Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/01/2022 The year is 2048, and the famous Walker family is building a new theme park above Atlanta, Georgia. Futureland is an imaginative, Wonka-esque place that gives kids their heart’s desire, and it's fitted out with the latest technology, including humanlike androids called revs. Seventh-grader Cam Walker is heir to this legacy, but doesn’t know if he wants it. He recently started real school on the ground, and all his new friends are envious of his life. No one would believe that all he wants is to be a regular kid. When some kids go missing after the park’s opening night and Cam’s parents start acting strange, Cam and his new friends must solve the mystery before the Futureland legacy is destroyed. Hunter makes good use of the Atlanta setting, exploring the city's rich history and populating it with mostly Black characters. Some troubling elements of Atlanta's past are highlighted throughout the book and add to the story’s texture. A thought-provoking middle-grade sci-fi story with an adventurous pace. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

Booklist - 11/01/2022 The year is 2048, and the famous Walker family is building a new theme park above Atlanta, Georgia. Futureland is an imaginative, Wonka-esque place that gives kids their heart’s desire, and it's fitted out with the latest technology, including humanlike androids called revs. Seventh-grader Cam Walker is heir to this legacy, but doesn’t know if he wants it. He recently started real school on the ground, and all his new friends are envious of his life. No one would believe that all he wants is to be a regular kid. When some kids go missing after the park’s opening night and Cam’s parents start acting strange, Cam and his new friends must solve the mystery before the Futureland legacy is destroyed. Hunter makes good use of the Atlanta setting, exploring the city's rich history and populating it with mostly Black characters. Some troubling elements of Atlanta's past are highlighted throughout the book and add to the story’s texture. A thought-provoking middle-grade sci-fi story with an adventurous pace. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 02/10/2023 Gr 4–8—Welcome to Futureland, the most innovative theme park in the year 2048. Traveling in the air, it offers visitors a one-of-a-kind VR experience where they can live out their biggest dreams. For seventh-grader Cameron Walker, who is Black, it's just his daily life: his parents created Futureland. Now, though, the park has stopped over Atlanta, and things start to go awry at the park. The revs—highly realistic, AI park characters—are taking on troubling traits; Cameron's parents are acting very strange; children are disappearing. In order to save Atlanta and the park, Cameron's going to have to use his best sleuthing skills to solve a mystery much more dangerous than he imagined. Readers will be bursting to visit every "destiny" in this fictional theme park, and the fast-paced plot will keep them reading. More than that, though, it's the characters and messaging that will stick with tweens. Featuring a cast that's made up almost entirely of people of color, the book speaks to social justice issues in middle grade-friendly ways. There are a few moments in the story where readers may stumble over a character's motive, but not enough to slow them down. Dynamic comic spreads by Khatib are sprinkled throughout the story, occasionally in places that feel abrupt, but overall they add to the moving plot. VERDICT An exciting new series that will grab readers with its futuristic setting, diverse characters, and brisk plotting.—Kristin Brynsvold - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

School Library Journal - 02/10/2023 Gr 4–8—Welcome to Futureland, the most innovative theme park in the year 2048. Traveling in the air, it offers visitors a one-of-a-kind VR experience where they can live out their biggest dreams. For seventh-grader Cameron Walker, who is Black, it's just his daily life: his parents created Futureland. Now, though, the park has stopped over Atlanta, and things start to go awry at the park. The revs—highly realistic, AI park characters—are taking on troubling traits; Cameron's parents are acting very strange; children are disappearing. In order to save Atlanta and the park, Cameron's going to have to use his best sleuthing skills to solve a mystery much more dangerous than he imagined. Readers will be bursting to visit every "destiny" in this fictional theme park, and the fast-paced plot will keep them reading. More than that, though, it's the characters and messaging that will stick with tweens. Featuring a cast that's made up almost entirely of people of color, the book speaks to social justice issues in middle grade-friendly ways. There are a few moments in the story where readers may stumble over a character's motive, but not enough to slow them down. Dynamic comic spreads by Khatib are sprinkled throughout the story, occasionally in places that feel abrupt, but overall they add to the moving plot. VERDICT An exciting new series that will grab readers with its futuristic setting, diverse characters, and brisk plotting.—Kristin Brynsvold - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.