Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 10/01/2011 Sleator’s posthumous thriller (written with Monticone) starts with a cool premise: in his new home, 14-year-old Isaac finds a “mirror box,” once used as therapy to relieve phantom limb pain in amputees, and is contacted by someone’s phantom limb still inside it. Unfortunately, much of the drama is wasted with perplexing writing. Through the phantom limb, which inexplicably shows Isaac visions through bathroom mirrors, he learns that a killer nurse murdered the owner of the mirror box and that Isaac’s mother, who is in the hospital, is next. His investigations put him on the killer’s radar, who, in two terrifying but grossly illogical scenes, drugs Isaac and signs false medical orders, subjecting him to invasive medical treatments at the hands of unbelievably unaware doctors. There will be some interest in this, but be warned: it is largely a disjointed, if fast-paced, tale peppered with ridiculous contrivances and characters who do not behave like real people. - Copyright 2011 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2011 Fourteen-year-old Isaac is angry: angry at his father for dying in a plane crash last year, angry at his once-vibrant grandfather for succumbing to dementia, and, finally, angry at his mother, whose seizure disorder has landed her in the hospital and forced her to leave Isaac to look after himself at their dreary new home. The only thing that brings him any pleasure is his collection of optical illusions, so he is initially thrilled to find what appears to be an old “mirror box” in the closet of his bedroom; literally a box with mirrored walls, the contraption was once used to help rehabilitate amputees experiencing severe phantom limb pain, a fact that Isaac finds fascinating. Or, at least, he finds it fascinating until a hand that is not his own shows up in the reflection and starts giving him clues that point toward grave danger for both Isaac and his mother. Toss in a maniacal, serial-killing nurse, an ominously staffed hospital, and the tragic death of a young prodigy, and you’ve got yourself one wholly unbelievable but still compellingly readable ghost story. There is an impracticality behind the whole rescue-mom-from-the-crazy-person endeavor that almost reaches an absurd level, but convenient plotting aside, the book ratchets up the creep factor from the first page and doesn’t let up until the conclusion. The same cannot be said for the consistency of the story, however, and several threads get lost amidst the jumbled, chaotic ending. While not quite as tight as some of his previous works, this title, possibly the last from the now-late author, will still send chills down the spines of his fans. KQG - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 11/01/2011 Gr 6–8—Isaac, new in town and friendless, is having a really bad time. His mother is in the hospital and his grandfather has started to forget things. When the 14-year-old finds a strange mirror box in the attic, he does a little research and discovers that it was once used to negate phantom pain in someone with an amputated limb. He discovers that Joey, the child who lived in the house before him, first lost a limb and then his life. Now Joey is using the mirror box to communicate with Isaac to potentially save his mother from the same psychotic killer. It's up to Isaac and some newly found friends to rescue her from the hospital where she just keeps getting worse and worse. The premise for this thriller is promising, but the execution is not quite spot-on. Some plot points are a little confusing, and many kids will find the story predictable. Isaac's character is believable and endearing, but other characters can be one-dimensional.—Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.