Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 05/15/2013 As evidenced by books like Creature Tech (2002), Ghostopolis (2010), and Cardboard (2012), TenNapel has never flinched from either gooey organic bizarreness or potentially troubling themes. Balancing uncomfortable emotions with wacky and whacked-out fun is a tricky line to walk, but walk it he does with the story of Ely, who, after the death of his beloved golden retriever, is spending the summer on his grandfather’s farm. After a grotesque encounter with the town bully, Ely discovers a real, live, surprisingly doglike dinosaur, and the two quickly bond. Ely and Tommysaurus must then find a way to endear the behemoth to the small town, while the town bully works against them all the way. TenNapel unleashes an array of charmingly off-kilter characters and has mastered a cartoonish style that preserves a sense of grit while lending some emotional weight to match the story. Ely’s struggle with his anger and frustration and the bully’s unsuspected reservoir of pain add to that heft, and ground all the rollicking dinosaur hijinks. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2013 Gr 3–5—The king of the offbeat graphic novel is back with a mixture of adventure, drama, and comedy. After the death of his dog, Tommy, Ely's parents send him to live on his grandfather's farm for the summer. There, he stumbles upon a Tyrannosaurus rex in a nearby cave. When the dino damages a home, the townspeople call for "Tommysaurus Rex" to be removed. Ely and his grandpa make a deal with the mayor-pay off the damages and train Tommysaurus or he goes. The story begins fairly realistically, then makes a big jump when Ely discovers the T. rex, requiring a pretty hearty suspension of disbelief. Happiness, sadness, fear-emotions are on full blast from the start. TenNapel knows how to add some edge that delights kids, but the envelope-pushing might make some adult readers squirm a bit. Themes of life and death are handled well, but may occasionally reach over the heads of some readers. The kinetic, full-color artwork is full of expression and will appeal to children. Unpredictable and engaging, this will be a popular pick for reluctant readers and graphic-novel fans.—Travis Jonker, Wayland Union Schools, MI - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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