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Rewind by William Sleator

Summary

When Peter is killed in a car accident, he is given the opportunity to visit the past to try to change the events leading to his death. If he is unable to alter the past, he will die again - this time, for good. Problem is, Peter isn't sure what part of his life he should change? Should he try to appease his parents, who disapprove of his hobbies and behavior, or make friends with the school bully, who is intent on beating him up? Will Peter finally succeed in figuring out his life, or will he be lost forever?

Book talk

Read first 2 paragraphs
"At my funeral, everybody said it was such a shame I had to die that way. Mrs. Hazelton, who ran over me, was too upset to come. Mom and Dad, who were subdued but not crying, told her husband that his wife wasn't to blame. What could she do, they said, when I ran out into the dark street without looking, right in front of her car?
I died instantly. All I was aware of was the shriek of the tires and the brief, heavy impact. Right away, I was floating upward, being pulled into the great white light." P. 1.

Peter is often a hard-headed, stubborn kind of kid, the kind who acts without thinking. So when he died in a car accident he thought that was the end of the road for him. Who would have thought that his life, or his after-life, I should say, would turn into a sort of corny TV game show, with a voice-over offering second and third chances - lifelines so to speak. And here's what that voice says: Peter choose the one moment in your life when everything started to go wrong, and go back and make it right. This is your only chance to live again. Problem is Peter isn't sure just what that moment is. Should he go back to the instant that he plunged out onto the road without even looking? Or how about the point just before the big argument with his father about Peter's lack of interest in sports or his pathetic grades, the argument that sends Peter outside in a blind rage and out onto the street. The time when he quits the baseball team and makes his father so angry? Or should he rewind the point where his parents tell him he's adopted? But the biggest questions of all are: exactly how many lifelines does he have left and IS THAT HIS FINAL ANSWER?

Discussion questions

  1. If you were in Peter's position, what aspect of your life would you have changed first?
  2. Do you think that the people around Peter helped him understand what he needed to change?
  3. What do you think of the way the relationship between Peter and the bully evolves?
  4. How does the way in which Peter's parents think affect Peter's behavior?

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