Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love  with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

I waited anticipating this novel like no other. I saw it on Goodreads a few months before it came out and immediately pined for it. I was finally able to track down a copy at the library 7 months after the books release, and I ended up reading it in a day. Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe is a lovely book. I was expecting a nice, fluffy-yet-good book that would satisfy my never ending need to read YA books about radio shows/music. This book was light, but still dealt with serious issues.

Chloe was an awesome character. People were annoyed with her because of her popularity and self-obsession. However, readers see the other side of Chloe that other characters are missing. We see her family life, and the problems that revolve around it. And we get to know a different side of Chloe. I admit, she still annoyed me at times, but ultimately I loved her. Duncan was adorable. I just wanted to go into the story and give him a hug. He’s quiet, shy and kind. His story is one of the things that makes Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe more serious than I thought it would be. Duncan is an ace character, though. He was one of the best, cutest boy characters that I had read in awhile.

Shelley Coriell is a fantastic debut writer. Her first novel was addicting, emotionally touching and brilliantly written. I can’t wait to see what she has coming out next.