"Where Things Come Back" | Book Review

**Includes spoilers**

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I finished "Where Things Come Back" by John Whaley, and I have to say I didn't have many expectations coming into this book. And I have to admit, I was pretty satisfied with the end of the book.

We begin our story in Lily, Arkansas, following seventeen-year-old, Cullen Witter. I have to admit, at the beginning, I was worried I would only find this book average, because Cullen is just that: average. Yes, I related to him because his sort of outside qualities in a mainstream world, and his love for writing, but he just seemed to be your average, slightly whiny teenager. As the plot progresses, Gabriel, Cullen's brother mysteriously disappears.

This is the point where I grew more interested. Personally, I've read my share of love and loss stories, but his close relationship with his brother enhanced this one particularly. The reader begins to feel for Cullen because his ties with his brother are so strong—in other words, Whaley has made the reader fully understand why Cullen feels the way he does, and we begin to feel it ourselves. It was here when his character got interesting to me. It was here that I began to read more closely, and found myself with a strong desire to continue the story. The plot, from here on, is actually fairly little—mostly, we cover the emotional ramifications of a loss, and the way people must deal with that—but to be honest, this was the most interesting part. Where Cullen was normal, we begin to see the weird intricacies of his brain, and understand the underlying and undying strange in him that makes him so much more real.

It is because of this fascinating character development and fresh take on dealing with the loss of a loved one that kept the intrigue up, because when Gabriel finally did get back, I'd been expecting it the whole time (I mean, hello, the title is, "Where Things Come Back"), but at that point I was no longer invested in the plot, but more in the emotional arcs.

This brings me to my next point on characters: our theology story. I found it interesting in the beginning because it was so different, but I have to admit, I found it tiring after so long to read about the crazed sacerdotal lust both characters in the third person narrative fell into. And to be honest, their role in the story was predictable at best. No, he wouldn't include a second storyline just to spice things up—I could easily anticipate they played some role in Gabriel's disappearance, and I'd had that bit figured out from the moment I started it.

But was it still rewarding when the estranged plots finally wove together into one nice bow? Yes. It was. Despite being able to predict it, it added the bit of action needed to finish off this purely emotional, semi-depressing story (as Whaley calls it).

Now, onto the other characters. I liked them, but I didn't love them. I sort of felt the same way as I did with Cullen at the beginning, except I didn't feel like they developed and progressed into the introspective and inherently peculiar character Cullen did. Sure, they were enjoyable to read about, with Lucas and Mena's love affair, and their friendship for Cullen being a nice addition, but could I have read the story without them and not felt the lack? It's possible.

This was the reason I wasn't fully against the characters—despite a few flaws, Lucas, Mena, Cullen, and Gabriel pulled together to make an overall interesting story, which is good for such a character-driven book.

I think my ultimate thoughts, though, revolve around that which I'd already touched on. The interesting style and beautiful portrayal of emotion in a way that isn't as washed out as many other books are is what made this worth it for me. The depth of analysis of his emotion, and the rawness of that emotion is the main reason I would recommend this book—it's not a thriller, it's not plot-driven, and it's not particularly intellectual (though it's not dumb in any way); it's a character book; it's an emotional book.

And don't worry—it's not an overwhelmingly negative book: "I can't seem to be a pessimist long enough to overlook the possibility of things being overwhelmingly good."

That bout sums up the book for me; both poignant and warm; both dark and light; both sad and happy.

Ratings:
Characters: 80%
Plot: 70%
Depth: 100%
Style: 100%
Intrigue: 80%

Overall Grade: B