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Where Things Come Back | February 22, 2012

by John Corey Whaley (simon & Schuster, May 2011

Debut novelist John Corey Whaley proves himself worthy of both this year’s Printz and Morris awards in his debut novel Where Things Come Back. The reading feels nearly effortless, and that’s due entirely to Whaley’s masterful storytelling. I could talk about the plot(s)—teen protagonist Cullen Witter’s small-town life, his brother’s mysterious disappearance, the possible rediscovery of the extinct Lazarus woodpecker, and the story of a missionary in Africa… but the magic of Where Things Come Back is in the way all these threads come together so cleanly. When there’s so much going on, you have to have trust in the author, and Whaley does not let us down. In the telling, Whaley explores ideas of loss, love, friendship, purpose, and hope. I truly can’t say any more—please go get two copies, one for you and one for a friend, because once you’ve read it, you’ll want to talk about it.

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