This book starts with 16-year-old Chloe Camden willingly and cheerfully dressed in a burrito costume so, naturally, this book started with me rolling my eyes at Chloe Camden. I'm not the only one as Chloe's best friends are freezing her out for reasons unknown to her. She figures this will blow over and returns to more pressing concerns, namely her Brad Pitt-loving grandmother dealing with the onset of Parkinson's and her Junior Independent Study Project (JISP) being rejected by the new school counselor. Chloe, though, Pollyannas through and says things like,"Fun is everywhere. You just have to find it. Or make it."What is her deal, right? Is this really a book about the effects of uppers on high school students?When the counselor hands her a new JISP focused on the school's failing radio station, Chloe uses her experience as a burrito for Dos Hermanas Mexican restaurant to come up with a plan to possibly save the radio station.Insufferable, optimistic cow! Now Clementine, the nose ringed girl with an attitude who runs the radio station, is someone I can get behind. She loves the station and dreams of someday owning one. For the sake of the station, and the fact that she is outvoted 5 to 1, she agrees to a call in show hosted by Chloe called -- wait for it -- Chloe, Queen of the Universe.Chloe isn't oblivious to her ridiculous over-the-topness though. It's just who she is -- someone who wears her heart on her sleeve and her mouth. She loves to talk and she loves people regardless if they love her back, which she's just now realizing may be the case with more people than she thought. Somewhere along the way though, I realized that my cold, black heart was actually (willingly and cheerfully, no less!) Team Chloe. She called to mind another redhead and his farewell speech on The Tonight Show:I encounter people when I walk on the street now, who just give me sort of a sad look; I have had more good fortune than anybody I know. And if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we will find a way to make it fun, we really will, I will have no problems. I don't want to do it in a 7-Eleven parking lot, but whatever.Finally, I have something to say to our fans... Here's what all of you have done: you made a sad situation joyous and inspirational. So to all the people watching, I can never, ever thank you enough for the kindness to me, I'll think about it for the rest of my life, and all I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch:Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality, it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, it's just true!I rag on rappers who put on a hard, tough persona even though they're really from the suburbs (of Canada!), but by that token, I couldn't fault Chloe for being who she so effervescently was. Her personality, which annoyed me at first, was a reflection of the charmed life she's lived. I decided to put on my skates and go along with her for the ride.This book touches on subjects like bullying, Parkinson's, addiction, and poverty, and it may be said that it glides blithely right over them. I agree to a certain extent and would refer you to books like Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler if you want something with more depth. However, what this book does well is show a positive approach to those situations -- even if it means gliding over them. I'd recommend this book to the younger end of the YA spectrum (junior high school), but I think older fans will like it as well. Before you know it, you'll be on Team Chloe too!3.5 stars
