Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 08/19/2022 Gr 6 Up—Luis Fernando and Luisa Teresa have been known as the Lu-Lu twins for their whole lives, but as the two prepare to enter middle school, Teresa wants her own identity apart from her brother. Names are only the beginning of the changes they will experience in seventh grade: new rooms, new friends, and new schools follow. Growing up in a border town in Mexicali, Mexico, in the 1990s, the twins now attend schools on opposite sides of the border. Teresa struggles to keep up with the homework, commute, and new friendships. Meanwhile, Fernando finds himself figuring out what it means to be Mexican while becoming friends with an older student who isn't the best influence. Pimienta portrays realistic sibling relationships and family dynamics. Drug use and peer pressure feature prominently as catalysts for conflict in the story. The hand-drawn, full-color illustrations complement the text, drive the story's emotion, and provide richness to the setting. An author's note offers connections to Pimienta's lived experiences and the decision to mix English and Spanish. VERDICT For fans of Alexis Castellanos's Isla to Island and Maggie Edkins Willis's Smaller Sister, this look at changing relationships and connection to identity and culture is highly recommended for middle and high school collections.—Monisha Blair - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 05/01/2023 Pimienta’s Twin Cities focuses on the familiar topics of siblings struggling to get along, adjusting to middle school, and the positive and negative power of peer pressure. When twins Luis Fernando and Luisa Teresa make the decision to attend separate middle schools, much begins to drastically change in their relationships and lives. Luis Fernando, who stays in a local school in Mexicali, Mexico, struggles without his sister at his side and is somewhat resentful towards her for making the decision to attend a school across the border in Calexico, California. Dealing with this and desperate to find new friends, Luis Fernando develops a relationship with an older boy that at first seems amazing but quickly becomes destructive. Meanwhile, despite the long commute and the stress that comes with the daily U.S.–Mexico border check, Luisa Teresa really appreciates all that her new school has to offer: a different curriculum, new friends, an opportunity to learn more English, and a chance to develop an identity apart from her brother. The drastically different school experiences contribute to the growing tension that emerges in the twins’ relationship, and it seems like they are destined to grow apart. Supported by brightly colored and intricately detailed artwork, Twin Cities will be appealing to many middle-grade readers. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.