Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/08/2023 *Starred Review* In this fictionalized memoir, Long recalls his life as a 10-year-old boy. After a period of anger and arguments, Benny’s parents divorce and Mom moves out. Dad can’t stop smoking, despite a recent diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. For Benny; his often-bullying, sometimes amusing older brother; and their little sister, household routines become unstable and chaotic. And although Benny attends counselling sessions, he sits silently, unable to talk about his anxiety and loneliness. When his father’s condition worsens, Benny punches a classmate. But he makes a breakthrough in counseling, and, with help from a teacher, a friend, and family members, he is ready for his father’s death and the increased sense of awareness that follows. As a writer/illustrator, Long is known for his wit, and it emerges in this captivating story as well, particularly in his expressive grayscale drawings, which appear throughout the book. The cartoonlike illustrations keep the tone from becoming unbearably dark, even when the topic is death. Written from Benny’s viewpoint, the first-person narrative begins with reflections on who annoys him, but toward the end, he starts reflecting and acting on his own rather than reacting to others. Long's heartening memoir portrays a boy facing challenging situations with hard-won hope and increasing maturity. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2023 Gr 4–7—A fictionalized coming-of-age story of Long during the 1970s. Benny's parents are going through a divorce, and his father is dying of lung cancer. Benny is struggling at school and is failing in his ability to fall asleep and control his anger. Luckily, he has a best friend who supports him, a teacher who is helping him with fifth grade, and a therapist helping him learn how to navigate the end of his father's life and socializing with his friends. The book is prose interspersed with cartoony black-and-white line drawings dramatizing the events in Benny's life, such as his brother's bullying during dinner time, father's failing health, and mother's moving into her new home. The people illustrated look mostly white, reflecting the community that Benny Brooks lives in. The book's tactful handling of mental health and therapy is balanced, respectful, and representative of the actual process; blame is not placed on the child, but a framework is given that places Benny's mental health issues at the nexus of multiple traumatic life events compounding one another. VERDICT Recommended purchase for libraries seeking nuanced depictions of divorce, death in the family, and trauma.—Vi Ha - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.