Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 08/01/2017 Gr 4–6—Josie Shilling is somewhere in the middle of her very big family. Neither the oldest nor youngest of the clan, she feels overlooked at times. Her family has nearly outgrown their small city house filled with noise and toys and people and stuff. To top it off, her father doesn't believe in cable TV or the Internet. Though generally a happy-go-lucky type, Josie feels invisible in her family and worries about not achieving her goals in gymnastics. Things seem to change when her brother Tom brings home a little surprise in the form of a runt piglet called Hamlet. Josie is immediately smitten and makes it her goal to care for the pig, and to convince her dad to let her keep Hamlet—despite their agreement that she'd help find the pig a proper home. But, as it turns out, caring for a piglet is no easy task; especially one. that eats a lot and is a tad on the naughty side. As Josie grapples with raising Hamlet, achieving success in her gymnastics routine, and finding her place in the world, she comes to the realization that Hamlet deserves the type of home that she cannot provide. The tone and characters are reminiscent of classics like The Moffats, where the family's relationships are imperfect but charming. In the Shilling family no one has a cell phone, the Internet is something the family must go to the library to use, and the children actually put up paper fliers for Hamlet's adoption. The pacing is somewhat leisurely; the focus is on character relationships and funny situations rather than rollicking action. VERDICT A charming tale, ideal for fans of Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks, Dana Alison Levy's The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, and classics by Eleanor Estes.—Patricia Feriano, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2017 When Josie’s older brother brings a piglet to their tiny Ohio row house on Thanksgiving, their father is adamant: the pig must go. But Josie is drawn to the cute, tiny pink bundle, and she makes a deal with her parents—she’ll take care of the piglet, named Hamlet, until New Year’s Day, and in the meantime, she’ll find it a good home. But a pig is a big responsibility, and Josie’s small city home, her expansive family, and her parents’ strained budget makes it even more complicated. Meanwhile, Josie is trying to focus on gymnastics, which has become a challenge since a growth spurt has made her feel awkward in her body. In her debut, Kendall weaves together a lot of threads, such as financial struggle, the difficulty of being the middle child in a large family, the realities of keeping a pig for a pet, and an appealing protagonist figuring out what’s important to her. Though the conclusion relies on a few too many coincidences, Josie’s solution to her Hamlet problem is heartwarming and satisfying. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

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