Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 11/01/2012 Gr 9 Up—A story set on Long Island, New York, in 1977. Vinnie Gold has just turned 15, his dog dies soon thereafter, his crush moves away, and his parents announce they are getting a divorce. A good deal of this book is spent exploring with family dynamics after the breakup. Vinnie's mom ends up marrying Mr. Buonofuco, Vinnie's gym teacher. His dad, on the other hand, never wanted a divorce, but eventually begins to create a new life for himself. While Vinnie's family life is changing, so is his personal life. He moves to the suburbs with his mom and Mr. B and develops a crush on his next-door neighbor, Patsy, who, as luck would have it, is incredibly attractive and goes to his school. He accidentally acquires her unlisted phone number and decides to call her-night after night after night. At first she is angry, but as time goes by, they develop a relationship. A third of the way through the book readers may become tired of Vinnie's calls and disturbed at his stalkerish behavior. However, if they continue, they will find that he grows up and turns out to be a decent guy. This novel deals with many hard topics surrounding divorce, insecurity, and relationhips.Jesse L. Ray, Seattle Public Library, WA - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 12/01/2012 Everything changes after Vinnie turns fifteen—his parents divorce, his mother falls for his gym teacher, and they move out of the city to Long Island. The first good thing about Vinnie’s new living situation is his beautiful, popular next-door neighbor, Patsy. When a lucky accident gets him her unlisted phone number (in 1977, the only non face-to-face way to contact her), he calls her but panics, hanging up wordlessly several times and concluding with an obscene invitation. He then begins the habit of secretly and anonymously calling her every night, and the two develop a strange communication, contentious but also intimate. Meanwhile, during the day, Vinnie tries to navigate his new school, acquiring an entirely different, on-again off-again daytime friendship with Patsy as he watches her engage in a relationship with a bullying football player. Couloumbis writes with fluid and tender beauty about a kid who’s hoping he can just pretend to be who he wants to be and ends up finding himself on the way. The book manages to move him plausibly from borderline creepy to perceptive and even honorable in his relationship with Patsy, who begins pouring out her secrets to her midnight confidant. The characters, often drawn with a few telling strokes, are believably complex, especially Vinnie’s new stepdad, a nice if jock-ish guy who hasn’t quite realized what he’s got himself into but is up for the challenge, and who proves eventually to be genuinely invested in Vinnie as well. There’s nothing period about this save the technology, so contemporary readers won’t find the era an obstacle to understanding Vinnie’s urge to reshape himself. DS - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 12/01/2012 Just as the title promises, this is a romance—sort of. Fifteen-year-old Vinnie happens upon the phone number of his crush, Patsy, and calls her at midnight only to blurt out the kind of vulgar statement that would make an obscene phone caller proud. He calls again, once more at midnight, to apologize. So begins a strange dial-a-relationship between two teens who come to realize their similarity: “If I’m screwed up it’s okay, because we both are.” Vinnie keeps his identity secret—he thinks of his confident phone persona as “Vincenzo”—but Patsy is angling to meet at the masked Valentine’s Day dance. If you’ve seen your share of teen movies, you know what’s afoot: Patsy develops an interest in the real Vinnie and begins discussing him with Vincenzo. What to do?! There are a number of plot and character stretches here, and Patsy’s interest in her phone stalker never quite washes. However, the general lack of serious incident and sprinkling of family drama mark this for what it is: a light, diverting read that goes down easy. - Copyright 2012 Booklist.

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