Girl, Unframed

Starred review from May 4, 2020
A brief list of court evidence prefaces each chapter of this suspenseful novel, indicating that a crime will be committed between its pages, which slowly reveal the wrongdoing and its perpetrator. Sydney Reilly, 15, dreads having to leave her Seattle academy to spend the summer with Lila, her movie star mother who is now renting a San Francisco home from her wealthy boyfriend, Jake. Sydney is wary of real estate developer and art
collector Jake, a “real man” who shows signs of being abusive, but she adores
his German shepherd, Max, who soon becomes her constant companion. She’s on the beach with Max when she meets Nicco, a dog lover who offers an exciting, passionate distraction from the fear and uneasiness she feels at home. As her romance with Nicco intensifies, tensions rise between Lila and Jake and their arguments turn more violent. Caletti (A Heart in a Body in the World) offers a riveting, meticulously plotted mystery with plenty of drama alongside an exploration of objectification and the male gaze. San Francisco’s sandy beaches, unusual structures, and mysterious caves reflect Sydney’s feelings of loneliness, eeriness, and passion, and her eventual sense of power. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

Starred review from April 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Caletti is at the top of her game in this fully dimensional mystery. As college student Sydney Reilly unfolds the story of her sixteenth summer in a San Francisco mansion with her movie-star mother, Lila Shore, what begins as a beautifully described moment of sexual awakening takes on Syd's growing feminism and refusal to be anyone's object. Chapter headings hint at the main event by listing exhibits from what we begin to realize is a murder trial. Raised by her maternal grandmother, Edwina, while her mother struggles to revive her flagging career, Syd is reluctant to leave her comfortable life in Seattle and spend the summer with egocentric, childlike Lila?especially with Lila's new boyfriend, shady art dealer Jake, living with them as well. Jake is alternately jealous of Syd's presence and uncomfortably attentive, judging her clothing, her activities, and especially her new boyfriend, Nicco. Tensions build to a riveting and realistic climax that recalls the Lana Turner/Cheryl Crane/Johnny Stompanato incident. With a subtle, believable twist that encapsulates this particular mother/daughter relationship, Caletti delivers the near impossible: a page-turner grounded in thoughtful feminism. There are so many beautiful small touches, from the multiple meanings of the title to the sweet rituals Syd and Nicco develop to the importance of therapy to recover from trauma. Name recognition aside, this is a title deserving wide promotion and discussion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Sydney Reilly is headed home for the summer, although her sexpot actress mother's new house in San Francisco hardly qualifies as "home" for her. Sydney can't shake her sense of foreboding, which intensifies when her mother's new boyfriend is the only one at the airport to greet her. It's going to be a summer that she won't soon forget. Caletti's novel is a brilliant coming-of-age story wrapped in a page-turning thriller. The atmospheric San Francisco setting enhances the overall moodiness, anxiety, and restlessness of a young woman moving from girlhood to adulthood and finding herself under the male gaze for the first time. Sydney's understanding of herself and her place in the world is upended as she deals with best friends, first boyfriends, sexual harassment, and domestic abuse. Caletti's sharp, complex, well-drawn character will compel and delight readers. VERDICT Ultimately hopeful, this is one for fans of realistic contemporary dramas, with a side of mystery, and excellent writing throughout.-Elaine Baran Black, Georgia P.L. Svc., Atlanta

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2020
Sydney, a teen raised primarily by her down-to-earth grandmother in Seattle, spends the summer with Lila, her movie-star mother, in San Francisco. Lila's impossibly rich and glamorous lifestyle seems to be at odds with her fading fame. Syd must cope with her mother's ever-hungry ego and volatility and with Lila's mysterious and shady real-estate mogul/art dealer boyfriend, Jake. As Lila and Jake's fights become more frequent and violent, it is clear that their relationship is based more on control than affection. When Syd is immediately smitten with a boy she meets at the beach, Jake becomes obsessively concerned with "guarding �her] virtue." Syd is angered by his attitude and by the salacious behavior of just about every man she comes into contact with. Each chapter opens with a list of courtroom exhibits, and it is clear from the get-go that the story is building to something ominous. The writing is thoughtful and engaging. While the focus of the narrative seems to be Syd's sexual awakening and her determination to be seen and desired on her own terms, Caletti also explores Syd's discovery of the frailty and betrayals of the adult world, often by the very people who are supposed to be taking care of her. Give this page-turner to readers of Elana K. Arnold (Red Hood, rev. 5/20), Courtney Summers (Sadie), and Caletti's previous YA novels (The Last Forever, rev. 5/14, and others).

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2020
Sydney, a teen raised primarily by her down-to-earth grandmother in Seattle, spends the summer with Lila, her movie-star mother, in San Francisco. Lila's impossibly rich and glamorous lifestyle seems to be at odds with her fading fame. Syd must cope with her mother's ever-hungry ego and volatility and with Lila's mysterious and shady real-estate mogul/art dealer boyfriend, Jake. As Lila and Jake's fights become more frequent and violent, it is clear that their relationship is based more on control than affection. When Syd is immediately smitten with a boy she meets at the beach, Jake becomes obsessively concerned with "guarding [her] virtue." Syd is angered by his attitude and by the salacious behavior of just about every man she comes into contact with. Each chapter opens with a list of courtroom exhibits, and it is clear from the get-go that the story is building to something ominous. The writing is thoughtful and engaging. While the focus of the narrative seems to be Syd's sexual awakening and her determination to be seen and desired on her own terms, Caletti also explores Syd's discovery of the frailty and betrayals of the adult world, often by the very people who are supposed to be taking care of her. Give this page-turner to readers of Elana K. Arnold (Red Hood, rev. 5/20), Courtney Summers (Sadie), and Caletti's previous YA novels (The Last Forever, rev. 5/14, and others). Luann Toth

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2020
A 16-year-old girl grapples with being objectified by men. Sydney Reilly had a standout school year with her friends in Seattle; the thought of leaving for a summer in San Francisco with her famous mother, Lila, instills dread. She has a deep sense that "it" is about to happen--she isn't sure exactly what, but something large that will change everything. At her mother's ocean-view home, she's alone with Lila and her new boyfriend, Jake Antonetti, a real estate agent-turned-art dealer. By turns needy and unavailable, Lila can seem more like the child than the parent. Syd hides out from Jake and Lila's fights, wandering nearby beaches, where she meets and is immediately drawn to Nicco Ricci. Her desire for him feels all-consuming, and their relationship immediately triggers Jake, who views her virginity as something he must protect. Between Jake, the leering construction worker next door, and creeps in the city, Syd faces a barrage of unwanted male attention. Lists of courtroom exhibits prefacing each chapter provide clues to the climax. Syd thoughtfully processes her burgeoning sexuality and the ugliness that it breeds in men, tracing its effects back to her mother's own experiences. Though the affluent backdrop provides little diversity, Syd's story outlines important, uncomfortable experiences many girls face without either flinching or offering a picture-perfect ending. All major characters are white. A frank, engrossing examination of the ways society complicates young women's burgeoning sexuality. (Fiction. 14-18)

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