Title: Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe
Author: Shelley Coriell
Publication date: May 1st, 2012
Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)
Publisher: Amulet Books
Challenges: Debut, A-Z, Contemporary
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Format: ARC
Pages: 299
Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.
I do have to say that, Welcome Caller This is Chloe is a book that was very different from any other book. Not in terms of idea or characters or etc, but the flow of events and the writing overall was great. Not once did I feel that anything was misplaced, exaggerated, or unrealistic. Usually, when I read a book, the decisions the protagonist makes are either lame, irrational, or just don't make sense. Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe was such a fun contemporary book! The main protagonist, Chloe, has to take a project for her JISP in order to pass. Her school councilor advises her to join the school's radio station, and she does. The interesting part is that the station is struggling, and Chloe tries to get it back in shape.
As a main character, I really loved Chloe. She wasn't perfect, and admitted to her flaws. I liked how not everything was all happy happy, because that's just how life is. Not every time something goes wrong, it can be fixed. I really enjoyed the radio station idea. I found it really refreshing and new to what I mostly read. I liked how the author didn't just revolve the whole story around the radio station. Chloe's family problems also played a big role in the book, which to me, is really important. I have to admit, the romance in this book wasn't very much, but I never felt like there had to be more of it. Everything was just perfectly balanced.
Overall, I had no expectations what so ever when I started reading this book, but I'm really glad it was just so much fun! If you're looking for a contemporary book to read, then you should totally pick up "Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe"! I really do look forward to reading Shelley Coriell's future books!
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YAY. So happy to hear you liked this one since I'm going to be reading it super soon! I've never actually read about a radio station in a story, like, not as a serious thing. And to see this story focus some on that should prove INTERESTING. I'm rooting for a romance in this one! I just need one when it's a short and sweet contemp book. :-D
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Farah!! I loved this book so much. It was so fun yet still really deep and meaningful at the same time. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked this book! I love it so much - it's the kind of book that makes you want to go out and do fun things =)
ReplyDeleteYES! Thank you for mentioning the balance aspect-- I think that's a big win for a book. Admittedly, I didn't think I was going to read this (the cover was just too plain?), but after reading this, I SO want to!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!