Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 01/01/2013 In this expanded version of A Circle of Cats (2003), 12-year-old orphan Lillian is bitten by a snake, but she is spared death when the cats of Tanglewood Forest turn her into a kitten. Old Mother Possum takes her back in time to return her to human shape, but this time Lillian’s aunt succumbs to the snake. Realizing that her choices bring unintended consequences, Lillian begins a quest to revisit her decisions, with the goal of saving her aunt, and her kindness toward others (as well as her cleverness) eventually does just that. Set in a magical forest populated by Bear People, an Apple Tree Man, and the Father of Cats, the story’s lyrical, folkloric style is well suited to a tale of magic and mystery. Vess’ line-and-watercolor illustrations (not seen in final form) appear throughout; they help to break up the text for younger readers and give form to de Lint’s unusual characters. Give this to fans of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World around You (2005). - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2013 When twelve-year-old Lillian is bitten by a poisonous snake in the woods, the mysterious cats who live there use their limited magic to save her, turning her into a kitten in the process. Dismayed at being stuck forever in feline form, Lillian seeks help from witch Old Mother Possum, who grants Lillian’s wish by creating a reality where she was never been bitten by the snake. Unfortunately, there is an unseen consequence to her wish: her beloved aunt turns up dead of snakebite instead. A horrified Lillian seeks help to unravel the disaster, leading her on a sequence of magical encounters with ominous Aunt Nancy, the giant Bear People, and a clever fox, until she realizes she must return to Old Mother Possum to try once again to set things right. This is an expansion of the picture book A Circle of Cats (BCCB 9/03), and the elongated narrative is unfortunately long and rambling. Since the characters are essentially folkloric archetypes, there’s no depth there to sustain readers through the sprawl. The premise and details of the story remain imaginative and original, however, and the aspects of Lillian’s world (seemingly early nineteenth century) are effectively paired with elements of Native American mythology and American and European folklore. Vess’s frequent full-color illustrations, executed in pencil and layers of colored ink washes, are striking in their woodsy tones, but the drafting of the human figures, particularly Lillian, is at times awkward, and scenes are more muddy than shadowy. Nonetheless, there is both a vintage and a modern, slightly Disney-esque vibe to the art that makes it engaging. Those willing to persevere through the rambling may find folkloric food for thought here. JH - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2013 Gr 4–6—After 12-year-old Lillian Kindred is bitten by a venomous snake while playing in the woods around the remote farm where she lives with her aunt, the wild cats of the forest put her spirit into the body of a cat rather than let her die. However, when Lillian asks Old Mother Possum to change her back to a girl, her aunt dies from a snake bite instead. A sense of wrongness with this event sets in motion a journey first to the ancient and mystical Aunt Nancy of the Creek tribe and then to the Bear People, for whom Lillian works as a servant in return for an answer to her dilemma. This is a pleasant tale that meanders and takes its time, with many leisurely chats between Lillian and various animals, magical and otherwise, but not much action. There are no big epiphanies or momentous events; readers will feel satisfied when things work out for Lillian in the end, but it's not clear what point her adventures have or how everything hangs together. While well suited as a charming read-aloud for a younger child, this quiet, nature-rich fantasy might require some patience from older readers. The pencil and colored ink illustrations are lush and evocative, though the renderings of human characters are somewhat stiff.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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