Becoming Chloe

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 show more 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. show less

17-year-old Jordy--a runaway after coming out to his homophobic parents--didn't know it was going to change his life when he saves a beautiful blond girl from rape. Suddenly he's stuck taking care of Chloe--which is not her real name but is preferred over her real one--who is strangely childlike although incredibly smart and determined at times. Jordy's got problems of his own, too, but he can't help feeling that he must protect Chloe, that something terrible has happened to her and that she is using her childlike disposition to mask her past.

An unfortunate string of events leads to Jordy and Chloe heading on a road trip across America, so that Chloe can hopefully learn that it's a beautiful world out there, not just full of abuse and show more neglect. They see beauty, but they also encounter some terrible things as well...but in the end, isn't that what it's all about? The world is both good and bad, and it's only by becoming part of it that you can truly live life.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is an amazingly talented writer. From the start, I was pulled into Jordy and Chloe's predicament, and despite the perpetual air of mystery that hung around the duo, I was able to get to know them very well. Chloe reminds me a lot of Stargirl, only with a dark past that we never get to know. Leaving Chloe's past a mystery may be frustrating, but it strengthens the message of this here-and-now book, which is to live life in the moment and not allow your past to dictate your future. For anyone looking for an uplifting road-trip story that will linger with you for a while, BECOMING CHLOE is THE number one choice. show less

This is the sweetest book I've read in quite some time. A YA novel about two homeless teens/almost adults struggling to survive in NYC. Jordy rescues Chloe from a gang rape, and continues to keep her under his care. She is a sad soul who has endured years of horrendous abuse and who needs care. Jordy is gay, sometimes selling himself to make money to help Chloe. It is always about Chloe. He is a selfless young man.
The two embark on a road trip across the U.S. to find beautiful things; to find joy in living, brings them into contact with people who are caring and giving.
It's a beautiful story.

Beautifully told YA story of hope and redemption. Crisp, clean, immediate prose. Great depth of character/situations. I know the writing is exceptional when I want to stay with the characters every minute until the book ends.

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 show more 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.(less) show less

Jordy and Chloe meet through tragedy and immediately bond to each other, teaching each of them to trust another and be responsible to someone other than themselves. But when Jordy fears Chloe's doubts about the beauty of the world will drag her too far down, he convinces her to embark on a road trip that changes both their lives.

This is an unexpectedly breautiful little story from the author of Pay it Forward, so it is dripping with almost fantastic twists of fate and insistent moral messages. Other librarians who reviewed this book at I conference I attended recently found fault with it for that reason. But I think the friendship between Chloe and Jordy is so beautiful that you can forgive the author for any forays into disbelievable show more territory. It's a lovely read! show less

When Jordy meets Chloe, he can tell she is different--damaged. She acts childlike most of the time, almost slow, but other times she reveals intelligence and insight. One doctor tells Jordy it might be a defense mechanism for some terrible trauma. Jordy, though, has problems of his own. Like Chloe, he is a runaway and homeless. But Jordy decides he must take care of Chloe and as her trust in him builds and her defenses slip away, Chloe wonders if there is any point to life at all. Jordy takes it upon himself to show Chloe the beauty of the world and they begin a journey across the United States that will reveal both the beauty and the ugliness of the world and, more importantly, the strengths they each have to embrace the good and show more confront the bad. I recommend this for mature readers. There are some situations at the beginning of the book that are graphic. show less