Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 10/01/2009 At Tamsin’s birth, her grandmother prophesied that she would be the most powerful witch of them all. At 17, however, Talentless Tamsin is the family shame, living in a New York City boarding school. Tamsin is attracted to Gabriel, a witch raised among regular people and unfamiliar with the “rules,” and at the request of an NYU professor, they set out to find a long-lost heirloom clock. Gabriel takes Tamsin back in time to locate the clock, and here Tamsin finally discovers her Talent: she can neutralize and gain for herself any Talent used against her. Yet, in finding the clock, Tamsin has reopened a lethal feud with dire repercussions for her older sister, set to become the family matriarch. Tamsin grows in her Talents while uncovering layers of family secrets and attempting to staunch the peril she unleashed. With the glut of contemporary romantic supernatural tales, this will be popular, but the action, drama, and great potential for compelling sequels set it apart from the crowd. - Copyright 2009 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 10/01/2009 Gr 9 Up— It's hard to be the only normal one in a family in which everyone has a Talent that allows them to do such things as disappear, control the weather, read the future, or turn people to stone. Tamsin is bitter that she does not have a magical gift and dreams of the day she can move far away. So when a mysterious Scottish stranger, Alistair, shows up at her family's bookstore and assumes that the 17-year-old is her very Talented sister, Rowena, Tamsin jumps at the chance to help him find the family heirloom for which he is searching. She enlists the help of her childhood friend, Gabriel, who has recently reappeared in her life. Tamsin and Gabriel travel through time to find what sinister Alistair wants, and in doing so they will set in motion a chain of events that could mean the destruction of her family. Although Tamsin is a well-rounded character, the other people in the book are fairly one-dimensional. What is lacking in character development, though, is made up for in plot. This is an exciting book, and readers will be captivated until the very end. With a fairly easy reading level, an exciting story, and an edgier heroine (Tamsin drinks and smokes), this book is a good choice to hand to older reluctant readers.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO - Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 01/01/2010 Despite her grandmother’s prophecy that she would be the greatest among a powerful clan of witches, Tamsin never does find her magical Talent, making her feel like an outcast amid her supernaturally gifted family. She is particularly cranky about being continually overshadowed by her sister, Rowena, who is not only prettier and more graceful, but who also clearly possesses an abundance of Talent; she therefore pretends to be Rowena when a handsome stranger—who proves to be a member of a rival magical family—asks for the family’s help in finding a lost heirloom. Tamsin enlists the help of Gabriel, an old friend of the family and potential love interest, and the two soon discover that Tamsin has had a useful Talent all along—the ability to stop others from using their Talents, and to absorb their Talent if they try using it against her. Tamsin is a likable, down-to-earth heroine, loyal to friends, credibly petty about her sister, and understandably angry when she finds out that her family has been holding out on her. Her relationship with Gabriel is a standard but satisfying formulaic romance, with a disbelieving girl having her defenses worn down by a persistent and deserving boy. Quick and suspenseful, with a climax that is camera-ready, this will appeal to readers who enjoy family drama and teen romance salted with magical action-adventure. KC - Copyright 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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