Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2019 Gr 4–7—At the age of 14, Ronan Boyle is the youngest recruit to the Garda Special Unit of Tir Na Nog, the Irish law enforcement agency tasked with investigating crimes involving the wee folk. While Ronan enrolls in the Garda as a means of finding evidence to free his parents, museum curators framed for the theft of an artifact, he learns that chasing after law-breaking faeries and other magical beings is not for the faint-at-heart. Ronan's training includes shillelagh class and weaponized poetry, as well as tin whistling for beginners; he needs all these skills and more when he and his captain set out to catch some leprechaun wine thieves. After encountering a dizzying array of faeries, and with the aid of a smarter-than-average Irish wolfhound police dog, the criminals are apprehended and Ronan returns to the human world with a lead on his parents' case. In the author's forward, Lennon states this book is his "love letter to Douglas Adams," and his efforts to emulate Adams' linguistic zaniness are evident throughout the book. However, Adams' genius is a challenging muse to follow, and this story reads like frenetic slapstick. Additionally, Lennon relies on the stereotypical trope of the Irish fondness for alcohol, and an overabundance of footnotes slows the pacing. VERDICT While the premise of the series is enticing, this first entry has trouble finding its voice. Hand readers Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" series instead.—Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor School District, Lancaster, PA - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 06/01/2019 Scrawny, bespectacled Ronan Boyle is an intern with the Irish Garda who is endeavoring to clear the names of his jailed, art-curator parents. It’s a surprise, then, when he gets assigned to the secret unit of Tir Na Nog that oversees Ireland’s underground land of wee folk: faeries, leprechauns, churichauns, harpies, etc. His supervisor, Captain de Valera, selects him because, even though he’s a “beefie” (human), he’s the thinnest person on payroll, meaning he’s small enough to enter the magical world. Ronan’s job in the wee folk’s land is to maintain order, solve crimes, and put criminals behind bars. In this first adventure, actor and humorist Lennon introduces readers to a bright, but also endearingly bumbling, tween protagonist and a fantasy faerie land filled with strange characters. He frames the narrative as Ronan’s case notes, which include detailed (and entertaining) footnotes throughout. Ronan, thrust from one adventure to another and always thinking of his parents, fulfills his police duties above all else. A hilarious, otherworldly book perfect for fans of Kate Thompson’s The New Policeman (2007). - Copyright 2019 Booklist.