Books for Christian Girls: "My Name is Chloe" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

“Josh Miller’s kid sister, Chloe, is not your average teen. To some, she’s a frustrated rebel; to others, a free-spirited freak…Chloe has questions and doubts that take you places most people never think to go…like the local cemetery. After a personal encounter with God—on His terms, at last—she surrenders her will and her heart to Him, then sets out on a spiritual mission.

Guitar in hand, Chloe finds music is the conduit for the deep feelings that pulse through her soul….and forms a girl band Redemption. Yet even for a follower of Christ, like never plays in perfect harmony.

Join Chloe at the beginning of a wild ride to stardom in the Christian music industry—a place where life is unpredictable and only God knows what kind of twists and turns await you on the road ahead.”

Series: Book #1 in the series “Diary of a Teenage Girl: Chloe”, which is connected to the prior series, “Diary of a Teenage Girl: Caitlin”.

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read & thought over; Being witnessed to; Going to youth group; Many talks about God & good vs evil; For the first half of the book, the ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God, but in the later half they are capital; Chloe questions God a lot, but only on the days that she still believes in Him; She does start trying to talk to God but does get confused a lot; *Spoiler* A little before halfway, Chloe gives her heart to God *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of God & Jesus; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & talking to God; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, Scriptures, Jesus’ redlines, & those in the Bible; Many mentions of Christians & faiths; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, pastors, hymns, choirs, youth groups, & Sunday school; Mentions of missionaries, mission trips, & mission schools; Mentions of Heaven & angels; Mentions of religions/denominations, Mass, & confessions; Mentions of priests & nuns; Mentions of Christmas & a Christmas concert; Mentions of sins & sinners; A few mentions of forgiveness;

*Note: Many mentions of a new friend of Chloe’s being in to Wicca, witchcraft, & spells/hexes (Chloe doesn’t think it’s true for herself, but doesn’t see the harm if Allie wants to believe in it until she realizes that it isn’t right, up to semi-detailed; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Allie tries going to church and looking into Christianity, and later asks Jesus into her heart *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of evil & the devil trying to mess up somebody’s life; Mentions of a Spiritual battle; A couple mentions of karma; A mention of religious wars; A mention of witches worshipping the devil; A mention of Chloe’s dad thinking she was turning into a satanist; A mention of a cult; A mention of aliens.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bleeping’, a ‘crummy’, a ‘duh’, a ‘flying fig’, four forms of ‘shut up’, five forms of ‘crud’, ten ‘sheesh’s, and ten ‘stupid’s; Chloe and a couple others cuss (she only cusses once, said, not written); Chloe has promised herself (“for whatever reason”) to not swear or curse in this diary or lyrics; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Chloe fights with her mom somewhat often; Being slapped, punched, blood/bleeding, pain, hatred, & smacking someone back (up to semi-detailed);

Mentions of bullies, injuries, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of wanting to punch someone; Mentions of jail & being arrested; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & wild parties; Mentions of drugs, high school students doing drugs, & those trying to stay clean; Mentions of cigarettes & smoking; Mentions of tattoos & piercings; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of wars & PTSD; A few mentions of a school shooting & deaths; A few mentions of a friend who says they wanted to die; A few mentions of divorces; A few mentions of rumors & gossip; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of people burning witches alive a hundred years ago; A couple mentions of murder; A couple mentions of starvation & child slavery; A mention of 9/11; A mention of thieves; A mention of lies & lying; A mention of the lottery;

*Note: Chloe has multiple ear piercings and a bully button piercing (for a total of seven piercings) and while she’s been tempted to get a tattoo, she does not have one; Mentions of witches sacrificing animals and people & drinking their blood (one girl comments that she saw that on TV); Mentions of a mean girl making a racial comment to an African American girl & another girl commenting about never having an African-American friend and some stereotypes; Mentions of racists, bigotry, & prejudice; Mentions of designers/brand names & car brands; Mentions of singers, bands, & songs; A few mentions of TV shows & movies (one about a witch); A couple mentions of & going to Starbucks.

Sexual Content- A couple blushes; a ‘hottee’; Many mentions of boys, boyfriends, girlfriends, exes, dating, dates, liking someone, crushes, & looking for love; Mentions of a couple abstaining from sex until they are married (Chloe says that it’s unusual, but it makes sense and that she will have to think about it more later); Mentions of girls kissing other girls (Allie brings it up as it’s in recent movies, but Chloe calls that gross and that she would never do that); Mentions of touches & embraces; A few mentions of children dying from aids & being used for pornography or prostitution (and one thirteen-year-old being rescued from prostitution); A few mentions of Chloe’s ex that backstabbed her after she wouldn’t give in to him; A mention of prostitutes; A mention of a teenager not being pregnant; A mention of hot-blooded Latino men having big families; A mention of high school being a pubescent penitentiary; A mention of a boy telling a dirty joke;

*Note: A mention of someone being a “pain in the you-know-what”.

-Chloe Miller, age 15-16
P. O.V. of Chloe (in a diary-style)
279 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add a star for those in Public or Private School.}

I definitely enjoyed the last half more than the first half of this book, but overall it’s really neat to see the changes in Chloe and her friends by the end. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really a fan of the diary style, but those who keep their own diary might like this series. There are some comments or content that probably isn’t the most fitting for younger ages, but as always, it depends on the girl and her life experiences.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!