Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 06/01/2023 *Starred Review* Nat Santiago knows she can outswim any kid at her local pool, and if they underestimate her because of her age (12) or size (fat), that’s their problem. In fact, she’s turned a nice profit by regularly betting her opponents that she can beat them in a race. Her focus shifts when the L.A. Mermaids perform their synchronized swimming routine at the pool to promote upcoming team tryouts. Immediately, Nat becomes obsessed with these swimmers’ grace, strength, and sequined costumes, and she dives down an Esther Williams rabbit hole, emerging with the conviction that she must join the Mermaids. Unfortunately, her parents don’t agree, citing the sport’s unhealthy focus on physical appearance. With the help of her older cousin, Nat sneaks to the tryouts, where she makes the team but is saddled with keeping her new hobby a secret. Rivera’s layered, sparkling middle-grade debut is Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ (2015) by way of Lisa Fipps’ Starfish (2021). Nat and her family come across as multifaceted, loving, and flawed. Her outspokenness and (mostly) unwavering self-confidence as a fat, beautiful Latina is a splendid thing to see, and her dip into the world of synchronized swimming is eye-opening. Well-integrated subplots involving a fractured friendship and a character coping with being outed add more depth to an already excellent story. Display this empowering novel with Esther Williams’ classic Million Dollar Mermaid. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

Booklist - 06/15/2023 *Starred Review* Nat Santiago knows she can outswim any kid at her local pool, and if they underestimate her because of her age (12) or size (fat), that’s their problem. In fact, she’s turned a nice profit by regularly betting her opponents that she can beat them in a race. Her focus shifts when the L.A. Mermaids perform their synchronized swimming routine at the pool to promote upcoming team tryouts. Immediately, Nat becomes obsessed with these swimmers’ grace, strength, and sequined costumes, and she dives down an Esther Williams rabbit hole, emerging with the conviction that she must join the Mermaids. Unfortunately, her parents don’t agree, citing the sport’s unhealthy focus on physical appearance. With the help of her older cousin, Nat sneaks to the tryouts, where she makes the team but is saddled with keeping her new hobby a secret. Rivera’s layered, sparkling middle-grade debut is Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ (2015) by way of Lisa Fipps’ Starfish (2021). Nat and her family come across as multifaceted, loving, and flawed. Her outspokenness and (mostly) unwavering self-confidence as a fat, beautiful Latina is a splendid thing to see, and her dip into the world of synchronized swimming is eye-opening. Well-integrated subplots involving a fractured friendship and a character coping with being outed add more depth to an already excellent story. Display this empowering novel with Esther Williams’ classic Million Dollar Mermaid. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2023 Gr 5 Up—Twelve-year-old Nat has never hesitated to speak her mind or to stand up for what she believes in, even if it sometimes gets her in trouble for being angry and confrontational. But when her parents forbid her from joining the L.A. Mermaids, a local synchronized swimming team, she is afraid to try to convince them. Her mother has always actively opposed any activity that is overly focused on physical appearance or traditional female beauty norms. Nat joins the team without telling her family, and although she loves the way synchronized swimming makes her feel, she is soon struggling to pay for equipment, find transportation, and juggle her practice schedule, homework, and time with her best friend. She also has to find ways to deal with people who imply that synchronized swimming should only be for thin white girls, not Latinas with curves like hers. Eventually, her secret is discovered, and Nat has to find a way to explain her feelings to her parents without damaging her relationship with them. The strength of this novel lies in its complex, believable characters. Nat loves and respects her parents, who are presented as encouraging and progressive, but she chafes against her mother's dismissal of fashion and make-up, and sometimes wishes her mother would take time away from her various political causes to be with her. She is extremely confident and self-assured, but still has occasional moments of doubt when faced with comments about her physical appearance. One subplot featuring a cousin who becomes estranged from her mother for being gay, is left unresolved at the end of the book. But it serves as a counterpoint to the complicated yet ultimately strong relationship between Nat and her mother. The novel features a diverse cast of characters from a wide range of backgrounds, and Nat's first-person narrative is sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases. VERDICT This compelling character-driven novel will leave readers wanting to spend more time with Nat and her family.—Ashley Larsen - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.