“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.” ~ Goodreads description

Title: Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe

Author: Shelley Coriell

Publisher: ABRAMS

Imprint: Amulet Books

Publishing Date: May 1^st, 2012

ISBN: 9781419701917

Page Count: 320

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley

I loved this concept. Radio station? A confident, sassy lead? Yes please!

Chloe loves vintage shoes and is not ashamed to wear a giant burrito costume. She’s enthusiastic, she’s optimistic, and she’s bold. But lately, Chloe’s friends have frozen her out and she can’t figure out why, there’s tension in her house, she’s dealing with her Gram’s mental deterioration, and her new guidance councilor rejects her Junior Independent Study Project proposal (which has to do with villainous women of soap operas).

For her new Junior Independent Study Project, Chloe helps out her school’s radio station where she meets a cast of quirky characters. I loved the radio lingo, and the clashing personalities of Chloe and some of the radio staff made for some funny scenes. This book also takes on some issues such as substance abuse and Parkinson’s disease.

Cynical Cindy Says:

While I appreciate individuality in characters, Chloe’s individuality seemed very contrived. For me, Chloe was ‘trying too hard’ to be zany, making her end up too funky, too over the top, and too unreal to be a character that’s really relatable to.   

I also have to add: I just love Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe’s cover! The neon colors, the microphone, the silver streamers, I love it all! For a book that’s as bold, bright, and sassy as its cover, pick up Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe.

3 out of 5 teacups

Extras: Check out the author’s website