CHLOE DOE

“Doe” is the last name Chloe has adopted for herself, a label of anonymity that separates her from her mother and her mother’s string of worthless boyfriends. After a traumatic incident at home, which Chloe doesn’t reveal until near the end of the story, Chloe runs away from home and makes a living as a prostitute until she’s picked up by the police. Because she’s underage, she’s given the choice of juvenile hall or the Madeline Parker Hospital. A toss of a coin sends her to Madeline Parker, where a compassionate doctor and highly structured living help Chloe to face the monsters of her past. In spare dialogue and memories, she tells a story of abuse and murder, and through therapy she begins to gain the courage to go back into the world and, as she puts it, live. Although Chloe’s voice is often wise beyond her years, even given her life experience, readers will stay with Chloe’s story. This hard look at one life in a lockdown facility may appeal to fans of Adam Rapp and Ellen Hopkins. (Fiction. YA)