2008 Woodie Awards
Life's questions answered in 'Becoming Chloe'
By: Jeff Waugaman
Issue date: 12/11/06 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
"Becoming Chloe" tries to answer the question "Is the world more terrible than it is beautiful, or more beautiful than it is terrible?" However, it did not interest me.
"Becoming Chloe" is written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, who also the author of "Pay it Forward" which was made into a movie staring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt. This book may be better served as a Lifetime Original Movie.
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, accessible from the street only by an open cellar window. Jordan is hustling sex to earn a living in New York City after coming out to his parents and nearly getting killed by his homophobic father.
One evening, he hears screams and realizes 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 terrifying the men away with yells about cops. Little does he know that this simple act will change his life forever. It does not occur to Chloe to complain about the rape.
Soon after the rescue and a trip to the clinic to get Chloe checked out, the two become inseparable - so inseparable that Jordan becomes her guardian angel of sorts. Neither had a parent they could count on.
Jordan calms Chloe down when she gets riled up, protects her from lecherous men and basically takes care of everything else in her life (food, shelter and clothing) despite the fact he's barely able to keep afloat himself.
It turns out that Chloe has some sort of mental illness (although we never really find out what the illness is, despite the mention of Zoloft, depression and various emotional fits) on top of a terrible past and needs a little looking after so she doesn't get into trouble.
When a second violent incident makes them fugitives, the two wind up on an invigorating coast-to-coast expedition looking for joy and beauty in what so far has been a grim existence. Readers will like the road trip; I thought it was the best part of the book.
The book starts out slow but as it progresses, it does get a little better. However, we do not find out anything about Chloe's past, which might leave some readers curious.
"Becoming Chloe" is written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, who also the author of "Pay it Forward" which was made into a movie staring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt. This book may be better served as a Lifetime Original Movie.
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, accessible from the street only by an open cellar window. Jordan is hustling sex to earn a living in New York City after coming out to his parents and nearly getting killed by his homophobic father.
One evening, he hears screams and realizes 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 terrifying the men away with yells about cops. Little does he know that this simple act will change his life forever. It does not occur to Chloe to complain about the rape.
Soon after the rescue and a trip to the clinic to get Chloe checked out, the two become inseparable - so inseparable that Jordan becomes her guardian angel of sorts. Neither had a parent they could count on.
Jordan calms Chloe down when she gets riled up, protects her from lecherous men and basically takes care of everything else in her life (food, shelter and clothing) despite the fact he's barely able to keep afloat himself.
It turns out that Chloe has some sort of mental illness (although we never really find out what the illness is, despite the mention of Zoloft, depression and various emotional fits) on top of a terrible past and needs a little looking after so she doesn't get into trouble.
When a second violent incident makes them fugitives, the two wind up on an invigorating coast-to-coast expedition looking for joy and beauty in what so far has been a grim existence. Readers will like the road trip; I thought it was the best part of the book.
The book starts out slow but as it progresses, it does get a little better. However, we do not find out anything about Chloe's past, which might leave some readers curious.
Be the first to comment on this story