Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2016 Gr 4–6—Complicated family problems become more manageable when shared between friends. Every word, every gesture, every disagreement registers on the internal Richter scale as two friends negotiate the highs and lows of true friendship. Annabel and California forge a deep bond. Annabel, the tween from the city, and California, who arrives from a rural environment, find each other at the perfect time. Plenty of problems accompany each girl—illness, panic attacks, a hovering mother, an estranged family, and more—but all of these conditions pale beside their love for each other. They idle away the hours during a long summer on an idyllic farm complete with fields of corn, trees to climb, lakes for swimming, and endless time to talk, plan, and try to resolve issues. California is sure her mother and grandfather can become reconciled if only she can find the two missing ponies her mother once rode. Annabel, meanwhile, struggles to overcome her panic attacks and learn to eat normally again—if only she can maintain distance and independence from her helicopter mother. Together, the girls uncover dark family secrets and learn to be brave under pressure. This is a summer neither Annabel nor readers will ever forget. VERDICT A strong addition to most middle grade collections; recommend to those who enjoy a good cry.—Lillian Hecker, Town of Pelham Public Library, NY - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/15/2016 Annie needs a therapeutic summer in the country—more fun and fewer schedules—as she tries to recover from an eating disorder and anxiety attacks, made worse by her mother’s intensely controlling ways. Unexpectedly, summer turns out to be kind of magical as Annie makes a friend, California, at a nearby farm. The two embark on escapades brimming with intrigue and excitement, but it turns out that both have serious agendas: Annie needs to recover her emotional health before starting the new school year, while California desperately wants to reconcile her mother, Piper, with California’s grandfather. California is desperate to break the years of estrangement that have hobbled the family—for a reason that becomes gut-wrenchingly evident later on. This powerful tale of friendship and hope, made especially poignant by each girl’s struggle to repair family relationships, will capture hearts. Add an injured dog, a search for mysterious ponies, woods made for adventures, and heartbreak that never becomes mawkish, and you have a story about so much more than summer fun. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.