Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 12/15/2013 Gownley is well known for his Amelia Rules series, full of crafty storytelling and emotional sensitivity. In his latest offering, he shows what made him the graphic novelist he grew up to be. At 13, with supportive parents and friends and teachers who gave him intellectual tools and encouragement along with hard reality checks, Jimmy creates his first (self-) published comic book, to impressive acclaim. Two years later, with a little more worldliness under his belt, as well as some heartbreak and rocky times with his best friend, Tony, Jimmy turned back to the drawing board to create a much better, more accurate story of his creativity, his dedication, and what shaped him as a successful artist. Gownley’s cartoonish and expressive illustrations send the reader into Jimmy’s world and thoughts, from his early fascination with superheroes right through the bittersweet afterword, in which Gownley reveals that he was able to deliver the completed story of his adolescence to Tony soon before his early death. This is an excellent example of autobiographical sequential art at its most deeply felt. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 05/01/2014 Gr 5–8—In this funny and heartfelt graphic memoir by the author of the popular "Amelia Rules" series (Atheneum), Gownley introduces readers to his 13-year-old self. With excellent grades and strong skills on the basketball court, Jimmy is a star at his school until a nasty bout with chicken pox and pneumonia force him to miss over a month of classes and the championship game. While bedridden, the young artist rediscovers his love of comics and soon sets about creating and publishing his very own—a task that is easier said than done. Jimmy's struggle through that awkward divide between childhood and adolescence, the palm-sweating excitement of a first girlfriend, his growing disillusionment with school and homework, and his desire to escape the confines of his small Pennsylvania town and find his own special talent is authentically portrayed and will resonate with kids. Jimmy is at times boisterous and overconfident, while secretly struggling to reconcile the kid he was with the young man he is growing into. His relationships with his parents, his friends, and even some nuns at his strict Catholic school are portrayed with realism and humor. Gownley's energetic cartoons keep the overall tone light and upbeat, while subtle shifts in palette appropriately reflect the story's emotional highs and lows. This charming and inspiring tale will be enjoyed by fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile (Scholastic, 2010) and aspiring comics creators everywhere.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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