Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 01/01/2015 Gr 8 Up—Simon Speir, high school junior, walks away from his computer at school for just a moment, and that is when his biggest secret is discovered. He has been emailing a boy in his grade anonymously ever since a poetic waxing on his high school's gossip Tumblr caught his eye, and now Martin Addison has taken a screenshot and has a powerful way to blackmail Simon into getting his friend, Abby, to date him. Although it is filled with trendy pop-culture and digital-age references (Tumblr, Justin Beiber, The Bachelor, etc.) that may not stand the test of time, the message will resonate. Rife with realistic, high school relationships and drama, with a laugh or two at every turn, this is a coming-of-age, coming-out, and defying-the-odds story with which many teens will identify. With a very tidy, feel-good ending, the book will appeal to readers who enjoyed Tim Federle's Better Nate Than Ever (2013) and Five, Six, Seve, Nate! (2014, both S. & S.) and will find a familiar, slightly more mature home with Simon.—Brittany Staszak, St. Charles Public Library, IL - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2015 Simon Spier is falling in love with a boy he’s never met. A provocative post on their school’s gossip Tumblr caught his eye, and he began an email correspondence, using the name Jacques, with a boy who calls himself Blue. Blue and Jacques take advantage of their anonymity to share their hearts, but when Simon carelessly leaves his browser open in the school library, a guy named Martin threatens to expose Simon’s secret unless Simon helps him get in good with Simon’s friend Abby. Though angry, Simon reluctantly plays along to give him and Blue more time to explore what is happening between them. What is happening between them, and within Simon, is an irresistibly tender story of two smart, witty, introspective teens who have a lot of reason to question the cultural defaults, including both orientation and race, that make their love story something they want to keep to themselves. Mild strain among Simon’s diverse group of friends in his suburban Georgia high school emerges when crushes go requited and unrequited, but the group remains cohesive and supportive when Simon is eventually outed; so does his delightfully quirky family, even when Simon gets drunk and calls his dad out on “that awkward moment when you realize you’ve been making gay jokes in front of your gay kid for the last seventeen years.” Though there are realistic moments of tension, the dominant sentiment here is the delicious excitement of finding your best self in the eyes of someone else; not since Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy (BCCB 9/03) have readers been treated to such a happy sigh of a book about two boys falling in love. KC - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 08/01/2015 *Starred Review* Simon’s pretty sure no one will be upset when he comes out as gay. Though he lives in Georgia and kids at his high school can be cruel, his friends and family are all very accepting. But announcing that he likes guys is still a huge transformation. That’s why he is so spooked when classmate Martin stumbles on secret, flirty e-mails Simon has been sending to Blue, a mysterious boy at his school, and gently threatens to reveal his secret. As the e-mail correspondence heats up, however, Simon is less concerned with keeping his sexuality a secret than he is with meeting the enchanting Blue. In Simon’s affecting and authentic voice, debut author Albertalli supplies an exceptionally nuanced account of his coming-of-age. For Simon, coming out is less about negative repercussions as it is about what such a statement will change. After telling everyone he is gay, will he still be the same Simon? Though Martin’s blackmail threats and Simon’s dreamy romance with Blue are pivotal, compelling plot points, Albertalli shrewdly gives much more weight to Simon’s emotional journey. Though they are certainly tied to his sexual orientation, Simon’s worries will resonate with many readers coming to terms with something new about themselves. Albertalli’s sensitive, incisive novel expertly gets at the complexity of identity, the difficulty of change, and the importance of growth. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

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