Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 07/01/2015 Finding buried treasure, solving an old family mystery, and righting modern wrongs are a few things that push 12-year-old Louise Mayhew’s summer from boring to exciting. Upon learning that her family’s home is slated for demolition, Louise is determined to save the 175-year-old house by getting it declared historic. With the help of her two best friends and cousin Patty, the kids set out to learn about its Civil War–era history. Louise is surprised to find her great-great-great-grandfather was a Confederate army captain and an alleged thief and murderer. She is devastated to discover that her family once owned slaves, and equally upset that prejudice is still alive in her Tennessee town. Tyre’s debut features characters that are believable in their naïveté and sense of invincibility, even if the success of their various efforts is implausible. Louise’s account of their summer adventures, with chapters headed by entries from a Civil War diary, should please middle-grade readers looking for a solid story with an intriguing historical connection. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2015 Gr 4–7—Lou Mayhew's summer after sixth grade is off to a bad start. While eavesdropping, she learns that her home, which has been in her family for 176 years and is next to her father's junkyard, is slated to be torn down through the process of eminent domain for city offices. Then she learns that Isaac, who works weekends for her father and is the best player on the high school football team, didn't win the scholarship to the University of Tennessee because of the coach's prejudice. Lou and her friends are convinced that there's got to be a way to save the house and get Isaac to UT. They believe the answer lies in a Civil War diary that Lou finds in an old box, along with some purportedly stolen gold. During the war, there was a "lost" shipment and all the clues lead to the ancestor who built her home. The characters are true to life, and the younger children and Isaac grow and mature over the summer. In the midst of solving a Civil War-era mystery, Lou and her friends confront racism in their own time. Lou feels deeply and is single-minded in her pursuit of justice. VERDICT A solid debut novel for middle graders who enjoy a blend of history and mystery.—Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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