Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Return to Paradise is the second book of the Paradise series written by Simone Elkeles. This book is told from the perspective of the two main characters Maggie Armstrong  and Caleb Becker. Out of the two protagonists my favorite is Caleb because since the last book more things are being unveiled about him. In the first book, he is a troubled teen who is just getting out of juvie because he plead guilty of a hit and run that crippled his neighbor/love interest. After serving a long year in juvie, he became very reserved and mysterious. However, as the story progresses we learn that deep down he is a good person who put himself in a bad situation that has affected him greatly. At first I didn’t think I would like his character because he appeared to be very arrogant and manipulative. It turns out that it was just his way of defending himself and pushing people who wanted to help him away, so I felt sympathetic towards him and decided to wait and see the character development. I’m glad I followed my instinct and waited until the character showed who he really was. I would recommend this series if you enjoy reading books that contain love, drama, and plot twists. Overall, I feel like I connected with this character because through the series he’s been wanting to do good by everyone but has had to overcome many obstacles at a very young age and although we didn’t go through the same situation I’ve had to overcome obstacles myself.