Customer Reviews

Becoming Chloe

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Becoming Chloe, Catherine Ryan Hyde's second novel, we meet Jordan and Chloe--two of society's broken and castaway children trying to survive on the streets of New York City.

Jordy is 17, gay, runaway, part-time prostitute and occasional thief.
One night, while sleeping in the cellar of an anonymous city
building, he overhears a gang rape happening in the alley outside
his window. By shouting out and scaring off the attackers, he
manages to rescue Chloe. Chloe, 18 yet childlike, is hiding behind
a facade of innocence, but occasionally the traumas she has faced
in her past loom to the surface. Jordy and Chloe quickly find in
each other a comfort and security that they both are lacking, and
become firm friends.

The simple and naive Chloe views Jordy as a safety net, and Jordy
faces this responsibility with a maturity and wisdom beyond his
years. Together they endure illness, violence, and the grinding
horrors of life on the streets. Although their situation begins to
improve, thanks to Jordy's perseverance and hard work, Chloe is
unable to cope and suffers a breakdown that alters their plans.

When Chloe decides that life has nothing beautiful to offer her,
Jordy begins a one-man campaign to show her otherwise...and it is
here that the true power of the story lies. Jordy becomes beauty
personified as he races to bring the world to Chloe before it's too
late, and they set out on a journey that will challenge them like
nothing before.

To Jordy, mountains, deserts and even the Grand Canyon are no
obstacles when it means saving someone you love. As they finally
reach the West Coast and Chloe sees the ocean for the first time,
both she and Jordy find themselves learning things about each
other and themselves that will test their friendship and alter their
lives forever.

This powerful novel about life, love, and growing up is from a
perspective that is fresh and unerring.

Armchair Interviews says: Catherine Ryan Hyde has again managed
to dazzled us with her uncanny ability to write about teens in a
down-to-earth and totally believable manner.

Catherine Ryan Hyde has the wholly enviable talent of slipping beneath the skin of her characters and making them come alive in a way no other author can. She does not pull punches when it comes to putting a character's harsh reality onto the page. That "Becoming Chloe" begins with a brutal gang-rape is testament to that. But don't flinch, because in true Hyde style, that very event is what gets us to the heart of Jordy's character. We find that he is not courageous -- perhaps due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father -- and we also find that Chloe appears disconnected from reality.

Jordy rescues Chloe from her attackers, and thus begins a journey of wonderment and beauty reminiscent of "Benny and Joon." While both Jordy and Chloe are damaged in their own ways, their lives together are like a two-part harmony. They learn from each other, and experience the world with each other like only true friends can.

"Becoming Chloe" is written like a modern-day fable, with its message perhaps being: Beauty is everywhere if you just know how to look for it.

Without question Becoming Chloe is an excellent book for today's sophisticated teen. I hope they bother to read it. What is particularly interesting about this expertly crafted work of fiction, however, is its cross-over appeal to those of us who are well beyond the sticky years of adolescence. It would be shameful if today's jaded adults didn't pick up a copy, themselves, simply because of its "genre."

In other words, don't let the "Young Adult" classification fool you. Especially you cynical types who think nothing can escape your discerning eye and endearing bitterness. (I think you know who you are). You, more than any other group, need to be exposed to this book's optimism. Its gritty-softness will have a curious effect on you; perhaps leaving some baffled.

You will get the confirmation you need (about how rotten the world is) during the first one hundred pages. But then watch what happens. A softness will creep in, like an unexpected, unwanted attraction. Slowly it will gnaw on your dulled sensitivities. This will most likely result in the book being hurled across the living room with one mean-spirited flick of your wrist. You may even consider revenge against the author by ripping out page after page (of what should be recognized as mastery of description and characterization) and then designating such craftsmanship and good will as kindling. Stubborn as you are you'll probably try to ditch Chloe for good, and get back to what you're far more comfortable reading...Bush bashing blogs, global warming studies and all the wonderful things occurring overseas. While reconfirming your worst suspicions of the human condition you'll eventually find yourself glancing over your shoulder, wondering how Jordy and Chloe are doing on your coffee table.

That darn book won't leave you alone. You can't ignore it. After seeking comfort from a cup of leaf bits and warm water you sigh in defeat and surrender on your favorite chair. This time, however, the book's softness isn't annoying. The optimism tugs at your heart strings. It's doing its job. It's making sure you realize just how cynical you've become.

Don't panic, though. By book's end you'll discover you actually appreciate where you've been led; shackled like the rest of us, yet left holding the key.

What our two protagonists end up showing the reader is whether young or old or somewhere in the foggy middle, all we really have is what we share with others. And if we can find that delicate balance between opposites and common ground, love, hope can never completely sneak away without us. Not even us grumpy old cynics.

"They hit the road to discover the truth --- and there's no going back from what they find out."

But, what do they find out?

In bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde's (PAY IT FORWARD) latest YA novel, BECOMING CHLOE, two down-on-their luck characters are thrown together by chance, and instead of separating from each other as most people would, the two stick it out to the end, for better or for worse. It's a heartwarming story in the "do good things for your neighbor and he/she will give back to you" sort of way, but it smacks of the unbelievable at times and borders on feeling forced at others. Nonetheless, Hyde is a veteran storyteller and certainly knows how to weave an entertaining tale that will interest young readers --- especially those looking to travel cross-country without leaving their bedroom.

Eighteen-year-old Wanda Johnston (Chloe) and 17-year-old Jordan are "introduced" to each other under unfortunate circumstances. Jordan is living in an abandoned basement in New York City, accessed only from the street by an open cellar window. One evening, he hears screams and realizes that a girl (Chloe) is being raped by a group of rowdy men in the alley outside. In a selfless moment of pure bravery, Jordan attempts to save Chloe by frightening the men away with his yells about cops. Little does he know that this simple act will change his life forever.

Soon after the rescue and the trip to the clinic to get Chloe checked out, the two become inseparable --- so inseparable that Jordan becomes her guardian angel, of sorts. He calms her down when she gets riled up; he protects her from lecherous men; and he basically takes care of everything else in her life for her (food, shelter, clothing), despite the fact that he is barely able to keep afloat himself. It turns out
that Chloe has some sort of mental illness (although we never really find out what that "illness" is, despite the mention of Zoloft, depression, and various emotional "fits") on top of a horrendous past, and needs a little looking after so that she doesn't get herself into trouble.

The question is...why does Jordan take on that task? Does he love her? Yes, but not in a sexual way --- he's gay (a subplot that is touched upon, but not fully developed). Does he want something from her? It doesn't seem that way, unless you count his subconscious craving for a companion and someone he can take care of in the way that he wasn't growing up. The question is never fully answered, but readers will get a sense that the union between Jordan and Chloe is quite unique --- a cross between friendship, family, and teacher/student --- and one that benefits both of them, each in his/her own way.

Readers will most enjoy Jordan and Chloe's cross-country trip from Connecticut to Big Sur, California, wherein they experience the pleasures of seeing Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, and more. There are a few major bumps during the trip (the car breaking down, getting beaten up by drunk twenty-somethings while hitchhiking), but for the most part, the two spend their time seeping up the beauty that the world contains, while meeting a few interesting people along the way. An enjoyable on-the-road story for the wanderlust with an edge.

--- Reviewed by Alexis Burling

In the darkness of an alley where most people would not go, Joudy,a young man whom most would scorn first stops a crime of violence against another young woman -- who he gives the name of Chloe, then chooses life for both of them.

Their journey travels at times between the worst demons of soul through those who represent all that is kind and good in our country. Between the darkness in the night where friendship is the only bridge to life, to the brightness of friendship where life and light is the bridge to dreams.

Not all of life's journeys are all about the good times, the heroic, the happy ending. Sometimes we are in between. This journey is about the in betweens, and is one of the best Catherine Ryan Hyde books you will ever read.

I just wanted to rate this book. Catherine Ryan Hyde writes some great thought provoking books, and i just think this one deserves 5 stars.

At the Beginning of Becoming Chloe, we meet Jordy. He's all alone in New York, a street kid living in an abandoned building. Then one night, Jordy witnesses the gang-bang rape of a blond girl who seems around his age. Jordy stops the rape, saving "Chloe's" life.

But then the girl won't go away. At first Jordy does everything to "lose her," but the girl sticks to Jordy, somehow knowing that the two need each other, to save each other's lives. The two of them become friends, bound to each other by the world's cruelty towards them.

Until one night, when Jordy realizes that Chloe's planning to exit the world altogether, does he realize that the world's not as bad as he thought. Together, the two of them journey across the country in search of beauty worth living for.

The first half of Finding Chloe, while heart wrenching, is an accurate story of two street kids forced into a relationship on the basis of survival. Yet, as the story progresses, it is obvious that the writer's need to paint the world as a beautiful place overshadows the reality of Jordan and Chloe's situation. I feel that teens and adults alike will agree that a few pretty sunsets and snow-covered mountaintops can't erase a lifetime of nightmarish experiences, for Jordy and Chloe, or for anyone.
-Reviewed by Jill MacKenzie

This book is certainly unusual, far as the YA family goes. We have a gay male narrator, an incredibly fragile female main character, and distressing stakes. The mixture takes a lot of skill on the part of the writer to pull off--but it worked. Brilliantly so.

Jordy's in the Big Apple with no actual money or much of a plan. In the middle of the night, he hears some commotion outside between two people. Chalking it up as characteristic of the New York nightlife, he ignores them. Until he realizes it's a rape. And then he tries to help the girl. Chloe--as the girl comes to be called--turns out to be the turning point of his life.

The strong point of Becoming Chloe is its characters. Jordy is extremely well defined (the story is told from his perspective, after all). He's well aware that his life has no security, and while he focuses on maintaining the little stability he has, he's also scared. When Chloe comes along, Jordy is unsure of what he wants: to help her or not. Chloe's character is hard to decipher because you never understand what fully goes on inside her head. On one hand, she's got this terrible, literally unspeakable past that we never get to know in whole. On the other, her moods and attitudes change constantly in ways that are harmful to her and unpredictable to Jordy.

The quest in the novel is to show Chloe that the world is a beautiful place. It's hard for her to accept that--and to want to keep inhabiting it--with the knowledge she has of the ugly things. But Jordy, because he comes to care so much about her, understands she needs to see that this life is worth it. So they embark in a trip cross country, where they explore sites such as the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, the Niagara Falls, and find their perfections and flaws, big and small. And it's big enough to make Chloe come to her verdict--just not one anyone was expecting.

This book is wonderful for many reasons. The dynamics between the characters is unmatched in any other novel I've read, in that its so complex and unique. It's need-based, but I also think it somehow runs deeper than that. The writing, while rich in detail and imagery, is very tight and doesn't linger anywhere. The characters are well-rounded and distinct--I felt like I knew Chloe and Jordy, as much as possible, by the last page. The message is powerful and comes naturally (not to mention succinctly) through the development of the characters and their discoveries. (Oh, and I also thought the cover was amazing and fitting to the story as well!)

This book goes in my top ten favorite books of all times. It blew my mind. I challenge anyone to see if it has the same effect on them.

Grade: 10/10

I am really starting to like the YA books that are being told from the guys point of view. Becoming Chloe was an impulse pickup from the library based solely on the cover I know I shouldn't do that), but I am so glad that I grabbed it. We meet Jordan "Jordy" at the beginning while he is listening to someone having sex; he soon realizes that it really isn't consensual and that there is a rape keeping him awake.
Enter Wanda"Chloe" Johnston, she was the girl being raped and as she drops into the cellar that Jordy has been squatting in they end up forming a tentative friendship.
Chloe as she becomes known puts off this simpleminded vibe, like even though something is bad, she just doesn't get it take the rape for example). Jordy then becomes ill and even though you would think that Chloe wouldn't know what to do, she gets the medication that he needs to make him feel a little better. After she takes care of Jordy they run into a few problems with having the money to support themselves and Jordy does what he feels he needs to just to make sure they survive. They end up close to Jordy's home and we get to meet his parents and I use that term lightly). His mom and dad don't like that Jordy is gay and apparently the head would that caused Jordy so many problems in the beginning is due to one of his parents 9 you can probably guess which one).
I really don't want to give too much more away, but Jordy and Chloe end up staying with this old man and his dog until both of them pass on. Then Jordy sets out to show Chloe that the world is beautiful, and during this time they see so much. While Driving across the country they meet a few nice people and then when their truck breaks down they meet even nicer people that give them rides. I really liked when they arrived in Kentucky could be because I live there), they met some amazing people and I have to say that Randy Banyan may have been one of my favorite people that they met.
I loved how the book took me to all the places that I have never seen and I got to see the beauty in the world right along with Chloe and Jordan. Though they do run into some "ugly" out there, the book wouldn't be real without it. The ending of the book left me confused and wanting to know more, so that is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

Nobody writes like Catherine Ryan Hyde - the angst and the revelations of youth and pain.

Young adult? Yes, but oh so much more adult - the stories and characters are like meeting new friends. Real. So very beautifully written.

Without a doubt she in one of my absolute favorite writers, this book is simply BEAUTIFUL.