Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 06/23/2025 White-cued middle schooler Maisie feels like she’s the only one of her classmates who doesn’t own a smartphone. Though Maisie is excited to unexpectedly receive a phone from her mother, the tween is puzzled by the gift’s origins: The device once belonged to Maisie’s ill great-aunt Hazel, who wanted Maisie to have it despite their not having seen each other in years. When the tween learns that her parents must care for Hazel during the summer, the family leaves Ohio for Hazel’s Maryland gated community home, where Maisie babysits her rambunctious younger siblings while her parents are busy. Maisie’s only forms of entertainment are Hazel’s pets, Cat the Great and Little Dog, and the odd texts and nursery rhyme-themed riddles that Maisie receives from an anonymous sender. It soon becomes apparent that Hazel has passed along more than an old cellphone. She was a Moonleaper, a time traveling spy, and Maisie must now take up the mantle and leap into Hazel’s past to change her great-aunt’s-and the world’s-future. A slow-moving buildup gives way to ample tension and suspense as Maisie jumps through time. Haddix (The Stolen Key) forefronts depictions of Hazel’s childhood during the Great Depression and WWII in this potent series-opening adventure about one person’s power to change the world. Ages 8-12. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Sept.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 08/01/2025 Gr 3–7—Haddix's latest book blends mystery and time travel alongside an exploration of loss. Sixth grader Maisie's summer is upended when her family learns that they need to care for Great Aunt Hazel, whose health is failing. Along with this news are two gifts for Maisie: Hazel's old cell phone, and a seemingly blank book entitled Guide for Moonleapers. But when Maisie begins receiving riddles and cryptic texts from an unknown sender, she learns that she has inherited the status of Moonleaper from Hazel, and must use her sleuthing and research skills to solve a problem in Hazel's past. The phone also has a special ability: it allows Maisie limited communication with people in both the past and the future, offering a potential to change history itself. This provides real stakes for the story, and ultimately reshapes the lived experiences of the book's characters. Haddix uses humor, historical asides, and liberal references to the nursery rhyme "Hey, Diddle Diddle" to keep readers engaged. But there are somber notes too: Haddix's story, inspired by an episode connected to her mother's dementia, reads as deeply personal. The exploration of grief tempers the fantastical elements of the book, muting the thrill of Masie unlocking her Moonleaper abilities. The book sets up a proposed duology. Great Aunt Hazel is from Great Britain; main characters are cued white. VERDICT An easy pick for readers who enjoy some fantastical elements in an otherwise realistic story; recommended.—Michael Van Wambeke - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.