Bound To Stay Bound

Publishers Weekly - 02/09/2026 A dictatorial regime’s robot creation provides unexpected comfort to down-and-out tweens in this affirming contemplation of mortality and the necessity of community from Kelly (The Last Resort). Twelve-year-old Zuzu lives in Barren, Tex., a dusty wasteland governed by a technological mega-conglomerate called the Lockwood Corporation. When Zuzu’s father is laid off from Lockwood, he receives a robot (sans charger) as severance; to Zuzu’s dismay, it’s revealed to be programmed as a Lockwood-sponsored chaperone. Meeting up with her friends at a local salvage yard, Zuzu and her technophile bestie Elias reprogram the robot, awakening within it a new sensibility: rather than admonishing the group for breaking Lockwood rules, it bends the truth on their behalf and displays unexpected curiosity in and compassion for its human charges. The group dubs it Snap, who becomes a friend, but its battery is slowly dying, and the kids have been unable to salvage a new charger. Succinct and immersive prose renders a futuristic tale that touches on timely subjects such as climate change, technological classism, and the increasing integration of AI into everyday life, populated by racially diverse characters whose ingenuity and capacity for optimism model replicable behaviors for children navigating similar ordeals. Ages 8-12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (May) - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly used with permission.

School Library Journal - 02/27/2026 Gr 3–8—Filipino American Zuzu is a girl who lives in a dusty part of Texas in a dystopian future. She and her dad live in a settlement that they call Bright Valley because the sun always shines so brightly. They live in a tiny trailer that is subsidized by the wealthier nearby town, Bountiful. Her dad had been working for Lockwood but was let go and given a guardian robot with a broken charger as part of his severance package. Zuzu is very much against the idea of a guardian robot, but her dad is unrelenting. Zuzu's best friend, Elias, likes to tinker with things and he tries to reboot the robot with great success. This is a story with tons of big ideas and questions—are mega corporations sucking the life out of communities and allowing the lower classes of workers to become disposable? Is there an "ethical" way to keep poor people oppressed? Are teachers whose teachings oppose the big corporations hurting or helping students by offering them ideas that are different from the company line? There are also themes of friendship, the use of technology, and the power of nature. As usual, Kelly spins a wonderful story with compelling characters and interesting conflicts that will give readers an opportunity to discuss and mull over its themes for a long time. VERDICT An excellent addition to any upper elementary or middle school library. This is dystopian fiction at its finest.—Debbie Tanner - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 04/01/2026 *Starred Review* Topical themes run through this poignant dystopian tale of the bond that forms between a human girl and a guardian robot with corrupted programming and a rapidly weakening power source. At first, the obsolete bot with the broken recharger just leaves 12-year-old Zuzu feeling smothered. Seeming more spy than ally, Snap (Secure Network Android Processor) is regarded with equal suspicion by her friends, all of whom, in a world of 11 billion people, are impoverished migrant “dusties” herded into isolated trailer camps out on the Texas prairie near a huge waste dump. Even her favorite teacher, who taught her students cursive so they can discuss forbidden topics under the eyes of the omnipresent drones, reacts with undisguised hostility. Zuzu hesitates to just sell her laconic companion for parts, though, and is thoroughly vindicated by subsequent events. Although, after the AI begins exhibiting un-robot-like autonomy, Kelly leaves the change in Zuzu’s attitude between the lines, perceptive readers will pick up on it as well as on her conflicted feelings as she helplessly watches her protective new friend’s power levels drop toward a forced shutdown and memory erasure. Notwithstanding a hint of light at the very end, readers will be strongly affected by this wrenching story as well as by the harsh future setting. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.