Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 05/26/2025 Following a car accident that killed their mothers, cousins Ruby and Sterling Vossen haven’t spoken for almost a year, forbidden by their hotheaded fathers from contacting each other. Feuds are a way of life in the wealthy Vossen family, led by imperious matriarch Oma, who finds fault with nearly everyone and punishes them with alienation and harsh words. But when Oma’s prized diamond ring is stolen, Ruby jumps at the chance to reconnect with Sterling while investigating the theft. After overhearing an ominous conversation involving Ruby’s cold stepmother, the 14-year-old suspects that her gold-digging new family members-nicknamed the Steps-are behind the crime. As Ruby follows leads and uncovers familial secrets, sinister things start happening on the Vossen estate. Convinced that her life may be in danger, Ruby enlists the help of her adorkable chess club pals. Though Ruby’s first-person voice at times reads too young, Van Draanen (Mr. Whiskers and the Shenanigan Sisters) skillfully employs chess metaphors while piling on the twists in this campy caper. The cousins’ friendship-both with each other and the connections they make throughout their investigation-is a heartfelt counter-point to the Vossens’ despicable familial relationships and tumultuous history. Characters read as white. Ages 12-up. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Sept.) - Copyright 2025

Booklist - 08/01/2025 Soon after a car crash kills Ruby Vossen’s mother and aunt, her father remarries, suddenly introducing a stepmother and stepsiblings into her life. Ruby affectionately (rather, without much affection at all) refers to them as The Steps. Even worse, her father and uncle have an ongoing spat over their late wives’ insurance money, resulting in them forbidding her and her beloved cousin, Sterling, from seeing each other. This persists until the night she and Sterling break the rules to investigate the robbery of their grandmother’s priceless heirloom ring. Overnight, everyone becomes a suspect—starting with her. Ruby is forced to proactively conduct her own investigation into her family’s secrets, including the shadowy lives of The Steps. This work finds its groove as a cross between a cozy mystery and a YA thriller with a dash of quirkiness in the form of its chess-obsessed protagonist, making for a somewhat lighter, but nevertheless engrossing, read. Ruby is a plucky, resilient protagonist who is easy to root for when surrounded by a family of ne’er-do-wells. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.