The Girl in a Cafe

Chloe’s summer as a burrito has to an end, her best friends are back in town and school is just starting. But Chloe’s world falls down around her when her so called friends turn their back on her over a silly, albeit still hurtful, mistake she made at a school dance. And in doing so, turns the whole school against her. Things go from bad to worse when her guidance counsellor decides that a project she has to do isn’t worthy enough, and instead forces her to join the school’s underfunded and struggling radio station. Chloe is a girl who goes through a major change in her life. Her best friends - so called, at least - have given her the cold shoulder, meaning the rest of the school has as well. Chloe, while well liked, is the victim of social status, and without her two friends, seemingly remains nothing in the big bad world of high school. The best thing that Chloe can do is stick her chin up and keep moving forward, which she does. And it’s an admirable trait. She’s strong and wilful, but at the same time she’s still just plain normal, because hey, she has flaws like the rest of them. And Chloe’s flaw is that she doesn’t listen. She’s stubborn (apparently a family trait), and she doesn’t let go of things easily, which causes tension between her relationships. What I loved about Chloe the most is how much of an individual character she was. She had spunk and personality. Shoes were a life and death matter, and Mexican food can make the world right again. She believed wholeheartedly in everything that she believed in. And that kind of enthusiasm is just contagious.Radio in schools wasn’t something that we ever had in Western Australia, especially not growing up. I know that while still a more common thing in America, school radio is dying out in favour for more modern technology (I did a bit of research afterwards, and some schools in America are using Twitter as forms of keeping kids up to date on school news. Twitter), and I loved the way that Coriell used it to her advantage.While Welcome Caller is light hearted, romantic and fun, there are some real issues that are dealt with in the book, that really give it that more depth - and make the whole book seem more of an experience that you’ve just witnessed rather than a light summer read that goes to the back of the shelf. Issues that are prevelant to teenagers in today’s society - even though they don’t seem like ones that they would deal with - like dementia, drug addiction, and more commonly, bitchiness and bullying. I think in all situations, Chloe handles herself extremely well - sure, there are times when you just want to throttle her, but for most of the time, she took it all in her stride and didn’t let anything get to her too much. Four for you Chloe, you go Chloe!Definitely a great book to read, I would recommend Welcome Caller, This is Chloe to anyone who wants romance, laughter and a few tears as well. Welcome Caller is a heart-warming read that will stay with you for a long time.