Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 10/01/2023 Gr 6 Up—An engaging text about the most infamous diseases that have plagued humans throughout history. Short chapters on each ailment begin with anecdotes on what life was like as the disease was inflicting the human population, or the terrible symptoms endured by sufferers. Readers will learn all the details about each illness: where it originated, outbreaks, possible causes and (often outrageous) remedies, and how the disease was eventually cured or prevented and by whom. Red sidebars include further interesting, and sometimes comical, information about the ailment at hand. For example, a man's diary revealed he wouldn't dare wear his new wig after a rumor blamed the spread of the plague on wigs made from the hair of plague victims. Chapters conclude with a section on famous deaths from each illness. Illustrations are included throughout the text. Readers will find this title engaging, informative, but also gross; the authors don't mind mentioning the "violent puking" or "runny poops" sufferers experienced. COVID-19 is missing from the text but is mentioned in the author's note. Sources, further reading, and an index are included. VERDICT Well-researched and entertaining, readers will thoroughly enjoy this stellar title.—Lisa Buffi - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2023 This is an entertaining, accessible, and satisfyingly disgusting history of six diseases that have ravaged the human race pretty much since the beginning of recorded history: plague, smallpox, rabies, tuberculosis, cholera, and scurvy. Each discrete chapter begins with an engaging, you-are-there scenario describing what it would have been like to come down with specific deadly symptoms in a past century, followed by detailed overviews that begin with very early mentions of the disease; subsequent notorious outbreaks and their effects upon politics, military campaigns, and everyday life; evolving medical explanations (and gruesome, spectacularly ineffective treatments); and noteworthy breakthroughs and the individuals who eventually sussed out, stumbled upon, or scientifically determined effective treatments and cures. Brief bios of notables who succumbed to the disease (e.g., kings and queens, writers, scientists, a gunslinger) round things out. A final section reemphasizes an ongoing theme about the difficulties of getting people to change their habits, followed by chapter notes and recommended resources. Humorous illustrations appear every page or two, making this an equally worthy choice for researchers and browsing pathologists. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.