Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/15/2020 *Starred Review* An unlikely friendship, details about life with type 1 diabetes (a topic seldom addressed in middle-grade fiction), an exciting treasure hunt, and a loving portrayal of the special bond between a girl and her diabetic alert dog: Yohalem skillfully weaves these compelling elements together into a story with wide appeal. Thirteen-year-old Blue plans to spend the summer out on her old motorboat searching for a long-lost family treasure, in honor of her beloved late grandfather. Her plans, however, are complicated by her role as the “poster child” for a Cure Juvenile Diabetes Foundation fundraiser. The party is being organized by her mother, along with the help of famous actor Edward Buttersby, who is renting a vacation house in the wealthy resort area near Blue’s rundown home, and when he asks her to entertain his daughter, Jules, Blue can’t say no. The realities of diabetes management are addressed here in an authentic voice, acknowledging the seriousness of Blue’s condition even as she longs to be known as something other than “Diabetes Girl.” Both Blue’s and her parents’ feelings and motivations are portrayed realistically without bogging down the momentum of what is a very engaging story. Readers of Yohalem’s earlier Cast Off (2015) will be intrigued to find more resolution for those characters, but this book stands strongly alone. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 04/01/2020 Gr 4–7—Thirteen-year-old Blue is on a quest to find the treasure rumored to have gone down with the ship that brought her ancestors to New York several hundred years ago. With her best friend away at camp, Blue's summer is already off to a rocky start. She has resigned herself to lazy days of treasure hunting alone with just her diabetic alert dog for company. Then her mother pairs her with Jules. Jules is the spoiled daughter of a movie star who is heading up a Cure Juvenile Diabetes benefit, for which Blue is the literal poster child. Blue is tired of being known as "Diabetes Girl," but with her alert dog, insulin pump, dietary restrictions, and her face on the benefit poster, she wonders if anyone will ever see her as anything else. If only she could find that treasure! When professional treasure hunters show up intent on finding Blue's downed ship, she reluctantly brings Jules into her hunt. As the race to find the treasure gets more intense, Blue and Jules begin to bond, each realizing that there is more to the other than what appears on the surface. Blue is a likable character still mourning the loss of her grandfather who shared her love of the hunt. She is also learning to manage her diabetes herself so her overprotective parents will allow her more freedom. Making a new friend, gaining independence, and maybe even finding treasure—Blue's lazy summer has become more exciting that she ever imagined. VERDICT With enough action to keep reluctant readers engaged, this is a solid addition to contemporary fiction collections.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

School Library Journal - 04/01/2020 Gr 4–7—Thirteen-year-old Blue is on a quest to find the treasure rumored to have gone down with the ship that brought her ancestors to New York several hundred years ago. With her best friend away at camp, Blue's summer is already off to a rocky start. She has resigned herself to lazy days of treasure hunting alone with just her diabetic alert dog for company. Then her mother pairs her with Jules. Jules is the spoiled daughter of a movie star who is heading up a Cure Juvenile Diabetes benefit, for which Blue is the literal poster child. Blue is tired of being known as "Diabetes Girl," but with her alert dog, insulin pump, dietary restrictions, and her face on the benefit poster, she wonders if anyone will ever see her as anything else. If only she could find that treasure! When professional treasure hunters show up intent on finding Blue's downed ship, she reluctantly brings Jules into her hunt. As the race to find the treasure gets more intense, Blue and Jules begin to bond, each realizing that there is more to the other than what appears on the surface. Blue is a likable character still mourning the loss of her grandfather who shared her love of the hunt. She is also learning to manage her diabetes herself so her overprotective parents will allow her more freedom. Making a new friend, gaining independence, and maybe even finding treasure—Blue's lazy summer has become more exciting that she ever imagined. VERDICT With enough action to keep reluctant readers engaged, this is a solid addition to contemporary fiction collections.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.