The Returners

February 15, 2010
The sins of the past threaten to repeat themselves in the future, as Malley (The Declaration
) offers a thought-provoking exploration of mankind's capacity for good and evil. In 2016 London, a fierce nationalistic sentiment encourages discrimination and violence against foreigners and immigrants. Meanwhile, teenager Will Hodges struggles with bouts of rage, his father's mercurial mood swings, his mother's suicide years earlier, unreliable memories, horrifying nightmares, and the sensation that he is being stalked. Soon it's explained that, like his stalkers, he is a Returner, destined to witness and remember historical atrocities while being reincarnated (“We experience the worst that humanity is capable of,” another Returner explains to Will, “we absorb the pain, contain the horrors”). When Will further learns that his role in past brutalities may not have been passive or unwilling, he rebels against his fate. It's an intensely philosophical study of free will versus predestination and the relationship between past, present, and future, though it suffers somewhat from Will's halting, present-tense narration. The concept is fascinating, and there are enough harrowing moments to hold readers' attention. Ages 12–up.

February 1, 2010
Gr 8 Up-Will Hodges's mother killed herself a few years ago and since then he's been experiencing horrible nightmares, drifting away from his friends, and having difficulty at school. His relationship with his dad, whom he is beginning to realize is something of a bigot, is strained, at best. In addition, he finds himself in places without remembering how he got there or what he might have been doing in the interim. Worst of all are the "freaks" who are following him and watching him with strange, sad eyes. These people, who call themselves "Returners," are the element that distinguishes this from other novels of teenage woe. Will learns that he, too, is a Returner, one who lives again and again to experience humanity's pain. His nightmares of the Holocaust and other terrible events are actually memories. Later, Will figures out that he is different from the other Returners in that he has actually been the perpetrator of all the murder, torture, and violence that he remembers. His blackouts have hidden some of his own frightful actions such as bullying a friend's younger brother. The other Returners tell him that there is nothing that he can do to change, that he must abide by his destiny. Only in the final pages do readers discover if Will is doomed to this fate. This isn't a pleasant read, but it may appeal to teens who are grappling with the issue of violence, either personal or societal."Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.