Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/15/2022 *Starred Review* Yang, best-selling author of the Front Desk series, returns with a timely, heartwarming story that draws inspiration from her own family’s experiences at the beginning of the pandemic. In January 2020, the Wei-Evans family is split apart when the three biracial kids and their Chinese American mom move from Hong Kong to California, where they hope for safety. Their dog stays behind with their white American dad, who cannot leave China due to his job. Readers intimately connect with the 10-year-old middle child, Knox, through whom the story is told, feeling his worries, challenges, and longing to be with his father and dog. He struggles with being the new kid at school and with trying to embrace his own unique mind. Knox and his siblings also face challenges as their mom loses her job and the family health insurance, and they are confronted with anti-Asian hate over COVID-19. While the sheer weight of so many different topics causes some pacing issues, and some of the kids’ schemes to reunite with their father are a bit far-fetched, the story truly shines in its depictions of family relationships. Yang again demonstrates her talent for honest, age-relevant storytelling from a child’s perspective that both entertains and educates. A compelling story that conveys the importance of showing love and kindness, especially during hard times. Highly recommended for all middle-grade collections. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: If Yang's best-selling and acclaimed Front Desk novels are any indication, this book will be highly coveted. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 03/11/2022 Gr 4–7—Chinese American fifth grader Knox Wei-Evans's world is turned upside down when his parents decide that Mom will take Knox, older brother Bowen, and younger sister Lea from their home in Hong Kong to the United States to get away from the novel coronavirus that just shut down the city of Wuhan. The kids have to pack quickly and leave their dog and their dad—Knox's best friend—behind. In Northern California, they quarantine for 14 days and attempt online school before starting public school, where, for the first time ever, Knox has a teacher who understands and encourages him, and he has a friend. Christopher is also Asian American and has ADHD. But the virus "knows no borders" and soon arrives in the States, triggering a wave of fear and anti-Asian racism. Knox's mom says that love is the only vaccine for hate, and Knox stands up to racist classmates—his own and Bowen's. As California enters a state of emergency, Knox, Bowen, and Lea bond in a creative desperate effort to raise money to bring their dad to join them. The Wei-Evans family faces the pandemic, racism, and worries about jobs, income, and healthcare with "consistent courage," and finds that being more open and honest with each other helps. Knox's struggles will resonate with all children who lived through the scary and uncertain first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. VERDICT A pandemic book that is also a story of the importance of family, friendship, and standing up for what is right; another knockout from Yang, highly recommended for all collections.—Jenny Arch - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 02/15/2022 - Copyright 2022 Booklist.