Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 12/01/2022 Gr 2–5—Marie Curie is basically a household name, but even adults may have no concept of her background, her family life, or roots. What a gift to read this book and learn more about her similarly talented sister and the rest of her passionate family. Young readers will gain a complete and fully rich picture of Curie and her sister Bronia, who also loved science and studied medicine. Marshall highlights the importance of education to the young women and the importance of family bonds as she writes of the sisters' devotion to each other and their parents: Bronia holds Marie to their oath to enroll in the Sorbonne and continue studying; she, in the name of working together to find solutions, stays with their ailing father so Marie can stay in Paris. It's a little dry, but the novelty of the information more than makes up for staid storytelling. VERDICT This is best suited for older elementary children, particularly those with an interest in science.—Cat McCarrey - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 01/01/2023 As a child, Marie Curie was close to her older sister, Bronia, and after their mother’s death, they grew closer still. They made a pact: each would work hard to earn money for the other’s education at the Sorbonne in Paris, where they planned to study science and medicine. They honored that pact, and, afterward, they supported each other in their careers and personal lives as well. Bronia and her husband started a hospital in Poland. Marie became the first woman to earn a Nobel Prize, honoring her research with Pierre, her husband, at the Sorbonne. When Pierre died, Bronia helped convince administrators there to let Marie teach her husband’s classes as the university’s first woman professor. The text includes information about the Curie family and the education of women in nineteenth-century Europe, as well as the lives of these two determined, supportive sisters. Created with pencil, pen-and-ink, gouache, watercolor, collage, and digital elements, the striking jacket art; decorative, geometric endpapers; and handsome interior illustrations make this an eye-catching book on an interesting topic. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.