Chloe-Grace is the adopted 16 year old daughter of major celebrities and thus a celebrity herself. When her parents announce their intention to divorce and the glare of fame becomes too much for her, Chloe decides to go undercover at a regular high school and try out an anonymous life.There are so many books out there about normal teens finding themselves suddenly famous (fantasy wish fulfillment for many in our culture today), but this is one for the Suris and Maddoxs of the world who must yearn to know what it is like to slum it in J Crew and a dented Honda.
The novel is broken in two halves – the first gives us a rather standard look at Chloe’s paparazzi-filled life while the second, detailing Chloe’s life as “Lilly”, is far more clever and interesting. I didn’t feel like the first part warranted being so long since it really didn’t offer anything we haven’t seen before in the way of the celebrity lifestyle – just lots of flashbulbs, pampering, high fashion, entourages and impulse jewelry purchases. Part two is where the meat is, and some elements, such as the Jack romance and the reunion with her Chinese birth family, are given short-shrift IMHO.
Chloe is an appealing main character, and while some of her supporting characters, such as friends Vickie and Jana, brother Henry, and stylist/fake father Luther, pull their weight, most of the rest simply fade into the background as easily forgettable stereotypes. Still, this is a fun look at celebrity with nothing objectionable in it – a perfect vehicle to show younger starstruck teens that fame is not all it’s cracked up to be.
EXCLUSIVELY CHLOE is out now in paperback. Find out more about it at the author’s blog.
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