Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell
| Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Robert James
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| Summary: Despite being just as much fun as the cover promises, with a bright and breezy writing style, this also looks at some serious issues with great sensitivity. Massive recommendation. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 320 | Date: May 2012 |
| Publisher: Amulet | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781419701917 | |
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After being crowned Mistletoe Queen, Chloe Camden should be on top of the world, and more popular than ever. A jealous friend can't cope with her success, though, and trashes her reputation, leaving her a sudden social outcast. When her new guidance counsellor tells her she needs to change her junior independent social project, Chloe is forced into a school radio station which is on its last legs, run by a bunch of losers who she'd never even have spoken to before. Taking a risk which could either kill or save the station, Chloe is thrust into a position as host of a new chat show. Will the risk pay off? Will Chloe find a new circle of friends?
From reading about this one, I was expecting it to be a light and breezy story but was pleasantly surprised to find it was so much more than that. As well as the radio station drama going on, there's a sub-plot where Chloe's ageing grandmother, who suffers from Parkinson's - a brilliant character - is trying to assert her independence against Chloe's mother, who doesn't think she's fit to live alone anymore, and another with Chloe's new co-worker Duncan dealing with his own mother's serious issues. This made it much more memorable and impactful than I was expecting it to be, and it ended up being one of my favourites of the past 12 months.
I loved Shelly Coriell's writing style, which was bright and breezy - just like Chloe's personality - even when dealing with some of the tough issues in the book. It made this a seriously easy read and I absolutely loved narrator Chloe. I also thought the ending was perfectly handled, with each character's behaviour really ringing true to their portrayal to give a satisfying conclusion without everything being wrapped up too neatly.
Massive recommendation as an absolutely wonderful contemporary novel, I can't wait to read more by Shelley Coriell.
For another wonderful contemporary teen novel looking at a difficult issue, Lottie Biggs is (Not) Mad by Hayley Long was one I described as brilliantly, staggeringly, life-affirmingly superb - I think you might like it! YOu might also enjoy How To Keep A Boy As A Pet by Diane Messidoro, although we had our reservations, despite one very funny part.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell at Amazon.com.
This review was kindly given to us by the ever-generous Ya Yeah Yeah.
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