Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 05/01/2015 Gr 7 Up—Fairly exploding with intrigue, nefarious governesses, secret suitors, and marriage plots galore, this follow-up to Kindl's well-received Keeping the Castle (Viking, 2012) isn't a Regency romp but a roller-coaster. The book shares a setting with its companion novel but focuses on the girls of Winthrop Hopkins Female Academy, a school for young ladies aspiring to marry. However, fans of the original title will be cheered at brief glimpses of Althea (now Mrs. Fredericks), whose niece is a student at the academy. The girls of Winthrop would be the first to point out that the marital prospects in Lesser Hoo are most unsuitable—that is, until a traveling young man with a broken leg turns up. Soon Lesser Hoo is buzzing with visitors, some of whom wear out their welcome faster than others. The novel boasts a plethora of characters (eight students, three headmistresses, and a bevy of suitors, among others), and keeping all of them and their various exploits and adventures straight may prove daunting for some. While the strength of Keeping the Castle was its Lizzie Bennett-esque protagonist Althea, the draw of this wonderfully over-the-top send-up of the genre is its humor; indeed, the dialogue will have Downtown Abbey creator Julian Fellowes enviously cribbing notes. The author once again displays an intuitive understanding of upper-crust English society and a masterly ability to play with well-established genre conventions and types. VERDICTAn enchanting addition, sure to charm Jane Austen lovers and those who live for the next bigDownton Abbey reveal.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 06/01/2015 The author’s Keeping the Castle (2012) gets a welcome companion in this story set at a school for young ladies, where finding a husband is as big a part of the curriculum as embroidery or poetry. Once again, Kindl patterns the narrative after the works of Jane Austen, so readers will find girls of impoverished (and somewhat better) circumstances, young men (and some not so young) who are not always what they seem, and plenty of wry twists, some unexpected (and one or two fairly obvious). Readers might be initially put off by having to follow six characters who, at least in the opening chapters, are not very well distinguished from one another, though charming ink portraits and a cast list help somewhat. As the book progresses, the girls do become more distinct, especially the clever Rosalind Franklin, whose love of science gives her several standout scenes. Fans of Keeping the Castle will be delighted that various inhabitants of Lesser Hoo make appearances. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

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