many other kids?

What causes people to bully others? What sort of teaching or training could help prevent bullying or to teach people not to bully others? What sort of punishment should bullies receive for their behavior? What is the best recompense a victim of bullying can receive?

Throughout Restart the characters find themselves in new roles and discover they have abilities that were previously unknown to them, such as Chase learning he was good at making videos and Joel ending up directing the band. Do most people have undiscovered talents, abilities, and interests? How can the average person become aware of their hidden capabilities?

Gordon Korman, the author of Restart, tells the reader a great deal about the inner world of each character, but he gives virtually no description of the character’s physical attributes. Why does he avoid describing how the characters look? Since you were not told about each character’s appearance, how did you envision each person in the story?

Except for Chase Ambrose, every character in Restart has opinions about everyone else. This includes the adults, who have opinions about the kids as much as the kids have opinions about them. As the story progresses, what happens to those assumptions and prejudices? In particular, what does Chase learn about the video kids that might challenge the stereotypes other students have about them? Are any of the characters surprised at what they learn about others?

Who are the most courageous people in the book, and what does it take for them to act bravely? Is Joel Weber the bravest for returning to Hiawassee? Is Brendan Espinoza the bravest for taking on Bear Bratsky? Is Shoshanna Weber the bravest for standing up to her family on behalf of Chase? Is Chase Ambrose the bravest for admitting he stole Mr. Solway’s Medal of Honor? Support your argument with evidence from the text.

What is the purpose of punishment? If a person is truly sorry for doing something wrong, is punishment still necessary? If a person was unaware that they did something wrong—like Chase, who has no memory of his crime—should that person still be punished? If punishment does not bring about an apology or a change in behavior—as with Aaron and Bear, who did not change at all despite their community service—what is the point of punishment?