Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 08/18/2025 Twelve-year-old bookworm Chris isn’t thrilled about her and her soccer-obsessed younger sister Becca spending the summer with their grandparents in Massachusetts. While away from her Staten Island hometown, Chris notices that the distance prompts her BFF Vicky to shut her out in favor of new friends, causing Chris to withdraw. During her self-imposed isolation, Chris contemplates the ableism her chronically ill mother experiences, her relationship with her mom’s nonbinary girlfriend, and her own gender expression: "I tried calling myself he in my head, just to see, and it was weird and awkward. They was a little better, but still not right." But when Chris meets newcomer Mia, the two become fast friends, exploring town and talking for hours in Chris’s secluded reading nook by the creek. What follows is a tender exploration of personal growth and change ("Pretty much all of life is an experiment"), which Gino (Green) delivers via Chris’s blunt first-person perspective, her authentic-feeling missteps, and her raw vulnerability, resulting in a perceptive examination of interpersonal connection. Main characters are white-coded. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Nov.) - Copyright 2025

Booklist - 11/01/2025 Chris Rossi doesn’t want to spend the entire summer in Massachusetts with her grandparents and her sister. She’d rather stay home on Staten Island and complete the reading challenge she had planned with her best friend, Vicky. But Chris’s mom, who is chronically ill, needs to rest before her upcoming neck surgery, and on top of that, Chris is worried that her mom’s nonbinary girlfriend Frank might someday abandon the family. Worst of all, Vicky is making new friends in her absence and it feels like she’s leaving Chris behind. Everything changes when Chris meets Mia, who is also in town for the summer. Mia understands her in a way her family doesn’t. This sweet and thought-provoking work explores friendships, family, a deep affinity for reading, loneliness, mental health, disability, and gender identity. Chris and Becca’s complicated sibling relationship shines on the page, and Chris’s exploration of her gender identity is nuanced and thoughtfully explored. Gino’s latest will absolutely become a friend to young readers who need to feel seen. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 01/16/2026 Gr 3–7—Chris Rossi is excited to start the summer before sixth grade. She and her best friend Vicky Chan plan to read 72 books—one for each day of summer vacation—as they spend time together. But everything changes when Chris's mom, who has chronic pain, needs surgery and rest. Instead of staying at home on Staten Island, bibliophile Chris and her younger sister, soccer-loving Becca, are going to stay with their grandparents in Massachusetts who have strict rules about being outside all summer. As the summer unfolds, Chris meets Mia who she spends hours with, reading and talking through her many fears: her mother's mobility issues, her mother's nonbinary girlfriend becoming sick of being a caregiver and leaving, losing her best friend, her frustration with her younger sister, and her own identity work. During their stay, Chris and Becca start to find common ground as they navigate their mother's disability. This poignant middle grade novel is told from Chris's point of view. The queer family dynamic and antagonistic relationship with a younger sibling will resonate with young readers. They will relate to the vulnerability and uneasiness of the protagonist. The sisters are cued white. VERDICT A book for socially awkward bibliophiles and kids experiencing family upheaval.—Rebekah Buchanan - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.