Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2022 Gr 3–7—Oscar's, Riley's, and Noah's lives intersect when they meet in their Introduction to Clay class at West Beacon Junior/Senior High School. Each teen is learning to navigate junior high while also coping with personal struggles. Oscar faces the trauma of losing his sister to cancer. Noah's parents are divorcing, and he is just starting public school after years of homeschooling. Riley has recently moved to West Beacon, her mom's small hometown, after a robbery at her mother's workplace in Philadelphia. This book is a solid story of friendship that grows between the three teens, all of whom need a strong foundation in a world of upheaval. Riley, Noah, and Oscar learn that friendship means showing up and being reliable. The characters are multidimensional and compelling, and the plot includes some unexpected turns as the friends find that some wounds may not heal. Despite these twists, the book has a hopeful ending, leaving readers eager to learn more about the characters. VERDICT A multifaceted, realistic fiction tale that connects the pottery the students are creating to what's going on in their lives using metaphors of art and life.—April Crowder - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 02/15/2022 Oscar, Noah, and Riley meet in art class at the junior–senior high school in a once-flourishing town in Pennsylvania. A few weeks after the start of school and 10 days after his younger sister’s death, Oscar Villanueva returns to the classroom as the six-foot freshman who is expected to lead the football team to glory. That same day, Noah Wright, whose father has left the family, decides to stop homeschooling and escapes his mother’s tears by enrolling as an eighth-grader. Riley Baptiste and her mother recently moved from Philadelphia to Mom’s hometown. Different in their personalities and experiences, the three students form a fast, strong friendship that helps them deal with whatever comes their way. Their lives become increasingly intertwined as the novel unfolds. Writing with insight and wit, Acampora portrays teens and adults as complicated, sometimes surprising people. The first-person narration rotates, chapter by chapter, among Oscar, Noah, and Riley. While the ending ties up loose ends nicely, it will come too soon for readers intrigued by the main characters and their stories. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

Booklist - 02/15/2022 Oscar, Noah, and Riley meet in art class at the junior–senior high school in a once-flourishing town in Pennsylvania. A few weeks after the start of school and 10 days after his younger sister’s death, Oscar Villanueva returns to the classroom as the six-foot freshman who is expected to lead the football team to glory. That same day, Noah Wright, whose father has left the family, decides to stop homeschooling and escapes his mother’s tears by enrolling as an eighth-grader. Riley Baptiste and her mother recently moved from Philadelphia to Mom’s hometown. Different in their personalities and experiences, the three students form a fast, strong friendship that helps them deal with whatever comes their way. Their lives become increasingly intertwined as the novel unfolds. Writing with insight and wit, Acampora portrays teens and adults as complicated, sometimes surprising people. The first-person narration rotates, chapter by chapter, among Oscar, Noah, and Riley. While the ending ties up loose ends nicely, it will come too soon for readers intrigued by the main characters and their stories. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.