Diary of a Teenage Girl
My Name Is Chloe

by Melody Carlson
Book review by Jessica, age 13.

     Diary of a Teenage Girl: My Name is Chloe is written by Melody Carlson. Melody Carlson lives in Central Oregon with her husband, two sons, and prized Labrador retriever. My Name is Chloe is published by Multnomah Books, a division of Random House, Inc., and in association with the literary agency of Sara A. Fortenberry. The book has a copyright 2002 by Melody Carlson. The book’s genre is teen fiction.
     My Name is Chloe is teenager Chloe Miller’s diary. Chloe has a different appearance that most people describe as goth. She dresses in old, worn-out jeans and worn-out black shirts, what she calls urban. Chloe describes herself as a recovering pessimist, who is trying to be more of a realist.
     A while back, Chloe met one of her older brother’s friends, Caitlin O’Connor. Even though Chloe thinks Caitlin is more on the preppy side, Chloe thinks she is a pretty cool chick who has her life in control. Chloe is really negative about everything including her life. Caitlin is always trying to encourage her and tell her how God made her life a whole lot better. Chloe just doesn’t know if God is the person for her.
     In the bathroom one day she also met a girl named Laura, while that nasty Tiffany Knight was trying to beat her up. Chloe soon meets Allie and the two become friends. Chloe explains to Allie how life is awful and how there must be something more. Allie tells her she used to feel the same way but then she found out about Wicca and she has really gotten her life under control. Chloe feels it’s kind of creepy that Allie is into witchcraft but she accepts Allie for whom she is.
     One day while Allie was at Chloe’s house Allie was being really fidgety with her hands so Chloe asked her if she played an instrument. Allie said no, and asked if Chloe played anything. Chloe said she played the guitar. Chloe told Allie that she would be awesome on the drums. So after looking into it Allie got Chloe’s older brother Josh’s old drums and lessons for free.
     The lessons would be at Josh’s church taught by a guy named Willy, so they made a deal that no one would criticize each other for their beliefs. One day Chloe gets an e-mail from Caitlin encouraging her to get one of those Bibles that has Jesus’ words in red and read only the red words. So Chloe goes to the Christian Book Store in the Mall and asks the clerk if they have any of the Bibles with Jesus’ words in red. The clerk looked at her like she was in the wrong place but said sure sweetie and handed Chloe a Bible. So when Chloe got home she took Caitlin’s advice and read a couple of the red lines.
     One day Chloe and Laura got together for some coffee. Laura asked Chloe if she played and instrument, Chloe told her the guitar, and Laura thought that was so cool because she plays the bass. So Chloe invited her over to jam sometime with her and Allie. They continued talking and soon Chloe was telling her about Caitlin’s Christianity and Allie’s Wicca. So Laura tells Chloe from the heart that she really thinks the powers of goodness and light are going up against the powers of evil and darkness right now fighting over who’s going to claim your soul. And Laura continued to tell her how much God loves her.
     Then Chloe went home and read an e-mail from Caitlin that had a verse in it. The next day Chloe went to the cemetery as usual. But instead of going to the old part she went to the new part. She sat on a bench with her head down trying to figure out this battle thing. She looked up and there was a gravestone that had the exact same verse that Caitlin had sent in the e-mail. Chloe knew it was a God thing and right there in the cemetery invited God into her life.
     Chloe, Laura, and Allie jam together a lot and Chloe makes up the songs. Soon Allie also becomes a Christian and they named the band Redemption. They start doing concerts at the coffee shop and for the church. Then they competed and got second in the Battle of the Bands.
     I really like “My Name Is Chloe”, except for when Chloe is negative and gloomy in the beginning. It proves that even if you are different from others, you can still make a difference and be a role model for others. I recommend the “Diary of a teenage Girl Series” to every teenager out there.