Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/01/2021 *Starred Review* Wang’s resonant middle-grade debut features stunning prose and a fierce protagonist. Meilan, a 12-year-old Taiwanese American, has her life turned upside down due to a family feud following the passing of her grandmother and a misunderstanding of one of her stories. Along with her mom, dad, and grandfather, she is uprooted from Chinatown in Boston to a small, mostly white town in Rosebud, Ohio. On top of starting a new middle school in a new town, Meilan faces one microaggression after another, including having her name changed. She is renamed Melanie, which the principal deems less “unusual.” As the only Asian student in her class, Meilan endures a slew of anti-Asian bias, which Wang deftly portrays as problematic through Meilan's character. Meilan’s alienation drives her to take on the different meanings of her Chinese name, becoming Mist, Basket, and Blue. She tries to be invisible and blend in while carrying her family’s hopes and desires along with her own feelings of guilt. Meilan’s journey to reclaiming her identity and finding her inner strength is remarkably compelling and relatable. Wang skillfully weaves in Chinese cultural traditions and proverbs as well as Pinyin romanization and tones. Additional materials include notes on the transliteration as well as suggested further reading. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2021 Gr 4–7—Wang's middle grade debut is a vibrant exploration of family and identity. Meilan Hua's family runs a bakery in Boston's Chinatown, but when the family fractures, Meilan, her parents, and her grandfather move to small-town Ohio in search of a fresh start. At her new school, the principal decides it's best for Meilan to go by a different name which he choses—Melanie—as to better accommodate the other (white) students. As Meilan navigates tenuous relationships, she explores many facets of her identity, each modeled on a Chinese character with the same pronunciation as her own name. Meilan is a deftly crafted, dynamic character; readers will empathize with, love, and root for her the whole way through. Meilan's named classmates are fully realized, though in comparison Meilan's teachers are starkly two-dimensional, with the principal reaching almost comic-book villain status. The nearly all-white town of Redbud provides myriad opportunities for readers to witness explicit and implicit bias and racism, and Wang demonstrates multiple ways to navigate similar situations. Additionally, Meilan learns about the Vietnam War through talking with her grandfather, who lives with PSTD. Wang balances a heavy load, but does it exceptionally well. Not every thread is neatly tied in the end, ultimately adding to the story's realism. VERDICT Meilan's story should be on library shelves everywhere. Recommended as a general purchase.—Taylor Worley, Springfield P.L., OR - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.