A review by bickie
Framed! by James Ponti

4.0

Florian Bates moves a lot due to his parents' art-world consulting / restoration jobs. He's learned to use a system he calls TOAST (Theory of All Small Things) to quickly discern how to find friends and avoid bullies at new schools. TOAST means that you ignore the obvious and focus on small things that show you what's not explicit. Recently moved to Washington, DC, where his parents work at the National Gallery of Art, Florian meets Margaret, a neighbor, who is instantly impressed and fascinated (and not at all intimidated) by his TOAST abilities so asks him to teach her how to do it. They have fun "TOASTing" people, such as guessing where they will get off the Metro based on what they observe, until things turn serious when they observe the same person with two different looks in the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist galleries. Could he be up to no good? One thing leads to another, and Florian ends up a "covert asset" for the FBI.
Framed! is a fluid, clever, exciting read that shows two pre-teens (they are 12 and starting 7th grade) with a healthy, respectful relationship both with each other and with their parents (and, it seems with other adults). Margaret and the main FBI agent are Black, and there is a mad scientist at Quantico with a Latinx name. "Bad guys" are Eastern European and

Spoiler

British though one Romanian bad guy is not as bad as he appears

.
Highly recommended; I couldn't put it down. Best for 9-12 (no real edgy material; there is a kidnapping (at the very beginning) but no guns or other overt threats of danger).