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OLDER FICTION
Caletti, Deb

Girl, Unframed

357 pp. | Simon Pulse | August, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-2697-9 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-2699-3 $10.99
(2) YA 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).
Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

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