Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2015 Gr 3–5—The first two titles in a new chapter book series by debut author Anica Rissi feature third grader Anna, her dog Banana, and her two best friends, Sadie and Isabel. In Anna, Banana and the Friendship Split, readers meet Anna and Sadie as the two are celebrating Anna's birthday. Anna hopes to use her birthday wish on a trip to Water World, but Sadie encourages her to wish for a pony. When Anna opens a present from her grandparents, she finds a glittery pony necklace inside—her wish came true! Yet Sadie grabs the necklace, and proceeds to wear it. Anna and Sadie begin to argue and Sadie storms off—with Anna's new necklace. The rest of the book follows Anna as she alternates between being mad and feeling sad at losing Sadie as her best friend. The simple plot picks up very quickly in order to provide a resolution. In Anna, Banana and the Monkey in the Middle, Anna and Sadie have apologized and gained a mutual new best friend in Isabel. Anna is excited to go on the class trip to the zoo, but trouble quickly brews again as both Sadie and Isabel want to sit with Anna on the bus. Anna begins to realize that having two best friends can be hard. The characters begin to come into their own more in this second title, with Anna's family providing her with a strong support system and logic to help realize that "having two best friends doesn't mean cutting yourself in half to hand out two smaller pieces." Black-and-white interior artwork is included throughout both books. Fans Sara Pennypacker's Clementine, Hilary McKay's Lulu, and Anna Branford's Violet Mackerel will enjoy meeting Anna and her friends. VERDICT Consider adding in libraries where simple chapter book series are popular.—Lisa Kropp, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2015 This new chapter-book series introduces third-grader Anna, her beloved dachshund Banana, and Anna’s friends Sadie and Isabel. In Friendship Split, Anna is bullied by her friend Sadie, who insists she’s entitled to the necklace Anna received from her grandparents for her birthday and coerces it from her. When Anna resists, Sadie turns on her, and the rift between the two friends grows worse before it gets better. In the second book, Anna finds herself increasingly caught in the middle between Sadie and new friend Isabel, who both expect her to agree with them and take their side. When Anna finally tells the other two that she can’t take it anymore (“You’re going to rip me apart!”), the three decide to try a new approach wherein they all agree on everything so that no one feels left out, an idea that doesn’t work out so well. Although Anna is a likable protagonist, both storylines suffer from weak plots and rapid resolutions of long-simmering problems. In the first book, Sadie is awful to the point of caricature, and the neat resolution doesn’t match the depth of the conflict. The second book is stronger, with an actual discussion of and reflection on what the problem is and a mutual effort from all three girls to work it out. Despite the plotting issues, the familiar trials of middle-grade friendship are likely to appeal to same-aged readers looking for a new chapter-book heroine. Final illustrations not seen. HM - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.