Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 02/01/2016 According to local tradition, Wishing Day for Natasha comes three months and three nights after her thirteenth birthday. Under a full moon, she reluctantly, indecisively climbs the hill to the willow tree, presses her palm against the trunk, and silently makes three wishes. One is predictable, given that her mother disappeared seven years earlier. The second is frivolous, and the third is heartfelt. While two of the wishes come true within the narrative, readers can only hope that the third will be resolved before the planned trilogy is complete. Meanwhile, there’s plenty to enjoy in Natasha’s immediate story of family, friends, and the first stirrings of romance. Portraying characters in ways that make them immediately easy to differentiate and ultimately memorable, Myracle lets the reader decide whether magic is really coming into play. The touch of fantasy seems more believable because the story is so firmly grounded in realistic details of setting, character, and plot. Reminiscent of Wendy Mass’ popular Willow Falls series, beginning with 11 Birthdays (2009), this novel will intrigue the same audience. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A five-city tour, parenting outreach, promo giveaways, and more reiterate that this is Myracle’s narrative sweet spot. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 02/01/2016 Gr 4–6—Thirteen-year-old Natasha is a responsible girl. The eldest in a family of girls, she is the one who has tried to keep things going since her mom left several years earlier. After moving in with their aunts, the girls kept going as well as could be expected. But now it is Natasha's Wishing Day—the third Wednesday after her 13th birthday. It's a town tradition for the girls to trudge up to the old willow tree on the hill, duck the canopy, and make three wishes. This is no fairy tale land; this is the real world. But unlike her sister Darya or her best friend, Molly, Natasha wants to believe in the magic—the magic that might make her life a little easier. After she makes her wishes, some things do seem to change, but are they because of the tree? Beyond a family or friendship story, issues of mental illness, homelessness, and what it means to be a girl are explored without tipping into the realm of overt message. Natasha's growing pains are real, and while the circumstances of her family make them more acute, the magical realism within the pages adds a lambent quality to the narrative. VERDICT This unique coming-of-age story with an ardent protagonist belongs in all middle grade collections.—Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 06/01/2016 Natasha is about to turn thirteen, the magic age when girls in her town get to make three wishes: one impossible wish, one wish that she herself can make come true, and “the deepest wish of her secret heart.” Natasha wishes that her long-absent mother will return, that a boy will kiss her, and that she-the dependable older sister of one popular, beautiful sister and one effervescent, adorable one-will be “someone’s favorite.” While she dismisses her first wish, the second and third wishes seem possible when golden boy Benton throws some attention her way and she begins to receive anonymous affirming notes. A mysterious Bird Lady keeps popping up at odd moments, though, with cryptic statements about Natasha’s mother and someone named Emily, causing Natasha both annoyance and feelings of uncertainty about her wishes. While it’s refreshing that a romantic relationship with a boy is not the be all and end all here (neither Benton nor his best friend Stanley, who likes Natasha and does actually kiss her, end up being Mr. Right), there’s still little resolution to the other plot threads. Natasha’s mother is apparently the one magically sending the notes but the possibility of her return remains vague, and who or what Emily is left ambiguous. While the Bird Lady’s frustratingly incomprehensible and condescending comments make her a tedious character, three-dimensional Natasha is sympathetic and her relationships with her sisters are handled with sensitivity and skill. Despite some flaws, this still may appeal to readers fascinated by the possibility of magical wishes and to kids who struggle with sisterly bonds or absent parents. JH - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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