Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe - Shelley Coriell

Synopsis: 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. (From Goodreads)

I started this book the night before I meant to pack up and move out of my apartment. It was about midnight when I started, so I only got in a couple chapters before I put it down reluctantly. I got up in the morning and told myself I’d just read a little bit and then I’d get to work. A couple chapters turned into needing to read the whole thing and…well…let’s just say I was still packing up my car at 3 in the morning, forgot to clean out my fridge (the food was all out, but I didn’t really clean it…), and had to leave for home about 4 hours later than I planned the next day. And it was so worth it.

This is the kind of book that sucks you in and shares its incredible energy with you. I swear I was cheery all day, and it was because of Chloe’s personality. She’s such a happy person, even when things kind of suck. Her motto is something along the lines of – if something sucks, make it fun. Bring the party with you. She has such an infectious way of making everyone’s day brighter. After I read this, I was bored waiting for an oil change and wondering - What would Chloe do? Not kidding.

But it’s more than just fun and sunshine. It’s about friends growing up and growing apart. Chloe has to deal with her friends rejecting her and dragging her through the dirt. I so admire how she deals – I think I would crawl into a hole and never come out – but Chloe takes the lot she’s given and she deals with it. I mean – she’s the only person who could make dressing up like a burrito look like a fashion statement. Then there’s the not-so-subtle message (there’s nothing subtle about this book!) that there’s more to life than speaking and letting other people know you – you have to listen to get to know others as well. 

My favorite part of the book is when someone asks Chloe why she’s doing something. She kind of thinks it over and she just answers, “Because it’s fun.” That to me seems like a, “duh,” moment. Like why would you ever do anything? I know there are some things you just do because you have to, but then there are others that you just do because they bring you joy. That is a moment I will carry around with me for a very long time.  

This was a wonderful break from all the dark books that can only hold on to small, hopeful aspects. This book radiates warmth and happiness. Chloe’s personality is just so great that it cannot be contained within the pages of a book. I swear she’s still with me, telling me to make the best of what comes my way.