Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/15/2021 Millie Price, 16, is a singer obsessed with the dream of making it on Broadway. Until then, she loves to bicker with her archnemesis, Oliver Yang, the student stage manager at their performing-arts high school. Raised by her under-40, introverted dad and gay aunt, Millie never thought much about who her mother is until she accidentally discovers her dad’s old LiveJournal. Inspired by Mama Mia! and guided by her dad’s angst-filled entries about past relationships, Millie sets out to discover which of three women left her on her dad’s doorstep as a baby. Well-placed assumptions, strange bedfellows, and a lot of milkshakes make this a fully joyful story of a talented girl, who also acts as the novel’s vivacious narrator. Her relationship with Oliver begins contentiously then evolves to a mutual attraction that progresses nicely on earned trust and respect. Readers who love the theater—musical or not—and anyone craving a happily ever after will want Millie to take a series of curtain calls. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 01/01/2022 Gr 8 Up—Millie Price has long dreamed of Broadway, and nothing is going to stop her from realizing those dreams—not an embarrassing viral video from her past, not a dad who thwarts her plans to attend the precollege theater program of her dreams in California, not even the rumors that her high school is finally going to be doing a production of Mamma Mia! in the fall. In an effort to pay for her potential new school, Millie stumbles upon a relic from her dad's past that sets her on her own Mamma Mia!–esque quest to discover the identity of her mother and leads her in some completely unexpected directions—to an internship alongside longtime rival Oliver, dance classes in a Brooklyn studio, an informal Broadway sing-along group, and maybe even her own romance. As Millie tries to solve this mystery, she comes to some important realizations about herself, her family, and where her future really lies. The book is full of Lord's characteristic quick wit and delightful banter, and packed with enough Broadway references to satisfy even the most avid theater fan. The rivals-to-romance development between Millie and Oliver is the stuff great rom-coms are made of, but Millie isn't lacking in regard to other supportive friends and family members either. VERDICT Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli's Kate in Waiting or Marisa Kanter's As If On Cue, theater kids, and rom-com enthusiasts, this would make a great addition to school and public library collections.—Alison Glass - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.