Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 07/29/2022 Gr 4–8—Ravani is a lonely kid in Slaughterville, a town well known for its meat processing plant and little else. Virginia is a seemingly sullen girl with a passel of siblings who sneak into town under the cover of night and set up camp in an empty house near Ravani's. So begins Gemeinhart's moody, magnificent novel. A Stephen King—esque blend of the sentimental and sinister flows through the story—alleyway bullies, creekside confidences, a villain known as the Hunter with fingernails sharpened to points, and a breathtaking chase through the slaughterhouse's killing floor. The Hunter is in pursuit of Virginia's ragtag family, seeking the reward for their return to an equally sinister orphanage. However, as the story unravels, it's clear that the roving band of self-proclaimed Ragabonds are fine, functional, and perhaps a bit magical, living on their own. Their loving embrace of Ravani challenges his bleak view of his situation, and the powerful connection he forms with Virginia helps them both embrace their best qualities and become better together. Gemeinhart's omniscient narrator features heavily in the text, with an almost hypnotic commentary about souls and choices, but his best work in this book is scene-setting, painting the small-town tableaux fit for any drama required of his tale. Ravani and the Ragabonds are coded as white. VERDICT A tale by turns sweet and terrifying of friendship, bravery, and finding oneself in caring for others—this is for readers who enjoy dark tales with a lot of heart.—Emilia Packard - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 07/01/2022 *Starred Review* In a tale that manages to be scary, suspenseful, exhilarating, and really really gross all at once, a bullied, lonely child and seven fugitives from “Madame Murdosas Home for Wastrels Foundlings & Orphans” (“Madame Murdosa believed that commas and apostrophes were a waste of paint”) change one another’s lives while battling a coldly relentless orphan hunter. Of the seven young squatters who have slipped into an empty house on Offal Road in the town of Slaughterville, it’s his agemate Virginia that Ravani first meets and bonds with when she stoutly defends him from sharklike serial tormenter Donnie. From the get-go she always knows when he’s lying, a check that gives him the courage both to shrug off the bully’s power over him (after a few false starts), and ultimately to help his new friend and her fellow “Ragabonds” find safe haven after years of flight. Along with showing a sure hand when it comes to exploring serious themes and crafting strong, sympathetic characters, Gemeinhart displays a literally cutting sense of humor here as he sets much of the action around and in the windowless meatpacking plant that is the town’s chief industry—and though he doesn’t offer extensive details, the setting will test the stomachs of even confirmed carnivores. A rare (yet well done) tale about second chances and being true to both self and friends. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

Booklist - 07/01/2022 - Copyright 2022 Booklist.