Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelly Coriell

Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelly Coriell

Published May 1, 2012 by Harry N. Abrams

Hardcover, 299 pages

Borrowed from library

A few weeks ago, Chloe was at the top of the social pyramid at her high school. Her best friends, Brie and Mercedes by her side, Chloe ruled the school with her charisma and charm. Everyone loved her but then, a fight starts between Brie, Mercedes and Chloe and Chloe ends up at the bottom. Now, her two best friends hate her, everyone else hates her as well and to make matters worse, Chloe is sent to work at the dingy school radio station as part of her independent project. She doesn't want to be there and she knows she doesn't belong but as the days pass, Chloe starts to befriend the wacky crew at the radio station and slowly, discovers the true meaning of friendship. Or something.

THIS WAS SUCH A CUTE BOOK. I should have known though. From the very first page, when Chloe confessed her love for vintage shoes, I should have KNOWN that this book was going to be tooth-achingly sweet and that I would like it. To be fair, how can you not like this book? It's just so adorable!

First thing is that I loved how the story experimented with sub-plots without going all over the place. Sometimes, I feel like that happens in novels that have side stories for the secondary characters. It gets kind of muddled and overtakes the main story line. This did not happen in this book, or at least, I did not feel it did. The side stories were good - they satisfied my want for MORE of the secondary characters - but they didn't overwhelm and by the end of the book, everything was wrapped up nicely. 

I also really enjoyed the characters. Especially the radio crew! They were all so fun and quirky and just such a nice bunch. I also really, really liked Grams. And of course, Duncan! I absolutely adored him! Chloe was a favourite of mine as well. She was so witty and funny and charming and just someone that seemed genuinely nice. I would love to be friends with her if she were a real person! We'd bond over our shared love of shoes.

Really, really enjoyed this book! The characters were great, especially Chloe and the romance was super cute. I loved the sub-plots as well as they gave the reader an opportunity to learn more about the great secondary characters. Really thought this book was very good. It was so cute and sweet and the idea of having a radio show is so cool. Can I have one?

people who are looking for a cute and sweet read with good characters. I think this would be good for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Kristin Walker.

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Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books calls it "a quick read, with hints of darker issues in the story."

Magan @ Rather Be Reading thinks that you should Read It Now: "I highly recommend Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe. This is a debut novel for Coriell and I applaud her for successfully writing a character I could connect with in so many ways."

Racquel @ The Book Barbies gives it five stars: "Shelley Coriell portrays this quirky, funny girl in such a realistic teen way, I swear to you this Chloe character is real somewhere out there. I actually see a lot of her in some people I know and I just loved that so, so much."