Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/01/2022 *Starred Review* Matthew is stuck at home during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, and, like most 13-year-olds, he would rather play video games than hang out with his 100-year-old great-grandmother, Nadiya, or “GG.” Matthew’s mom has other plans. Forced to unpack GG’s storage boxes, Matthew finds a photo that sparks questions and ultimately unspools a long-hidden history about GG’s childhood in Stalin-ruled Soviet Ukraine. Alternating perspectives between Matthew and GG’s cousins when they were young girls, the story connects 1930s Brooklyn to Communist Ukraine during its devastating, man-made famine, the Holodomor. As the cousins’ narratives unfold, the book also links two moments in history deeply impacted by disinformation; it encourages readers to consider carefully their sources and emphasizes that “we need to tell the whole story” and be mindful of whose stories have not—or cannot—be told. Marsh, Edgar Award–winning author of The Night Tourist (2007), explains in a note that she rooted her research in her own relatives’ experiences during the Holodomor. The fairly lengthy middle-grade book rewards readers with a nimble twist and satisfying ending and has an obvious urgency in light of current geopolitics. A natural selection for fans of Alan Gratz and a stepping stone to the work of Ruta Sepetys, this sobering and important story will be an excellent addition to classroom and library collections. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 10/27/2023 Gr 5 Up—Four intertwined narratives explore a family history full of suffering, sacrifice, and secrets. Much of the book explores the events in the early 1930s around the Holomodor (death by starvation) in Ukraine. Mila, Nadia, and Helen are the Lomachenko cousins at the center of the story. Helen is in America; Mila is the daughter of a powerful Communist party member in Kyiv; and Nadia lives with her rural farming family in Ukraine. The story opens in 2020 where Matthew spends a lot of time with his great-grandmother during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in New Jersey, and she shares the untold story of her early life as one of the cousins as they go through her box of memories. Matthew seeks help from his reporter father who is working in Europe. The chapters are titled with the name of the character they feature and include an image, location, and date, which helps keep everyone straight as there are a lot of shifting perspectives. The narrative structure is a bit clunky at times, but the story is compelling. VERDICT With appealing connections to a family living in the time of the pandemic and insight into the history of Ukraine, this striking work of historical fiction dives into the importance of telling one's story and preserving the history of everyday people.—Erin Wyatt - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.