Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2013 Gr 5–8—For 13-year-old Paolo Crivelli, the excitement of planning secret nightly trips into Florence balances the boredom and stress of living under Nazi occupation in a war-torn village outside the city. Because his mother, Rosemary, is English, she senses the town's suspicions of her. Paolo's father has joined the Partisans, a secret group working to sabotage the Nazis. For Rosemary, keeping her family safe is a daunting task, and she desperately misses her husband's strength and confidence. Then the Partisans ask her to hide two Allied soldiers who have escaped from the Germans. Though reluctant to jeopardize her family's safety, she feels she has no choice. As the excitement escalates, the characters struggle to be courageous while wrestling with life-threatening decisions. They have been living under harsh conditions and with the awareness that Nazi sympathizers are among their neighbors. Once the Allied soldiers are with the Crivellis, intrigue and mystery mount. Both Paolo and his sister, Constanza, do what is necessary, though there is underlying resentment by them and their mother that their father has chosen to follow his beliefs instead of staying to protect them. In this engrossing story, Hughes combines a riveting plotline with multidimensional characters. It also provides youngsters with some understanding of the choices and conditions faced by people in Europe during World War II. It's a good follow-up to Donna Jo Napoli's Stones in the Water (1997) and its sequel, Fire in the Hills (2006, both Dutton).—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2013 Paolo Crivelli fantasizes about joining his father in the resistance as he rides his bike through the Nazi-occupied streets of Florence, Italy during World War II. His dad has recently gone underground for his own safety and Paolo’s mother is more anxious than ever-worrying about her husband, Paolo’s nighttime bicycle rides through a dangerous countryside, her daughter Constanza’s apparent emotional withdrawal from the family and her friendly relationships with Nazi occupiers, the escalating action as Allied liberators make gains throughout 1944, and now the menacing demands of the local partisans that she shelter escaped prisoners of war and help them return to their Ally units. Although Paolo and his bicycle exploits get top billing, the power of this novel lies in the skillfully interwoven activities of the three Crivellis, each of whom keeps innermost thoughts private, and each of whom musters daring and split-second decisions that keep the pace lively and readers turning the pages. Hughes offers a far more nuanced view of partisan fighters than often appears in children’s World War II dramas-they’re heroic, certainly, but they’re also willing to use dire threats and physical force to coerce civilians into activities that put them in mortal peril. Skillful plotting, with a number of well-placed chapter cliffhangers, and a deftly conveyed sense of place make this a strong choice for historical fiction readers. EB - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 04/15/2013 The resistance movement in WWII Italy is the backdrop for a beloved picture-book creator’s first full-length novel. In 1944, with Nazi soldiers occupying the city and their father away, teens Paolo and Costanza Crivelli are bored. Paolo, 13, sneaks out to bike through the streets of Florence at night, seeking adventure, avoiding the occupying Germans, and hoping to meet his heroes, the Partisans, while his 16-year-old sister sulks in her room. In spite of their mother’s attempts to shelter them, the war comes far too close when their mother, already under suspicion because of her English background and her husband’s known anti-Fascist views, reluctantly agrees to hide a pair of escaped prisoners of war. Soon Paolo becomes part of the escape strategy, and his bicycle becomes a Partisan tool. An omniscient narrator switches focus among the three family members as the action takes place in and under the family villa, in dark city streets, and in the surrounding countryside. The mounting suspense will keep readers turning pages. An absorbing survival adventure. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

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