Chloe, Queen of Denial by Naomi Nash

A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

CHLOE, QUEEN OF DENIAL

Author: Naomi Nash ISBN: 0843953772 7/2004 YOUNG ADULT Publisher: Smooch/Dorchester

If you’re reading this note, you’re probably in the middle of the desert pulling it from the vulture-plucked bones of someone who used to be named Chloe Bryce.

Or maybe you're my poor, grieving parents who sent me to die in Egypt. A month at the Tomb of Tekhen and Tekhnet will look really good on your college resume, you said. Satisfied now, guys? Maybe you two didn’t know I’d end up facing risks that would make Indiana Jones think twice -- baths only every ten days, blistering heat, ancient tombs, mummies, a cursed bracelet. . . . Of course, I did manage to kiss the dig’s one hot guy -- so you can console yourselves that I died somewhat happy!

Or you might be that snotty January James, going through my backpack. AGAIN. Jan, I swear, if I catch you with this note, I'm going to kick you right in the King Tut....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Chloe Bryce is in Egypt to participate in a dig of a tomb, as part of the Dig Egypt! Program. She feels a bit uneasy after learning the others in the group went through a lengthy application process. She was offered a place in the program when the head of the program, a university professor and the father of one of her mentoring students, calls to invite her. Chloe has no desire to go; she’s scared of any and everything. And they want her to fly to Egypt? By herself? Bascially bullied into going by her parents, Chloe decides to change her image while there. Nobody knows her, so she can reinvent herself. Goodbye, Chloe the coward and hello Chloe the brave. But what is she to do when Connor Marsh, a boy from her high school, shows up as part of the dig?

CHLOE, QUEEN OF DENIAL is a companion book to Katie Maxwell’s EYELINER OF THE GODS. Although, there’s not really a definite order to the two books, I’d recommend reading Maxwell’s book first. There are a couple of events that are described in EYELINER which will help clarify some scenes in CHLOE.

Overall, I found CHLOE, QUEEN OF DENIAL vastly entertaining. The reader stays involved in the story because of the lively plot. After reading EYELINER, I was prepared for Chloe to be a bit snotty and unlikable, but was surprised to find myself pulling for her in no time. Nash has done an excellent job in portraying Chloe as a vulnerable person on the inside, while depicting a façade of strength and courageousness to the world – not atypical for many teens today. I will not hesitate to recommend this series to fans of teen romance.

Kendra Patterson

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