Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 07/14/2025 Ollestad (French Girl with Mother, for adults) and Kiely (Tradition) team up to deliver a wrenching novel based on Ollestad’s own childhood survival experience. In 1979, 11-year-old Ollestad wins a ski championship in Big Bear, Calif. Accompanied by his father and his father’s girlfriend, Sandra, the youth travels six hours back to the Palisades so he can participate in a hockey game. The next morning, Ollestad’s father charters a plane to return to Big Bear for the championship’s closing ceremonies. En route, a blizzard slams the plane into the San Gabriel Mountains, killing the pilot and Ollestad’s father and gravely injuring Sandra. Dazed and hurt, Ollestad must make his way down the mountain to seek help or risk spending the night exposed in the frigid landscape. As Ollestad descends, he ruminates on his mother’s abusive boyfriend, his having to take on a caregiver role to save Sandra, and the resentment he feels toward his fractured family: "They were my parents, but not always my protectors. I had to save myself." Throughout this tale of resilience and finding the strength to weather terrifying and uncertain situations, Ollestad draws on skills he learned from skiing and surfing to survive, which the authors depict using technical sports jargon. Ages 10-14. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative Management. (Oct.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 09/01/2025 Gr 5–8—This riveting middle grade memoir recounts the harrowing true story of 11-year-old Norman Ollestad, who survived a plane crash in the San Gabriel Mountains during a blizzard. The coauthors weave Ollestad's childhood trauma into a gripping survival narrative, rich with flashbacks that explore themes of resilience, complicated parental love, and self-discovery. The narrative includes heart-racing scenes of ski-racing slopes and surfing Topanga's swells, along with emotional scenes like that of a boy caught between an adventurous father and a domineering stepfather. The crash sequence is cinematic in detail and pulse-pounding in intensity, yet it's Ollestad's grappling with fear, forging independence, and ultimately surviving alone that will resonate most deeply with readers. Fans of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet or Lauren Tarshis's "I Survived" series will find both kinship and catharsis here, though this memoir is uniquely poignant due to its autobiographical roots. With clean, visceral prose and thematic complexity, this book stands out as a survival story and a meditation on identity. VERDICT Highly recommended, especially for older tweens drawn to true stories of grit, growth, and survival against the odds.—Tracey S. Hodges - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.