Awards

• Commended for Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (Fourteen and Up) 2012
• Commended for Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize (Young Adult) 2012
• Winner of Michael L. Printz Award (Young Adult) 2012
• Winner of William C. Morris YA Debut Award 2012

Overview

Winner of the 2012 Michael L. Printz and William C. Morris Awards, this poignant and hilarious story of loss and redemption ""explores the process of grief, second chances, and even the meaning of life"" (Kirkus Reviews). In the remarkable, bizarre, and heart-wrenching summer before Cullen Witter's senior year of high school, he is forced to examine everything he thinks he understands about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town. His cousin overdoses; his town becomes absurdly obsessed with the alleged reappearance of an extinct woodpecker; and most troubling of all, his sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother, Gabriel, suddenly and inexplicably disappears. Meanwhile, the crisis of faith spawned by a young missionary's disillusion in Africa prompts a frantic search for meaning that has far-reaching consequences. As distant as the two stories initially seem, they are woven together through masterful plotting and merge in a surprising and harrowing climax. This extraordinary tale from a rare literary voice finds wonder in the ordinary and illuminates the hope of second chances.

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9781442413337

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Reviews

Every now and then a book rises to the top. Where Things Come Back soars. Keep your eye on author Corey Whaley. That is, if you can see the stratosphere. <p><p> --Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of the Crank Trilogy

The characters' reactions are palpable as their grief deepens and yet they continue to hope for Gabriel's return. Cullen is an eloquent, thoughtful narrator...the ending is worth the wait. <p><p> -- School Library Journal, July 2011

[A] smart, darkly funny, and multilayered debut . Whaley weaves numerous story lines and themes together with the confidence of a seasoned writer, resulting in a thought-provoking story about media, faith, and family. -- Publishers Weekly, November 7, 2011, a Best Books of 2011 selection

Every now and then a book rises to the top. Where Things Come Back soars. Keep your eye on author Corey Whaley. That is, if you can see the stratosphere. --Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of the Crank Trilogy

In a build-up that explores the process of grief, second chances and even the meaning of life, Cullen's and Cabot's worlds slowly intersect and solve the mystery of Gabriel's disappearance in this multilayered debut for sophisticated readers. Unexpected, thought-provoking storytelling. <p><p> -- Kirkus, April 15, 2011

Author Information

John Corey Whaley grew up in a small southern town. He has a BA from Louisiana Tech University and an MA in secondary English education. Where Things Come Back is his first novel.

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