Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/15/2019 The latest example of DC's continual efforts to remix series continuity and new characters for middle-grade readers, Legacy offers a well-paced adventure with some thoughtful flourishes. Twelve-year-old Tai Pham lives in a gentrifying neighborhood in which Vietnamese people are not completely welcome. Particularly close to his Ba Noi (grandmother), he finds, shortly after the spry old woman’s death, that they weren’t quite as close as he thought. Turns out, she was secretly a member of the “intergalactic peacekeeping force” known as the Green Lanterns, and now her will-powered ring is his. With the support of Tommy and Serena, his best friends and confidantes, Tai undergoes Green Lantern training, which, surprisingly, relies on creativity more than battle skills. Meanwhile, he’s befriended by Griffin Drew, a somewhat-too-friendly millionaire developer and tidy foil to Tai’s grandma, and their differences distill the book’s guiding question: should we draw strength and wisdom from the past or ignore it and forge brazenly ahead? The art is anything but old-fashioned; rather, it's dynamic and detailed, with a luster highly appealing for its readership. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2019 Gr 4–6— Lê and Tong reimagine the Green Lantern as a 13-year-old Vietnamese American boy. Tai Pham is at a crossroads, torn between the guidance of his late paternal grandmother, or Bà Noi, whose welcoming presence held the neighborhood together, and tech mogul Xander Griffin, who wants to rebuild Coast City without regard for those already there. Tai learns that his grandmother was a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic peacekeeping force. He inherits her magical lantern and ring and, just as she did, takes an oath to fight evil, but can he protect his family and his community? Xenophobes vandalize his family's store, telling the Phams, refugees from the war in Vietnam, to "go home." And Xander's ambitious vision may irrevocably alter Coast City. Tong's angular illustrations convey body language beautifully and work in tandem with Lê's characterizations, from awkward and uncertain Tai to self-assured Xander to formidable but loving Bà Noi. Colorist Sarah Stern's work is masterly; she employs playful spots of green leading up to the splashy, glowing Green Lantern scenes, and dramatic reds, oranges, and yellows during flashbacks. While Lê and Tong keep the explosive action coming, they also tell an intimate story about living up to the traditions that are handed down to us and creating our own legacies. VERDICT Sci-fi and adventure are flashy vehicles for a tale about power and compassion—and the importance of service to others. Here is a Green Lantern story where owning a magic ring is the least extraordinary thing about the heroes.—Thomas Maluck, Richland Library, SC - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.