Customer Reviews

Coping with Chloe

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the opening sentences this book is hard to put down. You're instantly caught up in 12-year-old Anna's thoughts that her dead twin sister Chloe is sharing Anna's body - and making her presence known.
Anna's acceptance of the situation is touching and shows the love and loyalty the two girls had when Chloe was still alive. Unfortunately for Anna, very few other people see the situation in the same light.
Trouble really sets in when Anna falls for Joe, a new boy in school. She's not alone, as Chloe fancies him too. Joe is one of the few people who accept the fact that Anna shares her mind and body with her dead sister. Unfortunately he seems to favour Chloe over Anna, triggering the start of Anna's troubles.
Considering the book deals with death, grief, bullying and abuse, this is not a heavy read, and there is lots of humour along the way.
Rosalie Warren handles the complex personalities of Anna and Chloe in one body with skill and credibility, and only as you reach the end of the book, do you find find yourself questioning yourself over whether the two girls do share a body or whether it's Anna's way of grieving.
Either way, this is a book you won't want to put down until you've read the very last word.

"Coping with Chloe" starts with an intro from Rosalie Warren, the author, inviting the reader to interpret the events in the book in their own way. This small intro sets the tone of the whole book for me - not patronising, preaching or dumbing-down. There's nothing worse than books, especially for this (11+) age group, with an agenda, such that the reader is then manipulated into a certain way of thinking.

It's clear from the effortless way that the story reads that the author has done her research into twins and into the ways the mind may work in such a case of bereavement. Anna's story and thoughts are completely believable - not once did I find myself feeling no, this is getting far-fetched. The way this extraordinary inner life (or lives?) is woven into normal young teenage everyday life is done very well and there are enough light comic touches to lift the story out of potential heaviness, given the main themes.

The only part where I stumbled a little - and this has been mentioned by another reviewer - was the "Daily Mail"-style bogeyman towards the climax of the story. It may be just an adult perception but I felt that slightly cliched character didn't belong in such an original piece of fiction. But I can't speak for young readers here.

Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend "Coping with Chloe", with its well-drawn characters and story that draws you in and keeps you right in until the end, to anyone of 11 or over - adults included.

The sign of a good children's book, in my opinion, is that it can be read by adults and enjoyed.

Some of my favourite books were the ones I read as a child; books that introduced me to new ideas and views of the world. One of my favourites was Stranger with My Face by Lois Duncan and in some ways Rosalie Warren's Coping With Chloe reminds me of that.

While the earlier book introduced me to astral projection, in Coping With Chloe we have life after death. Anna's twin sister Chloe may have died in an accident, but Anna can still speak to her. We all know the bond between twins is a special, even unbreakable one, but can it really transcend death?

In this book it seems it can and it's a pleasure to read for that.

The bright and breezy first person narrative carries you along, making you want to read on. And, the good news for reluctant readers is that reading this book isn't an effort; it's a joy. Anna is smart and witty and immediately she feels like a friend. You care what happens to her and you want to find out what happens next.

Coping with Chloe is an engaging read that children will enjoy. The themes of loss, bullying and first love are important ones to explore.

I wasn't sure what to expect with the book as the synopsis sounded quite dark but then mentioned "dashing Joe" so was I about to read a YA love story, or a dark tale of ghostly spirits?

Also, I wondered if the author could cope with a teen story as the word "dashing" (to describe Joe) did strike me as old-fashioned. But Rosalie warren more than coped, she had it bang on!

At first is did seem like Anna was boarding on a split-personality with her dead twin and I wondered if the content was too dark for the age group, but further reading I knew that it was very sensitively written. Coping with Chloe was written very well, and it told a poignant tale of Anna who lost her twin and who, frankly, wasn't coping very well. But along comes Joe and Anna finally comes to term with the death of her sister.

But Anna's journey is a book that ought to be on any teen girls (or boys) book case.

This is an intriguing read. Convincing from the opening sentence. I really cared about Anna, and wanted it all to turn out well for her. There was just enough doubt about how this could possibly end happily to keep me turning the pages without stopping.

Take the under-lying concept of 'Fight Club' or think of the 'Lord of the Rings' character Gollum/Smeagol. Now mix it up with your modern-day adolescent girl and a typical "you don't understand me" angle. It's fairly clear cut at the start, two twins, one body, no problem. It's the adults that aren't coping. Now introduce a boy/friend and how each twin goes about pursuing him and suddenly one body isn't enough room anymore.

A great read! And this is coming from someone who wouldn't normally ready this genre.

This book was a really enjoyable read. I read quite a lot and often find that they dont hold my interest towards the end like the author has rushed... but I found this like a breath of fresh air. It was a book like no other ive read, a real gem. It really lets you decide what you think, and appealed to me an adult even though im sure teenagers would also love it. Im really looking forward to the next!

`Coping with Chloe' is an original and intriguing story exploring the emotions of a twelve year old girl whose twin has recently been killed in a car accident. It took me a while to get the hang of what was going on, that Anna's unwillingness to accept that Chloe was dead allowed her twin to take over her life, through her speech, the choices she made. But the story soon carried me along and I found it impossible to second guess how events would unravel and the story end. Anna comes across as being older than her age and like another reviewer I wonder whether the book will have wider appeal to teens. There are still parts of the story I'm scratching my head over, and if reading groups exist for this age group I think `Coping with Chloe' would make an excellent choice and provoke plenty of lively discussion!

I loved this book. I read it in two sittings as I was so keen to keep racing on to the end. Beautifully written. Emotional and moving, but real as well. It's hard to say too much without giving the whole thing away, but I loved the fact that the author doesn't definitively say that there is or isn't something a bit out of the ordinary going on. That much is up to the reader.

For my part, I think that if people are very close in life - and especially as close as twins - then perhaps the crossover between life and death isn't always as black and white, or as immediate, as we may think.

But if that sounds a bit deep, don't worry. The subject is handled with such a light touch, it's hard to do anything other than ride along with the story till you get to its very satisfying end.

I'd recommend Coping with Chloe for tweens and young teens, and certainly for anyone going through the issues raised in the book.

`Coping with Chloe' poignantly (but never sentimentally) describes Anna's journey as she struggles to cope with life after a terrible accident involving her twin.

The way Anna's family deals with their own feelings, and her friends' reactions, are interwoven with other dark, disturbing themes with the lightest of touches.

Anna is instantly likeable, her relationship with her twin, still making her opinions known after death, is skilfully portrayed. Is Chloe still alive within Anna? Or is Chloe's voice a manifestation of Anna's inability to accept what has happened? The book gallops excitingly along keeping you guessing.

This coming-of-age story is more than just an exploration of loss, grief and friendship. It is a beautifully written page turner, and made me laugh and cry.