My youthful adventure.

No matter how old I become, I do not think I will ever be able to pry myself away from the 'Young Adult' section of Barnes and Noble. There is a freshness about these novels that are lacking in other genres. Maybe it's all in the 'young' part. I don't mean those cheesy teen series, I mean the novels that explore young love, adventure, and heartbreak so in depth, the reader begins to feel every feeling the author is describing.

As I entered Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago I wasn't looking for anything heavy- since the book I just finished was Helter Skelter, the true story of the Manson murders written by the man who prosecuted them - clearly in need of some fluff as recovery. I made my way over to the 'Young Adult' section for something light and fun, but what I found was fun but definitely not light. Now we all know the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover", but to be completely honest... I never follow that rule. I judge by both the cover and the cover artwork. The name of this book caught my eye and so did the cover. Becoming Chloe, written over a photograph of bare feet hanging out the back of a red truck on an open road. I picked it up and saw that it was written by the same auther (Catherine Ryan Hyde) as the best-seller turned major motion picture Pay It Forward. So right then I was sold.

I finished the book in two days. Becoming Chloe does not fit the mold for one's average young adult novel. It is both heart-breaking and heart-warming, emotional, humorous, adventurous, and most of all it addresses many of the issues at hand in today's world.

Becoming Chloe is the story of Jordan, a 17-year old boy who has been kicked out of his home after his father learned of his homosexuality (a sub-plot in the novel) and takes shelter in the basement of an abandoned New York City apartment. Now, to me a 21 year old college student, seventeen seems so young, but Jordan's voice is not that of the typical seventeen year old. His voice is wise and compassionate, for he has been through more than most could imagine at seventeen. His independent life is quickly changed when he meets Chloe, an 18 year old girl with a serious emotional disorder. Jordan discovers her being raped in the alley way of his home, rescues her, and takes her into his care. After this they become inseparable. Jordan starts to realize that Chloe cannot be left alone. She has emotional fits, is severely depressed, and does not have the mind of a mature eighteen year old girl. Despite the fact that she is broken, she doesn't seem so outside of her fits, she seems innocent - as if she doesn't know much. Something has happened to her in her past that has made her this way.

One night Jordan discovers Chloe attempting to kill herself. He stops her and rushes her to a nearby clinic where she is examined by a psychiatrist who tells Jordan that Chloe's emotional disorders are serious. In a heartbreaking scene Chloe tells Jordan that she doesn't see any good in the world, therefore there is really no reason for her to be living in it. This is where Jordan finds the idea to take Chloe on a road-trip across the country in a last attempt to show her that the world can be a beautiful place.

I will stop here so not to spoil the ending but I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good adventure. Though the novel can get heavy and heartbreaking at times, tackling issues such as homophobia, mental illness, violence, homelessness, and abuse, the novel also tells a story of love, friendship, compassion, and adventure. Readers will fall in love with Jordan and his selflessness and Hyde writes in a way that takes the reader right on the road with Jordan and Chloe.


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