Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 06/02/2025 Orphaned 13-year-old Tom Morgan has spent years perfecting the art of thievery. With no knowledge of his parents beyond his mother possibly being from Egypt, he survives by picking strangers’ pockets on the streets of London, all the while avoiding snatchers who would lock him up in a workhouse if caught. Things look grim when his friends are captured by snatchers. Then Tom receives the chance of a lifetime after a mysterious man hands him a card that reads, "Wanted: the clever, the cunning, and the fearless. Must be willing to risk death daily. Fortunes available for the most daring and capable." Tom soon finds himself whisked away to Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts, an elite boarding academy for thieves, where he hopes to learn the skills necessary to save his friends. But as he immerses himself within this new world of sneak and cunning, it becomes clear that there is more to Beaufort’s than meets the eye. In his children’s debut, Burns (This Is Your Everest, for adults) deploys propulsive pacing and action-packed plotting to spin a page-turning, edge-of-the-seat adventure. Meticulously unraveled secrets and personable characters will have readers clamoring for the next volume of this enthralling series starter. Ages 10-up. (Aug.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 07/11/2025 Gr 5–8—Thirteen-year-old orphan Tom Morgan has grown up on the tough streets of London as a seasoned con, knowing nothing about his parents aside from his mother's potential Egyptian background. When his friends get snatched and imprisoned in a workhouse, he is determined to free them. The mysterious Corsair offers Tom a spot at Beaufort's School for Deceptive Arts, promising fortune and a chance to help his friends if he's willing to risk death daily. Tom is quickly expected to learn the ropes, from forging identities to switching priceless jewels. The school is divided into six categories of achievements, with first-year Tom starting as a Tenderfoot, leaving room for multiple subsequent installments. The alternative to progressing at the school is death, and because Tom isn't a legacy, he starts with enemies and is forced to forge alliances not knowing who is trustworthy and who is out to destroy him. Readers will be intrigued by the high stakes of Tom's journey, and the richness of this world of spies and deception. VERDICT Brimming with adventures, daring missions, and fierce friendships, this fast-paced story will keep fans of Stephen Gibbs's Spy School and other spy thrillers gripped and hungry for the next installment.—Michele Shaw - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.