Where Things Come BackWhere Things Come Back
Score Modern
What it's about
The summer before his senior year, Cullen Witter's cousin overdoses, his dull Arkansas town gets obsessed with the supposed return of an extinct woodpecker, and worse is to come.
Why it's worth reading
It's on TIME's list of the 100 best young-adult books. It's a poignant, funny story of loss and redemption.
You'll love it if you liked
Looking for Alaska
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Dear Evan HansenGood to know
It's a young-adult novel.
By the numbers
- Readers6 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics41 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller1 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #241 of the 260 young adult books we rank
- #1562 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2932 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Gripping
If you like this, read next
Too Late
Sam's Letters to Jennifer
The Inheritance Games
At First Sight
Memories of Midnight
The Hawthorne LegacyExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →
Young adult booksTop 25 · 260 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,647 ranked
Books of the 2010sTop 25 · 751 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedQuick answers
Is Where Things Come Back worth reading?
Yes. It's on TIME's list of the 100 best young-adult books. It ranks #2,932 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 54.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Where Things Come Back about?
The summer before his senior year, Cullen Witter's cousin overdoses, his dull Arkansas town gets obsessed with the supposed return of an extinct woodpecker, and worse is to come.
How long does it take to read Where Things Come Back?
About 6 hours (228 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Where Things Come Back?
If you liked it, try Looking for Alaska by John Green, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky or Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul.