Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/01/2013 *Starred Review* Mila, 12, is something of a mentalist. She can read expressions, sense underlying emotions, and put human puzzles together. Even though her father’s lifelong friend Matthew has gone missing, Gil and Mila carry on with their plan to fly from England to Matthew’s home in upstate New York, only now, instead of a visit, the purpose of their trip is to find him. The story is presented as a mystery, and it is, but it is so much more. Rosoff, who writes each of her books differently (and often brilliantly), shapes this story as much by form and intuitions as by events. In making the choice not to use quotation marks for the dialogue, readers are immediately pushed inside Mila’s head. Every conversation is filtered through her observations; even the way she can “read” Matthew’s loyal dog, Honey, informs what she learns and understands about Matthew, including his motives and machinations. Wisely, Rosoff also provides a parallel subplot about Mila’s own best friend that anchors Mila as a recognizable 12-year-old. Without that plot point, her multinational heritage and surprising gifts might make her hopelessly “other.” As readers move deeper into the story (literally deeper as Mila and Gil find themselves in snowbound rural settings), Matthew’s situation becomes a surprising tunnel for Mila to learn more about her own father and what adults are capable of. There’s no condescension or compromise to the obvious audience either in premise or prose. It’s another choice, one that allows the book to offer its many insights on the human condition to a widespread readership. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 10/01/2013 Gr 7–10—Rosoff is back with another young protagonist trying to navigate the confusing adult world. Mila, a middle schooler with a knack for tapping into others' secret thoughts, travels to New York state from London with her father. Their original plan had been to visit with Matt, the family friend who once saved her father's life, but he disappeared two days before their arrival, creating tension between Mila's father, Gil, and Matt's wife, Suzanne. Gil and Mila leave Suzanne and her young son behind as they search haphazardly around northern New York, looking for clues about Matt's whereabouts. Along the way, Mila exchanges several texts with him and wrestles with keeping them secret from her father. As more characters are introduced, Matt's reasons for leaving become even more clouded, and Mila's father is implicated as an accomplice in the disappearance. Mila must keep her wits about her to get to the bottom of this complicated scenario. With strong characters and a well-articulated plot, Picture Me Gone is a welcome addition to any collection. The author accurately captures this mature adolescent's view of adults without condescension or judgment, a feat worthy of praise. Complex issues are dealt with, and, true to the novel's trajectory, a tidy ending would have been out of place. Rosoff does not disappoint.—Colleen S. Banick, Westport Public Schools, CT - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 12/01/2013 Twelve-year-old Londoner Mila is headed to upstate New York with her father while her violinist mother tours. Instead of visiting Matthew, her father’s oldest friend, Mila and her father instead find themselves on a quest for a missing man when it turns out that Matthew disappeared days before their expected arrival. After a brief visit with the family Matthew left behind, father and daughter embark on a roadtrip down small highways and back roads with Matthew’s dog in tow, meeting quirky small-town strangers and finding other old friends in unexpected places. Along the way Mila uses her gift for piecing together overlooked details to uncover Matthew’s secrets, hoping to find any clue to his whereabouts, but she learns more about her father and herself than anyone else. Equal parts mystery, family drama, and coming-of-age story, this captivating narrative weaves elements of a literal road-trip quest with a girl’s search for meaning. The novel is strong in plotting and in tone, and it creates solid parallels between Mila’s actual and psychological journeys, deftly mixing descriptions of what she sees and people she meets with the jumble of emotions that color her experiences. Rosoff masterfully captures the perspective of a twelve-year-old girl who’s teetering between innocence and knowing too much, and gives her a voice to match. Despite her seemingly preternatural gift of insight, Mila emerges as a quintessential budding adolescent, wanting to be both protected and in the loop. Touching, genuine, and at times both poignant and funny, this novel is likely to please fans of period mysteries like Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied (BCCB 12/08) looking for similar intrigue in a contemporary setting. AM - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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