Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 05/19/2025 Because of her diving skills, 13-year-old Kassandra Conner’s restaurant-owning parents transfer her to St. Lawrence, a private Catholic academy that, despite the financial strain, they believe will afford Kass better opportunities than her former public school. Now Kass struggles to manage academic, athletic, and parental pressure alongside feelings of loneliness. Then she meets Miles, a 17-year-old who has dropped out of high school. He teaches her about the joys of dumpster diving, and as their friendship develops, Kass begins stepping out of her comfort zone and contending with new emotions brought about by Miles’s attention ("When he talked to her, she felt something... awkward and uneasy and exciting"). Simultaneously, she unexpectedly befriends her diving rival Amber, who’s dealing with her own challenges. In this heartfelt, emotionally complex story, Anderson (Keep It Like a Secret) expertly depicts Kass’s desire to break free from overwhelming expectations both internal and external. An underlying current of hope balances the novel’s profound depictions of the protagonist’s need for connection, understanding, and acceptance. The main characters read as white. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 06/01/2025 Gr 5 Up—Anderson's latest realistic fiction delves into the world of diving, both aquatic and dumpster. Thirteen-year-old Kass, who is cued white, was content at her shabby school with her best friend, but her mother believes Kass's diving talents can be better developed at a private Catholic school. Anxious about missing her friend and the tension between her parents regarding finances, Kass is lonely until one day she hears a voice coming from a dumpster. Miles, a high school dropout, shares the world of scavenging with Kass and challenges her to look at discarded items in a new light. Told in economical sentences, the book reads quickly as it covers a few weeks in Kass's life. The characters are well drawn: the "mean girl" has depth and a believable redemption. Miles, whose motives regarding Kass are questioned by multiple characters, is also shown as an isolated, hurting kid. The story additionally succeeds in teaching lessons without moralizing. Kass acknowledges to herself that some of her choices are strange or unsafe, which are later reinforced by other characters when she explains what is going on. VERDICT Anderson reliably provides thoughtful stories, and Dive fits right in.—Elissa Cooper - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 07/01/2025 *Starred Review* Thirteen-year-old Kass’ parents have recently taken her out of public school and enrolled her in a challenging, expensive private school, where she feels more like a loner than ever. She seldom sees her best friend anymore, and her new classmates aren’t exactly welcoming. While her parents encourage her to join the diving team and make friends, Kass isn’t sure whether she even wants to continue with the sport. She can’t trust her mother’s biased assessment of her talent, and her confidence is eroding, along with her interest level. Then, just as Kass reconnects with her best friend and befriends a former rival, she meets Miles, a 17-year-old dumpster-diving, high-school dropout whom she comes to admire as she learns more about his difficult family life and his attempts to help others. The author of middle-grade fiction such as Ms. Bixby’s Last Day (2016), Posted (2017), and One Last Shot (2020), Anderson creates a number of interesting characters and complicated relationships in this absorbing story. Writing in first person from Kass’ viewpoint, he shows her to be somewhat naive but fairly level-headed, and her two friends help to keep her safely grounded in reality. A perceptive story about a girl who is struggling to find her way. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.