Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/01/2021 In depression-era Detroit, the world seems like a place full of contradictions to Mary—the streets teeming with women in furs and men who haven’t eaten in days. Promised to a much older man and told to curb her desire to own a business like her father, while courted by a boy who sees her for who she is and who she wants to be, Mary sees her future as more uncertain by the day. This novel in verse perfectly balances important historical touchstones with a timeless narrative. By flashing back to Mary’s parents’ adolescences in WWI-era Greece and France, they avoid becoming the stock, closed-minded adults that populate many coming-of-age stories but exist as people whose dreams have been blunted by trauma. Call Me Athena is a kaleidoscope of moments from the past, yet its real strength is the way it takes such different times, places, and stories and shows how commonalities like love, grief, and hope can connect a family over the course of generations. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2021 Gr 7 Up—Mary, a daughter of a Greek father and French mother, lives in Detroit with her twin sister and younger brothers during the Great Depression. Her dreams of a different life and a crush on an "American Boy" are in conflict with her father's desire for an arranged marriage to help the family financially. The desire to assimilate drives Mary. She wants a life where she can have choices, not expectations. Mary discovers letters written between her parents during World War I. The story moves back and forth between her parents' childhoods, meeting, and their war correspondence, and the life Mary is trying to create for herself. Their youthful goals run parallel to Mary's. A series of losses push Mary and her parents to start moving toward their dreams. Small details of the Great Depression are woven throughout---from Hoovervilles to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The author's note details her grandmother's experiences, on whom the story is based. The back matter also includes black-and-white photos of family members and a list with quotes and historical facts. VERDICT A compelling story of the tension between children and their immigrant parents and the sometimes conflicting dreams. A first purchase for larger libraries.—Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Lib., WA - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.