Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 10/01/2024 If an initiative’s usage of smiling emojis is supposed to be directly proportional to the amount of evil involved, the HappyHead Project understood the assignment. Sebastian is enrolled in the project—an experimental 13-day combination of inpatient therapy and summer camp—largely in response to vague teen ennui. Determined to try hard enough to earn his family’s approval, Seb excels at the tasks set forth by the adults running the project; unsurprisingly, though, he finds himself distracted by a handsome boy with dark hair and tattoos whose tendency to question authority is contagious. The style of the post-2016 wave of YA dystopian novels mixes perfectly with the energy of the turn-of-the-century classic queer film But I’m a Cheerleader to create a story that in pacing, plot, and characterization checks every box in the genre guidebook. Although the result is as nondescript within its context as its protagonist, that is exactly why it is a precious addition destined to be the right reader’s new favorite book: queer teens deserve mundane genre representation too. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.