Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 12/01/2019 Gr 9 Up—Muscle dysmorphia is a little-discussed type of body dysmorphia that strikes mostly men and boys who try to become as buff as possible. It grips David Espinoza, a self-described "stick figure," who commits to a summer of intense bodybuilding after bully Ricky sucker punches him, posts the video, and kids start calling David "Bitchslap." At the gym, a muscle man named Alpha, who's competing to win the Mr. Florida title, speeds his transformation with steroids, and soon his young admirer is hooked as well. The first thing to go is David's social life. Formerly a good kid who didn't need to be told what to do, he sacrifices family and friendships and begins to lie. Graphic descriptions of shooting up will sober any reader who romanticizes extreme weight training, as will the other symptoms of David's addiction: obsessing over an all-protein diet, checking the size of his biceps with a tape measure, and losing his temper unexpectedly. His drug use tests the love of his little sister and his father, a Mexican immigrant who must bear witness as David cuts family ties to move in with Alpha. It also masks the warning signs of his idol's downfall, whose inevitable fate provides the impetus for David's turnaround. VERDICT A much-needed novel about steroid addiction from the point of view of a high school boy who's the victim of bullying.—Georgia Christgau, LaGuardia Community College, Long Island City, NY - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 12/15/2019 Seventeen-year-old David Espinoza is sick and tired of being too skinny. After getting caught on video on the last day of school as a bully lays him out cold with a slap across the face, David begins to withdraw, deciding to devote himself to bulking up before the start of the next school year. He finds a gym close to home, run by a well-known young bodybuilder, but after a few workouts and not enough gains, he comes to the realization that all the YouTube bodybuilders he's been following might well have bulked up with some extra help: steroids. David's journey to an ideal body is fraught with pitfalls as he alienates his girlfriend and his family, develops muscle dysmorphia, and witnesses some truly horrific side effects of steroid use among his new friends. Aceves (The Closest I've Come, 2017) sometimes focuses more on the problem of steroids than David as a character, but the book still stands out through its examination of toxic masculinity, body image, and the dangers of pursuing perfection. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.