Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2019 Gr 6–8—Lyndie likes getting to the truth of things but family stories, like history, are not always straightforward, often leading to more questions than answers. After losing his job, Lyndie's father, a Vietnam vet, moves the family to his parents' house. Living with Grandma Lady isn't easy either as it's her life's mission to mold Lyndie into a proper lady, even if it means grounding her for minor infractions until adulthood. No one can explain why her father paces the floor at night and makes frequent trips to the hidden whiskey bottle in the family car. After a series of disturbing episodes, it becomes apparent that things are hardly what they seem. At school, Lyndie befriends D.B., a boy from a juvenile detention center boarding with her best friend's family. While working together on a school project, Lyndie starts to make some sense of the discord in her home life, whilst resolving some of the discord in D.B.'s life. This debut novel offers a stark glimpse into the harsh realities of life after the Vietnam War, something not often illuminated in novels for the young. Hard-hitting themes of military conflict, PTSD, substance abuse, and suicide intermingle with familial support, finding one's purpose in life, and truth-seeking to produce an evocative story of healing and hope. Shepherd capably captures Lyndie's voice, replete with energy and spirit, as well as the local flavor of Love's Forge, TN, where the book is set. VERDICT A promising debut suitable for mid- to large-sized collections.—Rebecca Gueorguiev, New York Public Library - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2019 *Starred Review* Lyndie, 11, is pretty happy with her life in Love's Forge, Tennessee, circa 1985. But then her father, a Vietnam vet, loses his job, and the family must move in with her paternal grandparents. Rule-happy, highfalutin Lady and her granddaughter are destined to butt heads, and do. But Lady's just a part of Lyndie's troubles. Her father has started drinking and disappearing, her mother is depressed, and Lyndie can't share her troubles with her best friend, Dawn, which leads to a rift. To cap it off, D.B., a reform-school boy offered a second chance, comes to live at Dawn's, adding further complications. The framing story of how veterans can struggle is not unusual, but debut author Shepherd gives it new life by filling it with layered characters who jump off the page. Lyndie's narration is frank and funny, but it's her love of research and history that sets her apart as she tries to acclimate herself to a changed environment that puzzles and stifles her. Yet she manages to learn more about herself and others, often fighting all the way. Occasionally, the characters don't quite ring true (D.B.'s optimism seems off, considering all he's been through), but Shepherd does a fine job of juggling relationships, plot, and the push/pull between reality and hope. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.