Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/01/2019 *Starred Review* What happens after a revolution, when the fire and fury of the righteous must turn to governance? Munda sets her stunning fantasy debut nine years after a bloody uprising against the triarchy, the dragonborn families that enforced their tyranny with dragons. Now, Callipolis is a fledgling meritocracy, and Annie, a peasant whose family was executed under the old regime, is a top contender for the position of Firstrider, who will lead the new dragonrider fleet. Yet there are still those who believe a former serf should not lead—and sometimes, to her shame, Annie herself is one of them. Her close friend and Firstrider rival, Lee, lost everything in the revolution when his dragonborn family was killed. His true identity hidden to all but Annie, Lee struggles with the knowledge that Callipolis’ noble new vision, one he believes in, was built upon the massacre of his kin. When survivors of the old regime resurface ready for war, Annie and Lee are forced to examine their loyalties to family, friend, self, and city. Munda centers her philosophical quagmires on Lee and Annie, deeply relatable characters with understandable motivations and passionate feelings. This series opener also thrills with dragon action, from aerial tournaments to wartime battles. This is a near-perfect work of high fantasy and will have wide appeal. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 09/01/2019 Gr 7 Up—Nine years ago, First Protector Atreus led the poor of Callipolis in a bloody revolution, overthrowing the aristocracy and slaughtering the dragonborn rulers and their families. What followed was to be a new regime in which one's place in society would be based on merit rather than noble birth. However, in the chaos of the revolution, one dragonborn heir was spared and soon forgotten in an orphanage: Leon Stormscourge's son, Leo. There Leo, known now as "Lee," bonds with fellow orphan Antigone over their shared grief and the need to survive. What Lee cannot bring himself to confess to Annie is that his father was the one who murdered her family. Soon the two find an escape from the orphanage as trainee dragonrider guardians of Callipolis. But after years of training together, trust and loyalties shift as they find themselves vying for the same position of power and are further strained when Lee's exiled cousin reappears and asks him for help reclaiming their birthright. Thought-provoking and full of social and political intrigue, this book is a pleasure to read. The author deftly interweaves the stories of Annie and Lee through flashbacks and contrasting inner monologue, demonstrating the complexities of their friendship, their growing rivalry, and the bitter secrets that threaten to tear them apart forever. Readers should find Annie an especially satisfying heroine as she fiercely refuses to give in to the prejudices stacked against her gender and lowborn heritage. VERDICT Recommended for both teens and adults who enjoy a mentally stimulating novel and for those who wish to lose themselves in a world full of dragons.—Lara Goldstein, Orange County Public Libraries, NC - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.