Hyde, Catherine Ryan. Becoming Chloe.HYDE, Catherine Ryan. Becoming Chloe. Random House, Knopf. 214p. c2006. 0-375-63256-0, $15.95. JS * Although the question asked here, "Is the world more terrible than it is beautiful, or more beautiful than it is terrible?" is not deep, it is important for adolescents to answer. Jordy is 17, gay, and has been thrown out of his house by his parents after being beaten nearly to death by his father. He finds Chloe, who has had even worse experiences, living in a cellar in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and sleeping with rich white men to make ends meet. Chloe has adopted an air of simplemindedness to protect herself from the horrors around her. As she feels more secure with Jordy, the protective coating peels away and she becomes more depressed. Jordy and Chloe set out on a trip to view what's beautiful in the world after he extracts her promise that she won't kill herself until the trip is over. They have good and bad experiences and meet all kinds of people as they drive, hitchhike hitch·hike v. hitch·hiked, hitch·hik·ing, hitch·hikes v.intr. To travel by soliciting free rides along a road. v.tr. To solicit or get (a free ride) along a road. and bicycle their way west to the beach at Big Sur Big Sur Scenic region along the Pacific coast of California, U.S. It comprises a ruggedly beautiful stretch of seacoast 100 mi (160 km) long. Popular with tourists and naturalists, it extends southward from Carmel to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. . From the author of Pay It Forward, this novel includes much of the ugly side of life to give Jordy and Chloe a fair hearing, but the people they meet are quite often extraordinarily kind, helpful and generous. The theme of looking around and looking deeply at all that is beautiful in the world, from the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. to a marmot marmot, ground-living rodent of the genus Marmota, of the squirrel family, closely related to the ground squirrel, prairie dog, and chipmunk. Marmots are found in Eurasia and North America; the best-known North American marmot is the woodchuck, M. crossing the trail, is good for both younger and older teens, although the "ugly" side of life may deter some readers. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU BYU Brigham Young University BYU Bayou BYU Bob's Your Uncle BYU Bayreuth, Germany - Bindlacher Berg (Airport Code) BYU Beyond Your Understanding , Provo, UT |
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