My Name Is Chloe

January 13, 2003
Carlson has made a name for herself as a CBA novelist who actually understands teenagers; her fifth book in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series demonstrates the strong writing and soap-operatic plot elements that have made the first four novels so successful among young readers. Fans of the series may be initially distressed that Carlson abandons the adventures of Caitlin, the series' erstwhile heroine, in favor of the younger recurring character Chloe, the rebel kid sister of Caitlin's on-again, off-again boyfriend Josh. (Perhaps Caitlin, who has been dispatched to college, has grown too old for the series' core audience?) Just as Caitlin dealt with real problems such as eating disorders and dating woes, Chloe battles with a number of serious issues in this journal-cum-novel: finding Jesus, helping a friend who's messing with witchcraft, and defending herself against female bullies. Readers who agree with Chloe that Caitlin was "the perennial Pollyanna of the new millennium" will delight in this edgier, more intense, electric guitar-playing lead character.