Being recognized as a “hero” is typically seen as a high honor, yet the various conflicts of Restart indicate that it’s actually quite difficult to classify acts of heroism. Mr. Solway is honored for his acts of bravery in the Korean War, but he can’t even recall those events for which he was presented with the Medal of Honor. Mr. Solway maintains that he is not “any more special than a lot of other people who were there.” His wartime actions have been described to him, and Mr. Solway believes that it was all so horrific that his brain permanently erased the memories. He doesn’t seek honor or recognition for his efforts and has to be persuaded to even share his stories with Chase and Shoshanna. Mr. Solway’s experience demonstrates the tension and difficulty that can accompany such recognitions of heroism; though he followed orders and proved himself brave, he is haunted by those same “heroic” actions. Brendan views Mr. Solway as a hero because of the way he protected Chase in the courtroom and in the assisted living center. This is a much more personal and intimate portrait of heroism, lived out amid the conflicts of everyday life.

At the beginning of the novel, Chase is presented as an unheroic figure, but in his transformation he proves that he is willing to sacrifice himself for others. Not only does he put himself in harm’s way to retrieve Mr. Solway’s medal, but he is willing to sacrifice himself to take full responsibility for the theft of the medal, allowing Aaron and Bear to escape punishment. The new Chase is heroic in his efforts to dispel the darkness of his former life and to become a more empathetic person. He is deeply troubled by the fear in his little sister’s eyes and intentionally engages with her in ways that build trust. 

Perhaps most heroic is his honest self-assessment in the courtroom; he is unwilling to provide the expected answer for the judge in order to save himself. Instead, Chase chooses the more difficult path of truth, acknowledging that he cannot promise that he will always be the improved version of himself. As in Mr. Solway’s case, Chase’s character growth suggests that heroism can be part of the common human experience, a quality that arises in the difficult circumstances people face in daily life.

In many ways, characters’ connections to the past haunt their interactions with others in their present. Mr. Solway is a stereotypically grumpy older man, but he also struggles with his wartime actions half a century earlier. As he begins to share the stories of his life with Joel and Shoshanna, he is able to release some of the burden he has carried around for so many years and begins to embody a kinder spirit. 

Chase fears that the darkness of his former self will somehow creep into his present world, and for much of the novel he struggles to let go of the boy he was in order to become the young man he can be. His past weighs heavily on Shoshanna, whose brother endured seemingly endless cruelties at Chase’s hands. Although the new Chase appears to embody sharply different values, Shoshanna remains suspicious of Chase’s motives, as evidenced by her quick—and inaccurate—belief that he has returned to his old ways during the confrontation in the music room. 

Even Aaron and Bear are deeply rooted to their past connection with Chase. Missing their malicious leader, they aren’t sure how to operate in the void he leaves in their...

The conflicts of this novel indicate that forgiveness is not simply a one-time offering; rather, it must often be given again and again. Shoshanna believes that she has forgiven Chase after working with him in the video club. However, after the fire extinguisher incident, she realizes that she must forgive him anew. She also has to forgive herself several times for misjudging Chase. 

The novel also illustrates that sometimes forgiveness is an incomplete offering. Brendan realizes that the entire group was quick to believe that Chase had intentionally injured Joel in the music room, never evaluating the situation with any sense of understanding or objectivity. Their forgiveness of his previous injustices is only offered conditionally, and Chase finds that he must revisit the crimes of his past repeatedly in order to find forgiveness from those he has wounded.