The Choice

The Returned #0.7

by Jason Mott, David LeDoux (Narrator)

unabridged Audible audiobook;

In this short story by Jason Mott, author of The Returned, a man is forced to choose between the life he has now, and the one he thought was gone forever.

Peter Galvin was just 17 when Tracy Whitland - the love of his life - vanished without a trace. In the years after her death, he had finally moved on, gotten married, started a family. He is content with his life now - happy, even - until Tracy suddenly and inexplicably returns.

For weeks, Peter and his wife, Samantha, have been watching mysterious reports of people's loved ones returning from beyond, the world spinning into uncertainty and chaos. But they never imagined it would happen to them. With Tracy's unusual homecoming, Peter and Samantha must decide where they can possibly go from here, and whether their family can survive.

Listen to more stories of the Returned in The First and The Sparrow. And don't miss Jason Mott's haunting debut novel, The Returned, a story of one family given an extraordinary second chance.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Audiobook, Ebooks, Science Fiction, Paranormal

1 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jason Mott lives in southeastern North Carolina. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction has appeared in various journals such as Prick of the Spindle, The Thomas Wolfe Review, The Kakalak Anthology of Carolina Poets, Measure and Chautauqua. He was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize award and Entertainment Weekly listed him as one of their 10 “New Hollywood: Next Wave” people to watch.

He is the author of two poetry collections: We Call This Thing Between Us Love and “…hide behind me…” The Returned is his first novel.

The Returned has been optioned by Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, in association with Brillstein Entertainment and ABC. It will air in March, 2014 on the ABC network under the title “Resurrection.”

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Catch-up review, #2.

I don't recall exactly which day I started listening to this audiobook, but about midway through, I took a several day hiatus from listening to it because it felt predictable and boring. When I finally got back around to listening to the rest, I found that I was right.

The story itself was pretty confusing at first. We meet a couple waiting anxiously for their daughter to come home after her return... and then the story hops over to a different couple with a 6 year old daughter. I didn't realize that these were different couples at first, and it took me a bit of time to figure out who was who. It was about this time that I realized what the title was referring to (AND what the main character would choose), and that's when I took my little break.

There was just something really... blah... about this story. The other two prequels were interesting little stories, if a bit clunky in the pacing, showing, and characterization departments. But they served their purpose - I was intrigued enough to want to read more. But this one just felt superfluous and pointless. I knew from very early on (almost as soon as I realized who was who) what would happen, and I wasn't wrong.

Just an FYI: I might get a little ranty here... I suggest putting on your waders and preparing for story details that may be a teensy bit spoilery.

So, basically, Peter and Tracy were childhood BFFs turned teenaged lovers destined for forever... until she went missing. That was 20 years ago. Since then he's moved on, got married, and had a kid, and basically just lived his life - until Tracy returned. Now he doesn't know what to do... Does he leave his family and go back to her, or stay where he is? Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnn...

Well here's a thought. Why not try fucking HONESTY? "Hey, I loved you, and probably still do, or at least your memory... but I'm married now and have to be a responsible adult because I have a kid and it would be really fucking awkward to explain all this to my 6 year old. And I'm not sure whether I should give up the life I have to try to rekindle a teenage romance after 20 years of me aging and being not-dead and you... not."

But no. Instead the story kept trying to ratchet up the tension with delays and avoidance and increasing frantic teenager-in-love star-crossed-lover drama, until THE DECISION is made to face the shit. But oh wait, we have to have a little State of the Marriage conference between Peter and the wifey first, where we learn that she's been cheating, so now, should Peter decide to leave, 1) he has a reason to go handed to him on a silver platter, and 2) he doesn't have to feel guilty at all because SHE was unfaithful.

You know, the one I really felt the most for in this whole story is Tracy, who we barely even see. That poor girl was probably raped and murdered 20 years ago, and then in some crazy situation, she finds herself alive (ish?) again and still the same 17 year old that she was back then. She doesn't know that 20 years have passed, and that her boyfriend is now a middle-aged married man who doesn't respect her enough to even talk to her and explain to her what is going on. Or even to have her parents explain. Or write her a letter, or ANYTHING. Oh no, they all just try to hide the truth from her and pretend like he doesn't exist at all anymore. Because THAT's by far the best way to handle the situation. It's fucked up and I feel bad for her.

Anyway. Yeah, this one didn't do much for me except annoy me. I was not surprised by what the decision was in the end, and was only surprised that nobody else knew, including Peter, what he would decide.

I feel like this whole story was nothing but a ridiculous soap-opera style drama, and I've never been into that.

Lame.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

No.

No.

This had so much potential to be the best of the three prequels and I was feeling the heartbreak and uncertainty and pressure and had tears in my eyes up until ... well, go read it to find out!

It's a 10 minute read, at the most, and it's free.

This seriously pissed me off though, but I can't get into why without spoiling the whole thing. Some people might not be turned off by what happened, but the way one person acted is just something I never enjoy reading about and it completely ruined the entire story for me.

Sigh.

Well, the good thing is, the three prequels are all free and very short and are both indicative yet also not of what to expect from the full novel. These short stories are just like the snippets you find throughout the novel and not the main storyline that envelopes them all.

Here's my review of the first prequel and my review of the second one as well. There are links there too to get to the pages on Amazon to snag them for free. Those two were both a lot better than this one, though again, there's just something I won't tolerate in this yet it might not bother you. YMMV.

And also, here is the trailer for the TV show, and it gives you a small hint of what the book is about without spoiling anything that you wouldn't know from reading the synopsis.

Well, anyway, I hope you guys decide to read the full novel even if you end up not liking these short stories, because I really enjoyed it and found it to be something really unique that made me think about life and death in a much different way.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Choice is the last of the three short story prequels to Jason Mott's debut novel The Returned, these stories are currently all available for free on Amazon and other ebook stores (I don't know if this will change in the future) and are a nice introduction to the world that the author has created. The novel already has a lot of hype surrounding it and has even been picked up by Brad Pitt's production company to be turned into a TV series so I was very curious to try these prequels.

Peter was seventeen when his first love, Tracy, disappeared. No body was ever found but when she never returned it was assumed that she had died. Years later Peter has moved on with his life, he is married and is happy with his wife and daughter. Then Tracy mysteriously returns and Peter must decide if his future is with his wife Samantha or with Tracy.

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this story much, more because it hits on some of my personal hot buttons than due to a problem with the actual story but it is impossible for me to say exactly why I didn't like it without giving spoilers. To keep it brief I'll just say that didn't like the way Samantha had been portrayed, it felt like certain actions were just included to justify anything that Peter may or may not choose to do. I also found it extremely creepy that Peter was so obsessed with Tracy when he was almost twice her age and I didn't like the way Tracy's family kept so many secrets from her. This story did still raise some interesting questions though and I don't think everyone will have as much of a problem with it as I did. Like the other prequels this is very short (less than 30 pages) and since it's free I'd say it's definitely worth giving it a try. You're probably better off reading the prequels in order though: The First, The Sparrow and then The Choice. These prequels have definitely whet my appetite and I'm looking forward to reading The Returned.

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 3 out of 5]

present is present past is past

Overall 3 out of 5 stars
Performance 2 out of 5 stars
Story 4 out of 5 stars

This was a great follow up to the introduction to the series (The Returned). This was a demonstration on what was happening around the world from different standpoints. I found it intriguing the differences in the reactions to the returned. I found it amazing that Peter was a man that even present with the things of his present make the choice to accept the life he built and walk away from the one that was lost to him years ago.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would like to think that I am usually not this negative or spoilery in my reviews, but The Choice was a bit less than an ok tale to me, and I cannot really explain why without giving a bit of the story away.

First of all, I wasn't much of a fan of the narrator because of the constant flairs he did with his voice - it all sounded very dramatic and over the top, like he was trying to make a really lame premise sound so exciting and agonizing - which he kind of did.
Also because I could not easily tell which character was talking. For instance, shortly after we start hearing about a couple anxiously waiting for their daughter to arrive, watching her car getting closer and closer, the story shifts to a different couple who has a six-year-old daughter and it took me a while to notice this wasn't the same one as before.
Oddly enough, I only realized it because I remember the first woman calling her husband Nathaniel and the second one called him a different name.

But the main thing was that, comparing to the previous two prequels to The Returned, this was just not as enjoyable. I felt there was a whole lot of nothing. We could say the same about the others, especially the second one, since there wasn't much action there either; we basically got to know a bit of the past and present versions of a couple of characters. But it had a depth that this story simply did not have.

Most of the time we are hearing about 35-year-old Peter going through a bit of a mid-life crisis, wondering how his life got to how it was, because his teenage sweetheart, his first love, who had disappeared without a trace while they were madly in love is now back from the dead, along with all the other Returned.
I suppose this premise had potential, but the way it was developed simply did not cut it for me. There was a whole lot of build-up for, well, not much of a conclusion. It was the only thing possible, really.

I mean, teenage love, especially first love, is not supposed to last forever, save very few and rare exceptions, right? Especially when you have actually built a life with someone who may be flawed (so very conveniently in this case) but who loves you and you love them. And who you have a kid with.

Sorry about giving the ending away but, really, there is not much to the story. It is the first time I actually do not recommend something, even though it is free. We don't even get to know Tracy at all! Or why she disappeared in the first place or what was done to her - now that could have been a real moment of horror.
And no one even seems to notice that Peter is twice Tracy's age, themselves included, let alone make any comments about it or have any weight on Peter's decision.

Just no... This was a one-dimensional story that I could have done without.

I would like to think that I am usually not this negative or spoilery in my reviews, but The Choice was a bit less than an ok story to me, and I cannot really explain why without giving a bit of the story away.

First of all, I wasn't much of a fan of the narrator because of the constant flairs he did with his voice - it all sounded very dramatic and over the top, like he was trying to make a really lame premise sound so exciting and agonizing - which he kind of did.
Also because I could not easily tell which character was talking. For instance, shortly after we start hearing about a couple anxiously waiting for their daughter to arrive, watching her car getting closer and closer, the story shifts to a different couple who has a six-year-old daughter and it took me a while to notice this wasn't the same one as before.
Oddly enough, I only realized it because I remember the first woman calling her husband Nathaniel and the second one called him a different name.

But the main thing was that, comparing to the previous two prequels to The Returned, this was just not as enjoyable. I felt there was a whole lot of nothing. We could say the same about the others, especially the second one, since there wasn't much action there either; we basically got to know a bit of the past and present versions of a couple of characters. But it had a depth that this story simply did not have.

Most of the time we are hearing about 35-year-old Peter going through a bit of a mid-life crisis, wondering how his life got to how it was, because his teenage sweetheart, his first love, who had disappeared without a trace while they were madly in love is now back from the dead, along with all the other Returned.
I suppose this premise had potential, but the way it was developed simply did not cut it for me. There was a whole lot of build-up for, well, not much of a conclusion. It was the only thing possible, really.

I mean, teenage love, especially first love, is not supposed to last forever, save very few and rare exceptions, right? Especially when you have actually built a life with someone who may be flawed (so very conveniently in this case) but who loves you and you love them. And who you have a kid with.

Sorry about giving the ending away but, really, there is not much to the story. It is the first time I actually do not recommend something, even though it is free. We don't even get to know Tracy at all! Or why she disappeared in the first place or what was done to her - now that could have been a real moment of horror.
And no one even seems to notice that Peter is twice Tracy's age, themselves included, let alone make any comments about it or have any weight on Peter's decision.

Just no... This was a one-dimensional story that I could have done without.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, warm, lovely story about love. The difference between strong emotional teenage love and mature married love that has begotten children. Making amends with the past, the need for closure, questioning whether infidelity of the mind is any different than the act itself. Strong real characters. Wonderful!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another piece of the Returned

When I first watched the French series of The Returned a few years ago, I was entranced. These short stories are such wonderful bite sized morsels examining different perspectives of what might be a real reaction to a loved one returning to your life years after death.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anybody who knows me knows I must read books in order. One of my book clubs is going to discuss The Returned, & when I discovered there are three prequels to that book, I decided to read them. This is the third prequel. Very, very short. Good, but left me hanging, which I suppose prequels are supposed to do. Looking forward to The Returned now.

[Martin Harrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story about a 35-year-old man trying to decide whether or not to leave his wife and daughter for a 17-year-old. It works about as well as you’d expect.

On a more serious note, I was excited to read Jason Mott’s debut novel, The Returned, but it failed to live up to my expectations. It never dove as deeply into the mixed emotions surrounding dead loved ones coming back to life as its TV adaptation Resurrection did. As one of three short-story prequels, The Choice attempts to rectify this by dealing with a new set of characters. Our main character was dating his childhood sweetheart when she suddenly vanished eighteen years ago. Now, when he is a grown man with his own wife and six-year-old-daughter, she comes back to life.

The emotional stress this places on him and his wife is understandable. However, as the title implies, Mott presents this as a “choice.” Is this man going to stay with his wife and the life they’ve built? Or is he going to attempt to reclaim the life he’d envisioned as a teenager? This rubs me wrong in so many ways; not only does nobody seem to care that he’s considering a relationship with an underage girl, she’s actually been dead for longer than they were together. Has he really failed to build his own identity independent from her in that time? There are also some baffling decisions regarding the wife, making it hard to get invested in any of the main characters.

I say “any” because the girlfriend—the catalyst for the story as a whole—is never elevated above the status of plot device. The story is entirely about the husband and his “choice.” We never learn what it’s like for the girl to return to a world that’s moved on without her, or even see her reaction to learning her childhood sweetheart—the man she expected to live her life with—has married another woman and even has a daughter. It’s a huge oversight, and the story would be much better set from her perspective. Resurrection had a similar storyline with its side characters, and it packed far more of an emotional punch than The Choice did.


A strong premise brought down by questionable decisions, The Choice dies little to elevate this source material. If you liked The Returned, you may enjoy this, but if you thought it was just ok, then even as a free prequel, there are better ways to spend your time.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was hard to grasp the relationships of the characters from the beginning. I feel as though The Choice would have benefitted from a character list at the beginning to establish relationships past and present. Part of this may have been due to the flicking between the POV of Evelyn and Nathaniel and their daughters previous lover and his wife Samantha. I can understand why this story would be enjoyable but maybe it just wasn't for me. Finally the cliff-hanger- no it is was too big to leave the reader intrigued and made no sense to me .Shame I liked the second book in this trilogy and had high hopes for the finale.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final of the 3 prequels to The Returned. Again, I loved the TV series and it's such fun to revisit this world again where folks desperately missing their deceased loved ones are suddenly reunited with them. Against everything they know to be true, they can't help but be thrilled with a second chance to love that person. This story offers a loving father and husband a chance to reconnect with his high school sweetheart. When he meets with his old flame buoyed by his current wife...no one is sure what the outcome will be.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting little snippet that in the end feels shallow. It starts out with a teenager returning from the dead. The story then does an about face centered around the family of the man, now 37, who was the 17 year old love of her life to the returned teenager. This is followed with some angst over how he feels after all these years. There's not a lot of depth here, but it was free.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohh wow. It's almost exactly what you think it would be--with a twist. I loved it and look forward to reading the next in the collection: The Returned. I've already added it to my, "Want to Read" list.

[Alishia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading these prequel’s because I wasn’t sure if I should read The returned or not and with the first one I wasn’t convinced but after the second one I’m 100% convinced now to read the Returned!

[Livey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved science fiction and after seeing the show and meeting the author I am reading all the associated stories of The Returned. I know the reviews are not as high as they should be but these prequels were best for me after and this one was tragic love.

[Fefi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terzo Prequel,sempre molto veloce,di The returned: ok,sono curiosa di vedere come sarà il libro.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read.

[Any Length · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a novella. Short story more like to prepare us for "the Returned".

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy

[Jaclyn Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Prequel

Much like The Sparrow, the Choice is another glimpse into the Returned and how it might affect every one involved.

[Jim Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of time although it was not a long time

[rhi rhi (a literal angel) · Rating 1 out of 5]

౨ৎ | "that's poetic." “heard it on an episode of CSI."

— ★ 1.5/5

the premise was there but it fell flat. like what was the reason?

[Sofi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be my favorite of the 3 short stories. Choices!!

[rhi 2.0 · Rating 1 out of 5]

[1.5] literally what was the reason

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Returned was a lyrical novel of past and present, life and death, and pain and remembrance. It wasn't a particularly great novel, but it told a pleasant story about death while maintaining a very positive outlook. It's a book about people suddenly returning from the dead -- no zombies or rot here; the people just show up alive like no time has passed, without much of an understanding of what's happened to them -- and just before its release, the author and publisher released a series of e-short-stories that looked at a few of the Returned.

What makes the stories intriguing is that they give us part of the story told from the points of view of the Returned. The novel didn't give us that perspective, so it's interesting to see how certain theories are either confirmed or denied through these stories. There's still not much in the way of answers -- thankfully, I should add -- but they do add a bit more to the world where the dead can return to life like nothing ever happened. I'm just not sure that it's necessary to see the world from the Returned's perspective.

Mott captured the reaction to the Returned well over the course of these stories. In "The First," he shows the reactions to people reacting to the very first person to Return, from the perspective of he who Returned. To him, all was normal; to everyone else, it was something terrible and horrifying. In "The Sparrow," Mott shows us how people view the Returned. Most people tend to look at them as people, but enough people also view them as things, as something not human. The couple featured in this story represent those viewpoints. In "The Choice," Mott shows us how the return of old, lost loves can disrupt lives.

Overall, though, the stories are about grief and regret. They're gentle stories, ones that give a touch of hope to those missed moments, and offer us a glimpse of what it would be like to get them back. They're touching, moving, and poignant, but what they add to the world of the Returned is small. The points that Mott makes through the themes of these stories are covered in The Returned, and save for one final summation at the end of the last story that wraps up the point of this brief series, there's not a lot new here.

I can't recall if any of these three Returned feature in the novel, but parts of the novel feature in the stories. As such, it makes me wonder if these stories are meant to be read before the novel, or after. I'm fine with having read them out of chronological order, and think that might be the intent.

Ultimately, people who read The Returned will probably get the most out of these books, but I don't consider them necessary. If you want to return to the world of The Returned, though, this is your best way to get there.

[Tasula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I loved The Returned and liked the other prequel, this book seemed overly simple in style, language, character development, plot, etc. It was disappointing. Just read the book and skip this prequel.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is either a concerted marketing campaign or the world Jason Mott created for The Returned is just too large to be contained in one novel. Maybe both. The Choice is the third of three currently available prequels to The Returned, which is scheduled for release next week. I have listened to all three prequels as audiobooks. The three linked stories are read by different narrators, giving rise to analysis of how much impact the narrator has on enjoyment of the story. Firstly, though, thoughts on the story.

Peter Galvin and Tracy Whitland were childhood sweethearts and each other's first love, until Tracy disappeared without trace when Peter was seventeen. In the intervening years Peter has moved on, married and had a daughter, but now Tracy has returned, still seventeen and in love. This story raises questions about what we want versus what we think we want, about happiness found versus happiness made and the choices we make and the reasons we make them.

All three stories hint at the plethora of issues facing society when those thought lost forever begin to return. No matter how beloved a lost love one is, life moves on without them. It will be interesting to see how Jason Mott handles the return of loved ones lost in time to a present they have no experience of. He has created a wonderful and imaginative concept and these three stories have piqued my interest in the novel itself. I hope it lives up to its promise.

My audiobook experience thus far has been that the narrator does impact the level of enjoyment of the story. David Ledoux injects himself a little too far into his reading of The Choice , which I found distracting and ultimately detrimental to the story. Perhaps in the world of audiobooks listeners follow narrators in a manner similar to the way readers follow writers. That said, The Returned by Jason Mott is one to watch.

[Gerd]

* Attention contains minor spoilers *

I don’t feel I can give a justified rating here, as these are not really short-stories in a classic sense, they are merely longer vignettes, focusing on stories of love and loss, set around the events in Jason Mott’s The Returned, a novel in which the deceased suddenly, inexplicably return.

“The First” is the tale of Edmund Blithe, the first person to return one year after having died from a tragic accident, shortly after having proposed to his girlfriend.
This one feels the most uneven of the three prequel vignettes, it splinters up into little elements showing various aspects of how his return affects the world, and his fiancée.
I really does little more than adding backdrop to book excerpt following it.

“The Sparrow”, the tale of a little girl who was killed with her mother in uprisings in Sierra Leone only to return a decade later in the midst of America. This one works in my opinion best out of the three on its own. Here the author manages to make the most of the short amount of space, weaving together the stories of the couple that find the girl and take her in, the story of the girl and her mother, and a tale spun by the girl and her father.

“The Choice”, the bitter sweet tale of a man who learns that the girl he grew up with and fell in love with, the girl who vanished at seventeen without a trace, has returned now some twenty years later, forcing him to re-evaluate his since new found love, and the little family they started. Out of the three “The Choice” felt the most disturbing to me as it leaves us with so many unanswered questions about what happened to the girl twenty years ago, and we never get to learn how she deals with returning from the dead as if never a day had passed, still deeply in love with a man who had to come to terms with his grief and move on.

[Literary Ames · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Cross-posted on BookLikes and Wordpress.

A great idea poorly executed.

On paper, the effect of this Returnee's reappearance had the potential to be heart-wrenching as a 37-year-old man attempts to solve a life-changing dilemma: to continue with his present life with a wife and child, or leave them for his 17-year-old first love who disappeared, and was presumed dead, 20 years ago.

I really wanted to like it but the writing is rushed and choppy. The inclusion of his wife's affair was incongruous, over the top and seemed like it was added at the last minute to lessen any guilt Peter might feel if he decided to leave Samantha for Tracy.

The Choice ended logically, the way I thought it would, albeit in a rough and rushed manner. However, unlike in the other prequels, we experience nothing from the Returnee's perspective except the effect she has on her mother via her anxious phone calls to Peter.

From the quality of writing in The Sparrow, I know Jason Mott can do better. I just hope The Returned embodies the skill I know he possesses.

[Scott Fabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a world in which the dead start coming back to life. They have no memories from when they were gone; they simply start appearing all over the globe. This is the premise of Jason Mott's novel, The Returned. In this third prequel to the novel, another of the returned is introduced. When she was only 17 years old, Tracy Whitmore disappeared. Eventually, her disappearance was ruled a death. Her boyfriend at the time, Peter Galvin, was heartbroken.

Fast forward 20 years, and Tracy has returned. She is still 17 years old, but Peter is not. All she wants is to see Peter again. Unfortunately, in the years since her death, Peter has married someone else and has a daughter. Nevertheless, Peter still loves Tracy very much. His new wife, Samantha, believes that he needs to make a choice between Tracy or her. Eventually, Peter agrees to meet with Tracy--and he makes a very difficult choice.

Out of the three prequels, I enjoyed this one the most. The story was just heart-wrenching, and I couldn't imagine what I would do if I were in this situation. At this point, I really took notice of how intense The Returned would be because I was starting to question my own values and beliefs while reading The Choice. When books can make you questions beliefs to which you have held firm for many years, it's a sign of a great book. I could not wait to read The Returned.