Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 10/15/2015 Like many kids who love books, Rosemary longs for an otherworldly adventure, and this debut reminds us to be careful what we wish for. Rosie lives in an old house where nothing ever happens, until she and her friend Adam find an old book hidden in a cupboard. Its pages are blank except for a few names and a quotation from Hamlet that Rosie knows as the source of her name: “Rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love, remember.” When Rosie and Adam add their names to the book and see writing appear on the pages, they are thrilled—and unprepared for the havoc that follows. Soon Adam’s older sister, Shelby, disappears and, worse, no one can remember her. Even Rosie and Adam can only remember Shelby after they repeat one of the book’s spells. When the children discover they have a narrow window of time to reverse the spell, they enter a breathless chase to find the counterspell. Zimmerman provides a wonderful blend of literary puzzles, adventure, and musings over memory and identity. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 11/01/2015 Gr 4–8—Literary mystery and magic come together in a story for book lovers. Rosemary and her best friend, Adam, discover an old book in a locked bedroom cabinet, a book with writing that appears and disappears. When they read one of the poems to Adam's sister, Shelby, she vanishes, as do most of their memories of her existence. Using a quote from Hamlet written in the book to keep Shelby's existence alive in their minds, Rosie and Adam search for a way to bring her back. An elderly local poet whose brother vanished years ago may hold the key to reversing the spell, but her Alzheimer's makes her memory unreliable and their journey more difficult. The book is well written and full of rich language and detail. The incorporation of Shakespearean references and poetry gives the story a more mature feel and balances the youthful earnestness of Rosie and Adam. The mystery and magic are subtle, but the little clues that pop up keep the story tense. The many literary references, however, may be more appealing to librarians and teachers than to most middle school students, and there is limited action to grab young teens' attention. VERDICT This is an enjoyable story that the right readers will appreciate but may not pick up on their own without a recommendation.—Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.