The Book of Accidents vs The return: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Supernatural, Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction
The Book of Accidents
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Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there. Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she…
The return
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After visiting a graveyard, a man finds his appearance has mysteriously changed. Returning home only to be received with horror and suspicion by his family, he must reckon with the social consequences of his bizarre…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The return is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 10 for The Book of Accidents.
- The return has the widest readership — 109422 ratings behind its score.
- The Book of Accidents runs the darker storyline; The return stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Book of Accidents | The return | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.7 (30554) | 3.9 (109422) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (127) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (394) | — |
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Reception
| The Book of Accidents | The return | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 30554 | 109422 |
| Editions | 11 | 43 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | 87578 | 562 |
| Reading it now | 2430 | 28 |
| Written reviews | 4763 | 49 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 1570 |
| Pages | 540 | 307 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Book of Accidents or The return?
The return has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The return 3.9/5, The Book of Accidents 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Book of Accidents or The return?
The return is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The return (307 pages, ≈ 5 h 41 m); The Book of Accidents (540 pages, ≈ 10 h 00 m).
Which is harder to read: The Book of Accidents or The return?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Book of Accidents: Moderate; The return: Challenging.