Return to Paradise

Title: Return to Paradise
Author: Simone Elkeles
(C) 2010
Publisher: Flux
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1868-2
291 pp.

I don't love this cover. I just felt a need to mention that.

Caleb and Maggie's story continues after that terrible abrupt-and-not-happy ending in Leaving Paradise. But I can deal with it.

Caleb gets busted in Chicago and is forced to call his "transition mentor." Damon manages to post bail and keep him out of jail. Instead, Caleb is stuck going on a four week trip with a group called Re-START. The purpose of the group is to speak to other teens about the life-changing effects of stupid decisions while driving.

What Caleb (and Damon) don't expect, is for Maggie to be on this trip too. She's filling in for a girl who dropped out, before she spends a semester abroad in Spain. It's shock for both of them, which Caleb attempts to cover up with attitude. Maggie, on the other hand, is much stronger than the last time we see her. Caleb broke her heart, which scarred her deeper than the scars left on her legs, but she's come to terms with it. Seeing him again isn't easy, but she's dealing.

However, this book truly is about facing the truth. The truth about the accident is something only a few people know, and it's a covering up of that truth that is tearing their lives apart. Our author doesn't pull punches, she makes it clear that life is tough, no matter what decision you make, and you have to be the prepared to take the consequences of those actions.

I mentioned earlier that she writes about places and people that are dear to my heart. I've spent six years teaching in a very diverse preschool. It's funny, cause I say diverse, but really, I pretty much am the minority. It's not easy. I can't always relate to the families, or the kids that I teach.
Many of the kids I see every day come from families vastly different from mine. Their childhood is nothing like what I had. The characters I found here come from families like that. Families, that are still just people, struggling to get by and not always making great choices. People that need to be seen for their potential. I love the chance I'm given to help these people, even if it is a struggle.

So, if you do read these books, I hope they inspire you to see others in a new way; to look for that potential that everyone has somewhere inside of them.

Until next time...Happy Readings!