Bound To Stay Bound

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Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2013 Life’s not easy on the Tuscarora reservation in upstate New York in 1975, especially for Lewis, who’s from one of the poorest families in town and who is the only Indian student in the “smart-kid” track at his junior high. Enter George, an Air Force brat who just arrived for seventh grade, who immediately warms to Lewis, a connection strengthened by their mutual love for the Beatles. The boys experience many milestones of adolescence together, and Lewis confronts racial discrimination and money-driven politics head-on when he can’t get school administration to take his report of bullying seriously; George steps forward to defend his friend, only to discover that an embarrassed Lewis has been lying about his home the whole time. Lewis has a strong narrative voice in spite of his insecurities-he understands the limitations that have been placed on him, and he’s got the gumption and intelligence to deal with them. Music is woven throughout the book, providing an outlet for Lewis and a point of affinity for readers (chapter names are taken from Beatles lyrics, and full-spread monochromatic illustrations in album-cover style, which open each part, foreground musical plot points). Similar in theme to Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (BCCB 10/07), this title subtly introduces issues while providing a genuine slice of Native life, albeit in a more delicate exploration of the particular nuances of friendship between young teenage guys. Kids with sensitive souls are most likely to flock to this compassionate tale, but its smart capture of the zeitgeist and finely crafted storytelling make it a solid recommendation for many readers. TA - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 09/01/2013 Gr 6–9—In 1970s upstate New York, Lewis Blake inhabits two separate universes: the reservation where he lives in poverty with his mother and uncle, and school, where the fact that he is American Indian (and his sardonic sense of humor) has made him an outcast and a victim of bullying. The seventh grader has begun to accept his status until a new kid shows up in his class. George Haddonfield grew up on air force bases around the world and doesn't seem to know or care about the divisions between the reservation kids and everyone else. Although Lewis and George bond over their shared love of the Beatles, George's friendly overtures to visit are constantly rebuffed by Lewis, who isn't sure if their tentative friendship will be able to withstand the jarring differences between George's home and his own. Can a love of rock and roll overcome all? Lewis's relationships with his mother, his uncle, and even his peers ring true and draw readers deep into his world. Life on the reservation is so vividly depicted that scenes set elsewhere, such as the air force base where George lives, feel a little flatly drawn in comparison. Nonetheless, the overall tenor and wry humor of this novel more than make up for its weaknesses.—Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2013 *Starred Review* Lewis Blake is bright and scrawny and the only kid from the Tuscarora Reservation tracked with the brainiacs at their county junior high in upstate New York. For the duration of sixth grade, he was invisible, but when burly, polite George Haddonfield arrives on the Air Force base and shows up in their seventh-grade class, Lewis might have found a friend. The boys bond over girls and music (the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Wings, and Queen—it is the 1970s, after all), slowly letting their guards down, but when a vicious, well-connected bully sets his sights on Lewis, their friendship is sorely tested. Gansworth, himself an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, explores the boys’ organic relationship with generosity and tenderness and unflinching clarity, sidestepping stereotypes to offer two genuine characters navigating the unlikely intersection of two fully realized worlds. All of the supporting characters, especially the adults—from Lewis’ beleaguered mother and iconoclastic uncle to George’s upright father and delicate German mother, and a host of teachers and administrators who look right past the daily violence perpetrated on Lewis—are carefully, beautifully drawn. And although Gansworth manages the weighty themes of racism and poverty with nuance and finesse, at its heart, this is a rare and freehearted portrait of true friendship. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

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