Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 03/01/2012 Gr 4–6—Each of seven chapters follows one day in young Archie's week, beginning with the boy on an errand or out with his friend Cyd. Every day ends with the errand or outing incomplete and his mother declaring, "Honestly, I don't believe it, Archie." What his mother doesn't believe is the series of odd events that derail her son's plans, from confronting a leopard to foiling the kidnapping of a stranger who turns out to be Archie's wealthy look-alike, also named Archie. The events are not a plot but a series of unrelated mishaps and misunderstandings, undermining the book's appealing premise. In Sunday's climax, four characters from previous days reappear at preposterously convenient moments, straining credibility even in a book meant to be humorous. British terms (lorry, trainers, jumper) are sprinkled throughout, but the setting could be any suburban town. Characterization is completely absent. Archie remains unaffected by the strange things that always seem to happen around him. Cyd, introduced in chapter one, is limited to being a witness to clear Archie's name at the end of each mix-up. Black-and-white illustrations are plentiful but appear to be drawn by a middle-school-aged child, conflicting with the third-person narration. Archie might provide readers with a few chuckles, but little else. A better choice for funny, improbable-adventure fiction is Mary Amato's "Riot Brothers" series (Holiday House).—M. Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2012 *Starred Review* Clearly destined to become the Most Interesting Man in the World when he grows up, young Archie is an ordinary lad to whom extraordinary things happen—every day. On Monday, he is the only witness as a rolling car with a child and a would-be rescuer inside gets buried beneath a load of gravel. On Tuesday, he is blamed for killing a dog that he is actually rescuing. On Wednesday, he discovers the hard way that the handles on both doors of his local library have been coated with superglue. With superb comic timing, Norriss casts his levelheaded but inarticulate chappie into one escalating predicament after another—each exacerbated by adults who arrive on the scene a little late and won’t listen to his stammered explanations. Fortunately, Archie makes a new friend, Cyd, who has a knack for always being ready with a cogent video, a handy cell phone, or just the right words to untangle each mare’s nest. Like Cyd, readers will be vastly entertained by Archie’s misadventures (all of which interrupt quick errands for his mother that, to her continuing exasperation, somehow never get done) and delighted by the uncommonly clever way that the author caps off the eventful week by weaving all of its tangles into an almost magical resolution to Sunday’s crisis. Shaw’s cartoon sketches reflect the tongue-in-cheek tone of each hilarious episode. - Copyright 2012 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2012 This British import describes a typically hectic week in the life of young Archie, who constantly happens on the outlandish the way TV sleuths constantly happen on the murderous. On Monday, Archie is the sole witness to a series of events involving a runaway piano and a gravel-covered car; thanks to Archie’s grasp of the situation, the people trapped in the car are saved, and the girl from the car, Cyd, becomes his friend. As the week rolls on, Cyd turns out to be quite useful, as she is a sharp-eyed witness able to explain to others the events that inexplicably pile up on Archie: “When things go wrong, it really helps to have someone around who can go and get the glue solvent, or work out that the dog’s not dead, or produce a film of what’s happened.” There’s an almost folkloric structure to Archie’s story, with the crazy complications building cumulatively and each day following a patterned open and close with Archie’s mother; a satisfying ending ties the whole week’s events together. Archie himself evokes lots of sympathy, and Norriss’ descriptions of the various events are pithy and amusing. Shaw’s monochromatic illustrations are frequent and friendly, and they help clarify a few of the preposterous incidents. Hand this to the kind of kids who are entranced by funny tall tales or by Rube Goldberg machines. JH - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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