Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/01/2018 Melati Ahmad is watching a Paul Newman movie with her best friend when the world explodes. The historic 1969 race riots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, have begun. At first, Melati, a Malay, takes shelter with a Chinese family, but eventually she goes into the city to find her mother. Melati is strongly afflicted with OCD, and the detail with which debut author Alkaf describes living with this disorder is precise and intense, especially Melati’s conviction that she must constantly tap ordered patterns to satisfy the djinn (demon)—otherwise, anyone close to her will die. But it is Melati’s fight with OCD that makes her such a strong character. Not only does she have to fight to stay alive and find her mother, she also has to wrestle her inner demon. Even so, she saves many people throughout the course of the novel, first with the help of others and eventually by herself. Melati’s growing strength gives hope to readers: If she can fight her inner demon and save the day, then they can, too. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 05/01/2019 Gr 8 Up—In this novel set during the Malaysian race riots of 1969, 16-year-old Melati struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder, believing that she is being tormented by a djinn whose threats against her mother can be appeased only with counting rituals. When violence breaks out among ethnic Malays, Chinese, and Indians in Kuala Lumpur, Melati worries that her fears will manifest. A powerful and raw exploration of mental illness, Malaysian history, and rising above prejudice and hate. - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.