Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/01/2017 Liam is a runner, practicing for the Junior Great Northern Run. But he can’t go running today because he has to help his mother close down the house of old Harry, who is going to a nursing home. The neighborhood has always been fond of Harry, and he’s always encouraged Liam in his running, and now the boy finally discovers why. In an extended flashback, Harry tells the story of how, as a lad of Liam’s age, he and a couple of mates ran 13 miles from Newcastle to the sea. In a heavy Northern accent, full of slang, Harry describes the arduous run, marked by heat, thirst, a sweet little gal, and ice cream. A tender and surprising ending gives the book extra weight. The language may be a hurdle for some readers, but it is tempered by Rubbino’s watercolor, gouache, pencil, and ink illustrations that delight with every page and bring the story to life. This intergenerational story sweetly captures the importance of memory and shows how the yearning for fun and adventure never really changes. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.