We Now Return to Regular Life by Martin Wilson

We Now Return to Regular Life by Martin Wilson

Review by Lauren

source: copy from ALA 17; all opinions are my own

Official Summary (add on Goodreads): Sam Walsh had been missing for three years. His older sister, Beth, thought he was dead. His childhood friend Josh thought it was all his fault. They were the last two people to see him alive.

Until now. Because Sam has been found, and he’s coming home. Beth desperately wants to understand what happened to her brother, but her family refuses to talk about it—even though Sam is clearly still affected by the abuse he faced at the hands of his captor.

And as Sam starts to confide in Josh about his past, Josh can’t admit the truths he’s hidden deep within himself: that he’s gay, and developing feelings for Sam. And, even bigger: that he never told the police everything he saw the day Sam disappeared. 

As Beth and Josh struggle with their own issues, their friends and neighbors slowly turn on Sam, until one night when everything explodes. Beth can’t live in silence. Josh can’t live with his secrets. And Sam can’t continue on until the whole truth of what happened to him is out in the open.

Review: There really isn't a review that I could write for this book that would do it justice. I will say that you should go in knowing this book is told in Josh and Beth's point of views, but I felt like you got to know Sam through them, as well as what he went through. I think it was an interesting choice not to give Sam's point of view, but a good one. It would have been a vastly different novel if Sam was telling readers what he went through for those years he was missing. With Josh and Beth's story, it's still sad and upsetting, but they also bring a source of hope and light to the book. They both have different ways of viewing Sam and his disappearance, and it really shows that when something like this happens, it affects a variety of people in different ways. 

Like I said, this is a difficult book to review, so I'm not going to ramble too much. Just know that it's a 5 star read for me. It felt wonderfully realistic and the characters acted like real people - the good and the bad. Nothing is easy, not even a reunion of this sort because there is still the past to deal with. This book is about what happens when something miraculous occurs and then life continues. This is the "happily ever after" part of the book. I love the title - it's definitely suiting! Check this one out now - add it to Goodreads, order your own copy, ask your library for it. 

*this review is being shared here because Josh is gay, and it's an important aspect of the book*