Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2024 Gr 10 Up—Molly is an incoming freshman who is thrilled to be attending PICA—a prestigious art university in her hometown—when she discovers her scholarship has fallen through. Afraid to tell her two moms, she researches other options and finds a loophole that enables her to earn an athletic scholarship if she can field a softball team and win at least one game. An expected comedy of errors ensues as she assembles a motley group of artists and wrangles her art school dropout best friend to coach them. Molly is depicted as Black, and her group of teammates is a diverse mix of different cultures, sexualities, and sizes. Ukazu, known for the Check, Please! graphic novel duology, has once again created an appealing coming-of-age college narrative. Rupert has a fun and cartoony art style, bringing the college campus and ragtag team to life. However, a lot is stuffed into the story as it touches on gentrification, school loans, and whether paying for school is worth it; but the entire story receives a feel-good, though unrealistic, conclusion. VERDICT This breezy graphic novel tries a bit too hard to check all the boxes, but nevertheless is a charming story that will have readers rooting for Molly to persevere against the odds.—Nancy McKay - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 02/01/2024 College financial aid woes, potentially shady historic preservation, and amateur softball may not be an intuitive combination for madcap comedy and heartwarming relationships, but this pulls all of those threads together beautifully. Molly has long dreamed of attending PICA and majoring in architectural illustration, so she’s devastated to find out at the last minute that her full-ride scholarship is no more due to administrative nonsense. But she discovers she can still get the money through a sports scholarship if she pulls together a softball team that can win one game during the season. The energetic art shines when depicting Molly’s frantic intensity over her plan or her lowest moments of doubt, as well as the rest of the team pulled in by promises of tuition money, meeting friends, or learning a new skill. Fans of Ukazu’s popular Check, Please! series will adore this crew of weirdos bonding and working together. This proves both that a great team is a work of art and that a year-long group project is achievable as long as students have a sufficient motivation. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.