05/13/2024
Harlan’s smart coming-of-age story, set in a vividly evoked 1980s Manhattan, showcases how benign neglect makes for fertile ground for self-discovery. Sixteen-year-old Upper East Sider Carly Klein’s habit of clandestinely reading her psychiatrist mother’s patient notes leads her into an obsession with one of her patients, an attractive blind Columbia music major named Daniel. Encouraged by her best friend Lauren, Carly secretly trails Daniel after his appointments, and when she sees him post an ad for a reading assistant on a local bulletin board, Carly creates an alternate persona as a Barnard student to use the job as a way to begin a romantic pursuit.
With sparkling prose and witty dialogue, Harlan captures the electric energy and tension of a teen awkwardly keeping secrets, both the juicy ones like her secret expeditions to the club where Daniel plays saxophone, and the unhappy ones like her discovery of her father’s gay affair. Carly’s uncertainty and at-times questionable decisions make her a believable teen protagonist, even in her precociousness, especially as she auditions new selves (in a wig!) and lunges after what it is she thinks she wants. Though structurally secondary to the story, scenes that take place in the terrible summer camp to which Carly is sent against her will particularly highlight teen social dynamics, and in contrast, show how different Carly’s energy is as she attempts to embody the role of an undergrad.
The depiction of an awkward first relationship that is neither disastrous nor idealized feels refreshingly authentic, forming only one branch of Carly’s exploratory story rather than pivoting the book into teen romance. Though many of the core themes carry through for teens of any generation, Harlan illuminates hallmarks of the Gen X era of latchkey parenting and feeling free to explore a city undisturbed by adults, with the storytelling spiced by smart 1980s specifics like yuppies, Reaganism, campaigns to save the whales and ban nukes, and Carly’s crush on Michael Landon.
Takeaway: Clever story of growing up unsupervised in 1980s New York.
Comparable Titles: Paula Danziger’s Remember Me to Harold Square, Susan Azim Boyer’s Jasmine Zumideh Needs A Win.
Production grades Cover: B Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: B
As much as her plot and characters, it's Elizabeth Harlan's spare, elegant way with words that gives Carly’s coming of age story its power to engage a reader of any age, gender, or station.” —Brooke Kroeger, author of Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism
“Catch the vibe of 1980s NYC—ambitious, gritty, stark, and real—in this utterly charming coming-of-age novel with a cast of memorably flawed and deeply human characters.” —Melissa Walker, author of Small Town Sinners and Unbreak My Heart
“In Becoming Carly Klein, Elizabeth Harlan vividly portrays the gripping and emotionally charged coming-of-age journey of an Upper East Side teenage girl in 1980s New York. As Carly forges her path to self-discovery, she is captivated by love, only to face a betrayal that tests her resolve. Through the trials of heartbreak and the struggle for reconciliation, she unearths her inner strength and resilience, proving that even in the face of adversity, the human spirit has the power to heal and rise anew.” —Maryam Banikarim, one of Fast Company’s “Top 10 Disrupters”
“Carly Klein is memorable: hilarious, heart-wrenching, and very often a liar. Like many heroines, she must grow up. So must the adults around her. Becoming Carly Klein is a superb novel about this aching process of becoming both honest and honorable.” —Catharine Stimpson, former president of the Modern Language Association, former head of the MacArthur Foundation, and NYU professor and Dean Emerita
“In Becoming Carly Klein, Elizabeth Harlan has given us a heartwarming adventure of a young girl coming of age in 1980s New York City. Not only Carly but her mom and dad as well grow up through this lively and engaging tale of family strife, first love, youthful rebellion, deception, heartbreak, and healing.” —Senator Connie Mack, United States Senate 1989–2001, author of Citizen Mack: Politics, An Honorable Calling
“As I reflected upon this beautiful, hilarious, heartrending, truthful, and captivating work, two words finally came to me: a marvel.” —J. L. Logan, Literature Bibliographer, Princeton University
As I reflected upon this beautiful, hilarious, heartrending, truthful, and captivating work, two words finally came to me: a marvel.
In Becoming Carly Klein, Elizabeth Harlan has given us a heartwarming adventure of a young girl coming of age in 1980s New York City. Not only Carly but her mom and dad as well grow up through this lively and engaging tale of family strife, first love, youthful rebellion, deception, heartbreak, and healing.
In Becoming Carly Klein, Elizabeth Harlan vividly portrays the gripping and emotionally charged coming-of-age journey of an Upper East Side teenage girl in 1980s New York. As Carly forges her path to self-discovery, she is captivated by love, only to face a betrayal that tests her resolve. Through the trials of heartbreak and the struggle for reconciliation, she unearths her inner strength and resilience, proving that even in the face of adversity, the human spirit has the power to heal and rise anew.
Carly Klein is memorable: hilarious, heart-wrenching, and very often a liar. Like many heroines, she must grow up. So must the adults around her. Becoming Carly Klein is a superb novel about this aching process of becoming both honest and honorable.
As much as her plot and characters, it's Elizabeth Harlan's spare, elegant way with words that gives Carly’s coming of age story its power to engage a reader of any age, gender, or station.
Catch the vibe of 1980s NYC—ambitious, gritty, stark, and real—in this utterly charming coming-of-age novel with a cast of memorably flawed and deeply human characters.
