Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2011 Life in the small town of Lily, Arkansas, is something that folks yearn to escape but rarely do, as Cullen discovers through watching people return, disappointed, after striking out for bigger, more exciting lives. Things may be changing for Lily, however, when an ornithologist claims a sighting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct in the woods outside of town. The town embraces this excitement, but Cullen, his best friend, Lucas, and his intellectual, soft-spoken brother Gabriel resist the hype, seeing it for what it is—a futile attempt to break out of the depressing cycle of sameness that permeates their lives and reach for the hope of a second chance. Then Gabriel goes missing, and Cullen has even more reason to resent the publicity surrounding a bird when the real focus should be on finding his brother. A world away, an earnest boy named Benton Sage looks for meaning through missionary service and, not finding it, returns to face the disappointment of his fanatical father. His existential crisis and suicide set off a chain of events that eventually entangles Cullen in a complex drama rife with metaphorical meaning. Cullen observes the events unfolding around him with the lyrical voice of a writer; he looks for connections among the details of the frayed lives of his family and friends and weaves his fantasies in with his narration of actual events. The narrative cut-aways to Benton’s story have a similar watchful melancholy that incorporates spiritual reflection on the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which he discovered during his work in Ethiopia and unwittingly passed on to his roommate after his death. Insights into the nature of friendship, male siblings, and sibling loss provide additional dimension, and thoughtful readers will appreciate this coming-of-age story overlaid with a ripped-from-the-headlines mystery and enfolded in a larger narrative about great expectations, loss, and acceptance of the ordinary. KC - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2011 Gr 8 Up—Cullen Witter, 17, lives in dull, dreary Lily, AR. He is desperate to escape his small town but is fearful that, like so many others, he'll never do so. His world is turned upside down by a flurry of activity and interest that the sighting of a supposedly extinct Lazarus woodpecker brings to his town, by the devastating and unexplained disappearance of his 15-year-old brother, and the death of his drug-addicted cousin. Simultaneously, Benton Sage, a young missionary, jumps to his death while searching for the meaning of his life. The lives of Cullen and Benton's roommate at the University of Atlanta, Cabot Searcy, collide and meld into one well-crafted narrative; however, it will take patience on the part of readers to find out how the stories and characters are connected. The powerful plot elements allow readers to have empathy for the Witter family and understand their painful ordeal. The characters' reactions are palpable as their grief deepens and yet they continue to hope for Gabriel's return. Cullen is an eloquent, thoughtful narrator, and, solemn as it is, the book is not without humor. The pacing is deliberate, but the ending is worth the wait, making a promising statement about faith and taking one day at a time: "We don't have to be anxious about everything. We can just be. We can anticipate that the day will probably have some good moments and a few bad ones, and then we deal with it."—Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 07/01/2011 An answer to complaints about simplistic YA problem fiction, this debut novel, set in Lily, Arkansas, takes on the whole small town with alternating viewpoints, beginning with the first-person narrative of Cullen, 17, and moving on to a huge cast of friends, enemies, family members, lovers, and neighbors. In a parallel plotline, Benton, 18, fails as a missionary in Ethiopia (“passing out food, water, and Christ”) and, after returning to college in the U.S., commits suicide, setting off a chain of interconnected, unexpected events. What will hold readers most is the moving story of Cullen’s beloved younger brother, who suddenly goes missing, leading to mystery, heartbreak, and an astonishing resolution on the very last page. Whaley’s numerous themes range from religion to Internet technology to the environment, and a wry subplot about the so-called sighting of a long-extinct Lazarus woodpecker brings levity, as Lily’s residents try to capitalize on the new tourist trade with creations such as the “Lazarus burger.” An intriguing, memorable offering teens will want to discuss. - Copyright 2011 Booklist.

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