Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 10/01/2021 Gr 8 Up—Sixteen-year-old Piper has been raised by her single mother to be an independent, oral (speaking) person, even though she became deaf at age three. Her mum feels it's important to appear as normal as possible to make her way successfully in the world, as if being deaf is something she has to compensate for. But lip-reading and using her hearing aids won't make Piper the prosperous bio-engineer her mother is—instead, it only gives her headaches. In this mid-21st century Australian setting, changes to the way food is created, processed, and delivered has led to a repressive society and great cost to the environment. Navigating her way through her mother's fall from grace in the scientific community, the loss of her best friend, a new love interest who seems to somewhat understand her struggle with the demands of her deafness, as well as near starvation, Piper is determined to find her own voice by using her hands—to build a garden of sustainable food sources and finally communicate like she never has before. Augmenting the story is the distinct artwork on almost every page. It reads like a journal and is filled with jotted notes, sketches, slathers of paint, and fully developed illustrations that portray Piper's journey through friendship, love, and her gift of communication without sound. An appended "Dear Reader" section shares how the hearing can be more inclusive to the deaf community. VERDICT Fans of dystopian and realistic fiction will savor this engaging work, and the message will resonate with young activists seeking their own purpose. A standout must-read for teens and adults.—Carol Connor, Cincinnati Pub. Schls., OH - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 11/01/2021 *Starred Review* Organicore’s position of prominence in Australia is slipping now that the nutrient-rich, cancer-eradicating additive used in its manufactured meals appears to have some long-term side effects. For 16-year-old Piper McBride, daughter of the additive’s inventor, this fall from grace upends her life in countless ways. Now living in a renovated shed, Piper and her newly unemployed mother struggle with hunger and to live normal lives. The latter has always been more of a challenge for Piper, who is deaf but generally able to pass as hearing thanks to her hearing aids, lip-reading skills, and speech-therapy lessons. When Piper decides to learn how to grow “wild food,” new worlds open to the teen, both in the philosophies of the guerilla-gardening movement and finding her place in the Deaf community, which teaches her to sign. She channels her passion for art into these new endeavors, and her illustrated journal (aka the book in readers’ hands) contains visual guides to gardening and searing anti-government images that become posters for the movement. Asphyxia, herself Deaf and an artist, has done an outstanding job of relating the experience of being Deaf in this near-future story of a young woman grappling with her identity and finding her voice. The authenticity of this experience and that of being a teen navigating changing friendships and first love make Piper a relatable protagonist whose inner strength will inspire. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.