Becoming Chloe

17- year-old Jordan "Jordy" is homeless after coming out to his homophobic parents. His life changes one night when he saves a girl from being raped. Her name is Chloe, and she is extremely childlike, although she has seen horrible things growing up. She is also strangely determined and strong

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willed, and Jordy witnesses this firsthand when he becomes sick and Chloe sits outside the hospital for hours to get him medicine. Events change for them, and result in the two of them taking a road trip together; Jordy is trying to show Chloe that the world is a beautiful place, even though he is not so sure what they will find.

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17-year-old Jordy--a runaway after coming out to his homophobic parents--didn't know it was going to change his life when he saves a beautiful blond girl from rape. Suddenly he's stuck taking care of Chloe--which is not her real name but is preferred over her real one--who is strangely childlike

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although incredibly smart and determined at times. Jordy's got problems of his own, too, but he can't help feeling that he must protect Chloe, that something terrible has happened to her and that she is using her childlike disposition to mask her past.

An unfortunate string of events leads to Jordy and Chloe heading on a road trip across America, so that Chloe can hopefully learn that it's a beautiful world out there, not just full of abuse and neglect. They see beauty, but they also encounter some terrible things as well...but in the end, isn't that what it's all about? The world is both good and bad, and it's only by becoming part of it that you can truly live life.

Catherine Ryan Hyde is an amazingly talented writer. From the start, I was pulled into Jordy and Chloe's predicament, and despite the perpetual air of mystery that hung around the duo, I was able to get to know them very well. Chloe reminds me a lot of Stargirl, only with a dark past that we never get to know. Leaving Chloe's past a mystery may be frustrating, but it strengthens the message of this here-and-now book, which is to live life in the moment and not allow your past to dictate your future. For anyone looking for an uplifting road-trip story that will linger with you for a while, BECOMING CHLOE is THE number one choice.

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Catherine Ryan Hyde is fast becoming one of my favorite authors for young adults. This book is one of the reasons for that. It's about two homeless teens, Jordy and Chloe, who befriend each other. There's nothing romantic going on here because Jordy is gay, but the two become soul mates. Chloe, who

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has experienced unknown horrors earlier in her life (she won't talk about them) is falling into a deep depression, even after their life stabilizes a bit when they get to move into an apartment. Jordy wants nothing but to save her. Chloe, who has never left New York, gets it into her head that maybe she will want to live if someone shows her the beautiful things in life she has never seen, like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, riding horses on the beach at Big Sur. So, they start off across the country in search of all that is beautiful. And speaking of all that is beautiful, this books fits the category wonderfully!

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I ordered Becoming Chloe last year at the Random Buzzer store and so glad I did. This was a really great book.

Jordy has been on his own in NYC for a while. Then he meet a girl 'Chloe' whom now he feels responsible for. She is an unusual girl who has seen things people do not normally see. Their

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bond grows so much after the adventure that they have been through. They are both just trying to move on from the life they left and be on their own.

This was an insightful novel. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen to Jordy and Chloe and were they would end up. It is sad to see that Jordy felt he had to leave his home because his family did not accept who he was. I am glad that they both found each other and were able to get through this together.

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I am really starting to like the YA books that are being told from the guys point of view. Becoming Chloe was an impulse pickup from the library based solely on the cover ( I know I shouldn't do that), but I am so glad that I grabbed it. We meet Jordan "Jordy" at the beginning while he is listening

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to someone having sex; he soon realizes that it really isn't consensual and that there is a rape keeping him awake.
Enter Wanda"Chloe" Johnston, she was the girl being raped and as she drops into the cellar that Jordy has been squatting in they end up forming a tentative friendship.
Chloe as she becomes known puts off this simpleminded vibe, like even though something is bad, she just doesn't get it ( take the rape for example). Jordy then becomes ill and even though you would think that Chloe wouldn't know what to do, she gets the medication that he needs to make him feel a little better. After she takes care of Jordy they run into a few problems with having the money to support themselves and Jordy does what he feels he needs to just to make sure they survive. They end up close to Jordy's home and we get to meet his parents ( and I use that term lightly). His mom and dad don't like that Jordy is gay and apparently the head would that caused Jordy so many problems in the beginning is due to one of his parents 9 you can probably guess which one).
I really don't want to give too much more away, but Jordy and Chloe end up staying with this old man and his dog until both of them pass on. Then Jordy sets out to show Chloe that the world is beautiful, and during this time they see so much. While Driving across the country they meet a few nice people and then when their truck breaks down they meet even nicer people that give them rides. I really liked when they arrived in Kentucky ( could be because I live there), they met some amazing people and I have to say that Randy Banyan may have been one of my favorite people that they met.
I loved how the book took me to all the places that I have never seen and I got to see the beauty in the world right along with Chloe and Jordan. Though they do run into some "ugly" out there, the book wouldn't be real without it. The ending of the book left me confused and wanting to know more, so that is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.(less)

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This is the sweetest book I've read in quite some time. A YA novel about two homeless teens/almost adults struggling to survive in NYC. Jordy rescues Chloe from a gang rape, and continues to keep her under his care. She is a sad soul who has endured years of horrendous abuse and who needs care.

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Jordy is gay, sometimes selling himself to make money to help Chloe. It is always about Chloe. He is a selfless young man.
The two embark on a road trip across the U.S. to find beautiful things; to find joy in living, brings them into contact with people who are caring and giving.
It's a beautiful story.

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