Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Author: Shelley Coriell
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published: May 1st 2012
Format: ARC Ebook
Pages: Unknown
Source: Netgalley.com
Goodreads: Add It


Summary: (from Goodreads)

Welcome Caller,
I feel I should start this review with an apology. I should have written this weeks ago but I got so overwhelmed by my university work that I never found the time and then I started writing it and got halfway through it before my laptop crashed and I lost it which lost my enthusiasm to start all over again. Hopefully this will suffice.

When I first picked up this book, I was really intrigued by the synopsis and thought it sounded really interesting but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. It had been a while since I had a contemporary novel and after reading many dystopian and paranormal, this was the perfect book for me. It was just what I needed and I enjoyed every minute of it. This was a book that I read in one sitting because it was too difficult to put down. It was easy to read, interesting and had enough going on to keep my attention. It was a fun and quickly novel that was full of flare.

This is Chloe.
At first I didn’t particularly like Chloe. She seemed a bit… selfish and annoying and I found it hard to connect with her character. But she was also full of energy and flare and I was really intrigued to see where the story would go. I’m glad I stuck with it because I soon found myself falling in love with her. I could understand why she was the way she was, it was her way of coping with everything; she wasn’t specifically trying to be selfish, she just didn’t know how to please everyone. Her character definitely grew throughout the story and I found myself really enjoying the story and her journey and felt myself routing for her, her friends and her family.

In the Studio we have…
Duncan was my favourite secondary character in the novel. In fact, he was probably my favourite character overall. He was so… distant and mysterious and yet caring and attentive all at the same time. He knew that Chloe would help them all but wouldn’t outrightly say it. He had a hard background and a hard home life but he kept it on his shoulders and just got on with life. Yes, he made my heart throb so much and he was honestly the perfect match for Chloe. He really, really was. I really liked Chloe’s grandma as well. She was so lively and just wanting to live her life without excepting her disease that it really just made me love her. It also made me sad because it reminded me of my grandad so I was right there with Chloe on a lot of those things that went on with her.

Today we’ll be talking about…
The story was so great. I loved the idea of the radio being the voice that they all needed. It helped them come out of the shadow and into the spotlight in a way they couldn’t do in other ways. They were a family and it was their life support. I loved it. It spoke to me and I understood it completely. I often feel the same way about my writing and I feel that everyone needs that one thing to just anchor us. I loved the other things that happened, the many different sub-plots that wound themselves around and around the characters, never letting the action of the novel slow down for a single moment. It felt so real and brilliant and just drew me straight into the story.

The downside to all that is…
I felt that it really didn’t focus enough on the other characters in the story. I would have loved to find out more about the other people who worked at the station, to have understood them and their journey’s better. I feel that this would have helped to make the novel just that little bit better. It doesn’t deter from the rest of the story that it doesn’t, however, so it’s not a major issue and may just be a blip on some people’s radars.

And just one note to leave you all on…
Overall, this novel was easy to read, and was a fun, emotional and interesting read that keeps the reader’s attention. I enjoyed the journey I was taken all, the interaction of all the different characters and just how working at a radio station was portrayed. It made me want to overcome my shyness and go try radio myself! It was a great read that I would recommend to anyone who wants a good, quick contemporary YA read that will bring out emotions they may have once forgotten about – including how to laugh out loud at a book. A definite read that I’ll look forward to reading again. A novel that is full of flare and energy that will leave you loving life and wishing you were as easy-going as Chloe.

Thank you for listening