Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 05/02/2025 Gr 4–6—Bonnie Bailey is an average 13-year-old with brown hair and freckled cheeks, but one thing makes her unique—her connection with bees. When she learns that her family business, Beeline Apiary, is about to collapse, she has no choice but to join the Faire of the Worlds, a traveling, sentient circus that rescues people from the worst moments of their lives. Only after falling in love with the Faire does Bonnie learn that it, too, is in jeopardy and that she may be the only one who can save it. Kirk excels at inventing imaginative details while crafting the world of a magical circus and multiple realities. She has filled the Faire with quirky characters like werebeasts and cowboys who once rustled eggs from flying turtles. Readers will enjoy watching Bonnie navigate the peculiar twists and turns of living in a place where nothing goes quite as one would expect. VERDICT An adventure story that underlines themes of personal agency, this is recommended for fans of fantasy that includes strong human-animal connections.—Talea Anderson - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.