Where Things Come Back by John Corey whaley

Much as Robert Mccammon's book BOY'S LIFE swirls around a boy and his reaction to a brutal crime that happened nearby so this story swirls around Cullen and the weeks just before and after his brother Gabriel disappears. There is a plot line involving Cabot Searcy that kept me wondering how this very weird guy fit in until the final pages. There is a plot line involving the suspected spotting of the long extinct ivory billed woodpecker and all the excitement surrounding that. Cullen's family is reeling from the loss of a son, nephew, cousin to a drug overdose making the loss of Gabriel all the harder. Cullen dates but doesn't really care about a couple of local girls and continues to hang out with his long time best friend. And so the summer passes and plans begin to be made for the year to come. I don't think this book is as good as Mccammon's or as Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine has similarities. Teens don't enjoy those two titles, though adults who read literate novels do. I doubt they will seek this book out. This title is the author's first. Its hard to categorize this title since no single subject stands out predominantly. Perhaps he is someone to watch, to see what he comes up with next? This title won the Prinz for best teen book of 2011. JDW 1/27