Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/11/2022 Gr 3–6—Cousins Rufus and Abigail are set with the impossible task of saving Feylawn, their grandfather's home and farmland, from being sold. But only they and Grandpa Jack know that Feylawn is actually the home of magical feylings and other creatures and that goblins in disguise are trying to buy the farm to destroy the feyling world. This second series installment picks up at the beginning of the summer as the protagonists deal with their parents' eagerness to sell the farm, rescue the feyling queen from her terrible goblin husband, avoid the not-as-imprisoned-as-she-used-to-be trickster thief, and still complete successful projects for their entrepreneurial camp. It is established in the first book that both cousins are biracial, with Rufus being white and Japanese and Abigail white and Mexican. Slater brings adventure, hard lessons, and magic to this sequel, crafting a duology that pulls the fantastical into the real world. VERDICT A great middle grade title for burgeoning fantasy lovers.—Sarah Voels - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 01/01/2022 In this sequel to The Book of Fatal Errors (2020), Rufus and his cousin Abigail struggle to protect Feylawn (their grandfather’s beautiful property) and its magical creatures, while thwarting its sale to a goblin in human form. Only the kids and their grandfather are aware of the magical beings struggling to survive and seeking a charmed amulet. Allied with the diminutive fairies, a leopard troubled by loss of spots, and a goose enigmatically spouting words from her extensive vocabulary, the cousins embark on increasingly perilous adventures to fulfill a quest and help their friends. In the end, Abigail and Rufus must decide what they’re willing to risk in order to save Feylawn and its inhabitants. In this well-paced adventure, Slater pulls out all the stops in creating precarious situations and grave dangers in the fantasy world. Meanwhile, Abigail battles on another front as well; driven to rebel against her mother’s domination, she begins making her own choices. Slater creates a satisfying interplay between magical and real-world elements in this fitting conclusion to the two-volume Feylawn Chronicles. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.