Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 06/28/2024 Gr 3–7—Debut author Wyatt joins her mom, award-winning author Kirby Lawson, to present the story of Tess Medina as she navigates life with a chronic illness. Tess, who has recently started eighth grade at a new school, is still grieving the death of her father, who owned a bakery. A talented and committed baker herself, Tess wants to follow in father's footsteps. After initially struggling, Tess makes new friends, who are a tad quirky, as she is. When she starts having extreme gastrointestinal issues (she describes it as a woodpecker pecking at her gut, or 'The Knife'), she hides what is happening from her friends and her mom. After all, explosive diarrhea is nothing teenagers feel like sharing. Tess wants desperately to compete in a national bakeoff, but she lacks funds, and worries about her stomach issues getting in the way. After she passes out at school, Tess is diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, which makes her feel like a freak. She continues trying to push people away until her secrets become too big to hide, but she finds community and support in the process. Fast-paced and adept at finding humor in decidedly unfunny situations, this novel will pull readers into Tess's journey and emotions. Wyatt herself is a Crohn's sufferer and wrote this book with her mom to bring awareness to the disease. In their author's note they describe their memories of Wyatt's teenage years trying to get diagnosed, and her how her life was affected. VERDICT A moving and important tale of friendship, family, and learning to accept living with a chronic disease. Highly recommended for young fiction collections.—Michele Shaw - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

School Library Journal - 06/28/2024 Gr 3–7—Debut author Wyatt joins her mom, award-winning author Kirby Lawson, to present the story of Tess Medina as she navigates life with a chronic illness. Tess, who has recently started eighth grade at a new school, is still grieving the death of her father, who owned a bakery. A talented and committed baker herself, Tess wants to follow in father's footsteps. After initially struggling, Tess makes new friends, who are a tad quirky, as she is. When she starts having extreme gastrointestinal issues (she describes it as a woodpecker pecking at her gut, or 'The Knife'), she hides what is happening from her friends and her mom. After all, explosive diarrhea is nothing teenagers feel like sharing. Tess wants desperately to compete in a national bakeoff, but she lacks funds, and worries about her stomach issues getting in the way. After she passes out at school, Tess is diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, which makes her feel like a freak. She continues trying to push people away until her secrets become too big to hide, but she finds community and support in the process. Fast-paced and adept at finding humor in decidedly unfunny situations, this novel will pull readers into Tess's journey and emotions. Wyatt herself is a Crohn's sufferer and wrote this book with her mom to bring awareness to the disease. In their author's note they describe their memories of Wyatt's teenage years trying to get diagnosed, and her how her life was affected. VERDICT A moving and important tale of friendship, family, and learning to accept living with a chronic disease. Highly recommended for young fiction collections.—Michele Shaw - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2024 Tess has a knife in her gut. Not started-a-new-school-for-eighth-grade nerves or misses-her-late-dad emotions but a sharp pain that sends Tess fleeing to the toilet at the most inopportune moments. Tess is a skilled baker, a former finalist in the Jubilee Flour Junior Baker West Coast Competition, and a contender for their tenth anniversary Best of the Best Bake-off. Unfortunately, even her best ginger layer cake can’t quiet wry Tess’ digestive turmoil and “the Knife,” as Tess calls it, which ultimately lands her in the hospital with a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. Debut author Wyatt lends personal insight about living with Crohn’s and writes seamlessly with coauthor (and Newbery Honor Book winner) Larson. Baking plays a huge role in Tess’ story and frames the plot’s empathetic climax, making this a good match for fans of food competition tales like Lily LaMotte’s Measuring Up (2020) and a natural pairing for Jake Maia Arlow’s The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet (2023). A frank, sensitive window into life with inflammatory bowel disease and a welcome representation of chronic illness. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.