Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 06/01/2020 *Starred Review* Enticed by a string of weirdly knowledgeable invitations, 13-year-old Meade Macon boards a 100-button elevator in a creepy abandoned hotel and finds himself in the midst of Me Con, a teeming mass of nearly, but not quite, identical variations on . . . him, each from an alternate universe. Fortunately, each has been assigned a nickname to stave off confusion. Unfortunately, the assignments and the Con itself are the work of Meticulous Me from Earth 1, aka the “United States” of the British Empire, a sneering evil genius who invented the first elevator and is about to launch a second, much bigger one, despite the probability that it will devastate Meade’s “floor” (and ours), Earth 99. Can Meade, dubbed Average Me since he has no obvious distinguishing feature aside from a knack for folding complex origami animals, save the multiverse from, well, himself? Plainly having great fun with the whole conceit, Wilson pits his bewildered but game narrator against arrogant Meticulous and thuggish minions Mobster Me and Ren Faire Me, while providing him with a motley squad of allies lead by tough, transgender Resist Me of Earth 57. Average turns out to be more than just a cognate of mediocre, and the climactic triumph over Meticulous is both clever and cheerworthy on more than just an allegorical level. Stay tuned for further button pushing. Finished illustrations not seen. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2020 Gr 3–7—Meade Macon is a pretty average kid with a knack for intricate origami. When he finds a number of invitations to MeCon combined with the origami folds he invented, he's confused but intrigued. When he arrives at MeCon, he's met with 98 versions of himself from 98 unique parallel universes. MeCon was advertised as a way for the different Mes to get to know each other, but there's clearly something more sinister at stake. With the help of some fellow Mes, will Meade (aka Average Me) be able to thwart Meticulous Me and his evil plot? Is Meade actually so average after all? This fun, quick read will appeal to kids who like humor and adventure without the scary. There are loads of Mes to keep track of, but with names like Hollywood Me, Resist Me, Disco Me, and Motor Me, it's not too hard to follow. The engaging plot moves quickly enough to keep readers interested. The story includes many cheesy, intentionally obvious pop culture references, and some may be lost on younger readers. Most kids will, however, enjoy the abundant toilet humor and general quirkiness of the story. VERDICT This is a good book for bridging the gap between early chapter books and more advanced middle grade fiction. A secondary purchase for larger libraries or those with robust middle grade readers.—Jessica Trafton, Skidompha Lib., Damariscotta, ME - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.