(40) The Returned

Title: The Returned by Jason Mott
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
352 pages
Genre: fiction

I received an advanced e-copy of this book via netgalley.com. It is set to be published August 27, 2013.

Synopsis:  All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. 

As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

Review: This is not about zombies, or faeries, or anything like that, its just a what if.  What if your loved one came back from the grave years after.  Would you accept them back? Would you shun them? Do you consider them human, or something else? These are the complex questions explored in this novel.  Of course fear of the unknown always leads down dark and scary paths when it comes to governments and questions of what to do when the dead return to the living.  Is it right to hold people that we consider lesser hostage? Didn't we already learn these lessons? Apparently not.  Jason Mott's novel leaves questions unanswered and gives you some to think about.  Do you stand up when you see injustice or do you hide behind fear and anger? What can one person do to change things? Definitely food for thought and a book that will stick with me for a while.