I'd start an analysis of Restart with the book's themes. Through Chase Ambrose's eyes, we see that who you used to be doesn't have to be who you always are. His past bullying behavior shapes how people view him after his accident, but his kind and understanding post-accident behavior eventually convince the other characters that the new Chase doesn't want to live like the old.Another theme is the impact of bullying, not only on those bullied but on the bullies themselves. Being a bully changes the relationships Chase is able to have with his family members and with kids his own age. His stepmother doesn't trust him, his half-sister is afraid of him, potential good friends don't want anything to do with him, and his so-called friends don't have anything in common with him except the desire to wound others. As a bully, Chase has limited himself, but he'd probably never have realized it without the accident.That leads to one more theme: it's hard to shed a role once people identify you with it. In his own view, Chase sheds his role of bully without intending to, because he simply doesn't remember it. In the view of other characters, Chase has a lot of work to do to regain trust. Some people don't want to give him the chance because they've been hurt too often. Chase has to accept that trust will be hard-earned in some cases; this is a natural consequence of his behavior before the accident.
Restart is a story about fresh starts, examining one's faults and the impact that a person's life can have on those around them. It is a coming-of-age tale with a twist and the story of how a person's life has an impact on those around them.
At the start of this novel, Chase Ambrose is an eighth-grade bully who was required to do community service due to a run-in with the law. Together with his friends, he terrorized his school, and even his sister was terrified of him.
After a bad fall, Chase winds up in a coma and suffers amnesia. With no memories of his past, he begins to analyze his former self and is shocked at the stories of how despicably he had behaved.
The topic of redemption is explored deeply in this novel, as are the themes of personal responsibility, trust, kindness, and transformation.
The theme of Restart by Gordon Korman is bullying and the affect it has on all observers and victims of it.
Chase Ambrose falls from the roof of his house and spends 4 days in a coma. He wakes up with a damaged shoulder, a concussion, and amnesia. He doesn't recognize his immediate family nor does he have any recollection of his life before the accident.
As he recovers, he begins to get hints about the boy he was before. He is not happy with this news, as the boy he is now cannot even imagine doing the things that he apparently did repeatedly to hurt others. Chase and his two football/bully buddies concentrated much of their action on Shoshanna's brother, Joel. The final prank involved putting three cherry bombs inside a grand piano that Joel was to play in a large auditorium. As Joel plays and the audience listens, the bombs go off. Joel is terrified and screams, the audience is panicked, and Chase and his buddies are in stitches. As a result, the three boys are sentenced to three months of community service at a nearby senior citizens' residence.
School begins, and Chase attends. He is disappointed that most of the school's population looks at him fearfully, waiting to see who he will target next. Chase cannot yet play football, so he has time to spend with other interests. He is accepted into the video club and learns that he is quite a good videographer. The other members are wary of him as first, but they begin to believe that Chase is just as nice a guy as he seems to be.
Chase's father and the football squad are horrified because Chase is friends with the video club members, those "nerds". His former partners in crime, Bear and Aaron, work to get Chase to return to his old self. This is quite a struggle for Chase, because the two sides are to vastly different. Who does he want to be?
Another bullying event that Bear and Aaron plan, to make Chase look guilty, almost tips Chase in the direction of his old self. Topping that off is the revelation that Chase stole the Medal of Honor from Mr. Solway, one of the senior citizen residents, many months ago. Chase is devastated as he realizes this, as Mr. Solway was the subject of a video project that Chase and Shoshanna have filmed, and the old soldier has become Chase's hero. Chase finds himself once more in front of a judge, and he is saved from punishment by the attendance of most of the school and community, who have come to speak on his behalf. Chase now knows which way his life will go.
Character development is a large part of this book. Most of the characters grow and change as a result of the events. Even Chase's step-mother, who initially stayed as far from him as possible, becomes a pivotal character in Chase's salvation. Pointedly, the two characters who do not change are Bear and Aaron, who still don't understand why Chase has become a good guy. Maybe they eventually will follow Chase's example.
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