Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 08/01/2025 Gr 5 Up—August 6, 1945, was not only 13-year-old Setsuko Nakamura's first day of work decoding for the Japanese military. It was also the day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on her hometown, forever changing her life. While the Press Code, a policy passed by U.S. forces occupying Japan, censored criticisms of the bombing, Nakamura chose not to remain silent. After moving to North America, she began sharing her story and became a nuclear disarmament activist, joining the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and delivering the Nobel Peace Prize lecture on the group's behalf in 2017. Nakamura's account is told in first person, helping readers understand the real person behind the words on the page. Her story is also matter-of-fact, neither sensationalizing nor glossing over the horrors of the Hiroshima bombing and the backlash she later faced for speaking against nuclear war. Her story is interwoven with informational text offering context about Hiroshima, World War II, and contemporary efforts to ban nuclear weapons. The text is occasionally lengthy but gives necessary context to Nakamura's life. Photographs are accompanied by cartoon-style art in muted colors complementing the book's serious topic. The back matter features a time line and bibliography which includes interviews with Nakamura. VERDICT Eighty years after the bombing of Hiroshima, this book presents a sobering firsthand account of a devastating episode in human history and calls on readers to use their own voices to end nuclear warfare.—Danielle Sachdeva - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 08/01/2025 *Starred Review* This is a compelling account of the WWII bombing of Hiroshima, told by survivor and Canadian peace activist Setsuko Thurlow. Thurlow starts with details about her family and friends and her daily prewar routine as a 14-year-old honor student of samurai heritage. On the morning of August 6, 1945, just as she arrived at school, a blinding white blast knocked her unconscious. She came to, buried in debris; a man dug her out and urged her to crawl toward the sunlight. Thurlow survived, but 27 of her classmates burned to death. She tells of joining streams of silent survivors, watching people fall and die right before her, though people tried to help each other even in those desperate, hopeless circumstances. Life under occupation was especially challenging—they were forbidden to talk about the horrific aspects of the bombing or radiation poisoning. Setsuko eventually married a Canadian and built a life in Toronto. She became active in the international effort to abolish atomic weapons in the 1970s and has testified numerous times before world leaders and the United Nations. She tells her story simply and eloquently; numerous sidebars, maps, drawings, photos, sources, and a time line fill in political and cultural context. Setsuko’s harrowing memories are being published to coincide with the bombing’s eightieth anniversary. A necessary and important eyewitness account. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.