I read the Spanish language version, "El Regreso," published in 2011.

This Spanish translation of a novel originally written in English accurately portrays how continuous thoughts of revenge, along with a mob mentality, chase away all reason and blur the choices between right and wrong. It invites class discussion, and will stay with readers long after the last sentence has been read. ( )

McClintock, Norah. Back. Custer, WA: Orca Book Publishers, 2009.

Characters: the narrator (remains nameless throughout the story); Jojo; Shana; Ardell; Jojo’s mother; Ardell’s mother and father

Setting: Unspecified urban/working class neighborhood somewhere in the United States

Theme: Crime drama,

Genre: Young adult fiction; hi-low

Golden Quote: “…there are the people who have hate in their hearts. These people wish something bad would happen to Jojo. Something really bad. Ardell Withrow is one of those people.

Summary: After serving time for a violent crime, Jojo returns to the neighborhood and tries to take his life back.

Audience: reading level: 4th; age range level: 9th grade and up

Curriculum ties: Anticipatory Set: Read chapter 1 to students and ask them to make a list of facts about the characters, the setting and the situation. Ask students to make a prediction log, which they will use throughout the reading of the book. On one side of the log, have students make predictions about what could happen based on the facts. On the other side, ask students to provide rationales for each of their predictions. As students continue reading the novel, have them make additional entries in their prediction log.
Connecting to the World—Writing and Research Ideas
• The narrator makes a wise observation in chapter 2: “Ardell has hate in his heart, and hate takes the fear out of people and replaces it with a thirst for vengeance.” Ask students to think of a time in their lives when they have either witnessed this truth personally or read about it in a news report. Ask students to write a one-page summary of the event to share with the class. Post summaries around the room.
• In chapter 5, Eden’s father suggests that the family remove life support and allow Eden to try to live without the machinery that is keeping him alive. Eden has been in a coma for over two years and has no brain activity. The issue is who has the right to decide to remove life support from comatose patients? Of great concern in society today, this question has been brought to public attention by the news media in recent years. Divide the class into groups, and have students research and debate the following topic: “Family members should have the right to decide whether or not to remove a loved one from life support.” Ask a panel of administrators, the librarian and the counselor to judge the debates.
Connecting to the Text—Elements of the Novel
Setting
The place and time of this story is important to the action of the story. Ask students to determine the setting and write a justification for their decisions about when and where this story occurs, explaining why the setting is key to the story.
Irony
The reader knows what JoJo is doing to help his mother; the reader sees that JoJo is a changed man. At the end of chapter 12, the narrator’s mother states, “But he’s making up for it now, without anyone watching him, without anyone knowing.” Ask students to define dramatic irony and to find examples throughout the novel of what the narrator and readers know that Ardell and the community do not know. Have students select one example and create a cartoon strip illustrating the irony.
Conflict
The conflict between JoJo and Ardell moves the story forward, and Shana adds interest. How does the phrase “an eye for an eye” apply to these three characters, as well as to Benjamin and Eden? Ask students to draw an illustrated web, making the connections and showing the depth of conflict. Have students add pictures, symbolic representations and elements of color to convey the conflicts.
Point of View
The story is told through the voice of a narrator, reporting the events as they happen, interjecting her emotions and opinions about what is taking place. The reader does not ever truly know what JoJo thinks or feels. Occasionally, the reader hears what Shana and Ardell say, but not the emotions they feel or what they think. Ask students to select one of these three characters and, with a partner, choose a scene in which they interact. Have them rewrite the dialogue from that character’s point of view. Then ask students to rehearse and present their new scenes to the class.
Connecting to the Students—Discussion Questions
1. The reader does not know what or how JoJo feels about his past actions from what he says, only from what he does. Based on his actions, what is JoJo’s attitude about his past? What does he do to let the reader know how he has changed?
2. Before JoJo was sent to jail, he terrorized the town, so the townspeople had their reasons to fear him and treat him badly. What could JoJo have done to show that he had changed?
3. Ardell is understandably angry and bitter toward JoJo. What does his anger do for him? How does it help or hinder him? How does Ardell use his anger to control others in his family and his community?
4. Why does Ardell’s father move out of the house? Was the move more Ardell’s idea or his mother’s? Why?
5. Why is Shana able to forgive JoJo and allow him to see their son? Why are Shana’s parents not so forgiving?
6. How does gossip fuel the anger in Ardell and the hatred the community feels toward JoJo? Why is no one willing to give him a second chance? To even talk to him or his mother?
7. Why are the people in the community willing to forgive and even cover up for Ardell and his actions, but not JoJo’s actions?
8. After Ardell assaults Shana, shakes her baby and resists arrest, the community continues to blame JoJo. The people say, “They should have locked JoJo up longer.” And, “If he hadn’t come back here, none of this would have happened.” Why is it easier for them to blame JoJo than to hold Ardell responsible for his actions?
9. The narrator is a passive observer throughout the story. Why doesn’t she involve herself? What are her feelings toward JoJo? Would it have made a difference to JoJo if he had known how she felt?
10. Why does the narrator finally decide to call the police about what she sees the night JoJo is killed? What will her decision cost her and her family?

Awards: None for this book in particular, but author is a five-time winner of the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel

Personal response: Back is a story about a young man, Jojo, who is back from serving time in prison for a crime that left another boy (Eden) in a vegetative state. When he is released, Jojo returns to his neighborhood where almost everyone despises him and Eden’s older brother, Ardell, wants Jojo to pay for his crime against his brother. While there is some intense, action packed moments in this book, I was overall unimpressed with the plot and characters. Both were underdeveloped to me and the ending is just okay. Overall there is nothing that is particularly special about this book, but I do see how it could be appealing to a reluctant reader or to a reader who may come from a similar situation. ( )

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

A young man just released from prison has a neighborhood upset and ready for revenge. Jojo has been nothing but trouble from an early age, and when he beat Eden Withrow within an inch of his life, he became the most unpopular guy around. Most folks don't think the two-year sentence he served was nearly long enough.

Ardell, Eden's younger brother, can't stand to see Jojo living back across the street. His brother has been in a coma since the attack and is not likely to recover. How can Jojo return to the neighborhood and pick up life where he left off? Ardell is determined to make him pay.

Jojo seems quite different now. He spends his time cooking and cleaning for his mother, and when his old girlfriend, Shana, shows up with his baby, he seems ready to accept responsibility. However, his crime is more than most people can forgive. Ardell and his gang convince shopkeepers to close their doors to Jojo, and they stake out his house and make not-so-subtle threats to his family's safety.

Can a criminal be rehabilitated? Can the victims forgive a senseless act of violence? These are the questions posed by author Norah McClintock in BACK.

Less than 100 pages, this book is surprising in the way it clearly paints a picture of an angry young man, his family, and the punk whose actions changed the course of their lives. The style of high-interest, lower reading level will certainly attract and captivate the reluctant YA reader. ( )