Publishers Weekly Review
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. (June) |
School Library Journal Review
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 |