I'm still two girls living inside one skin...
My soft center is the Chloe I was born to be;
the outer shell, as thick as armor, is the girl
I was forced to become.
The place they send seventeen-year-old Chloe Doe is better than where she was. Better than the streets, or so she's told. The Madeline Parker Institute for Girls is the place that can change her-- that is, if she can let go of the past that has nearly destroyed her.
Inspiring in her ability to overcome, Chloe Doe is poised to show the power of perseverance and, above all, hope.
Amazon.com
When we first meet Chloe, we learn that she is a teenage prostitute who got caught in a prostitution sting. When it's discovered that she is underage, she is sent to the Madeline Parker Institute For Girls, a sort of correctional facility for "wayward" females. The bulk of this novella is told through conversations Chloe has with her therapist, little by little revealing who and what led her to entering into the sex industry before she's even legal to vote. Chloe also shares stories of other girls at the Institute she comes to know and befriend, how they got to where they are. Some of these stories discuss unplanned pregnancies and even one gruesome botched abortion. Chloe's story though is the real kicker. Not only is it tragic but ohh did it make me angry because I know such stories do really exist in the world.
It's a short novel, so it's hard to say too much without risking spoilers. But when you hear Chloe's story, you can't really blame her for feeling forced into the path she chose. I do wish the story itself had had more dramatic tension. Much of the time feels taken up with almost deadened (as far as feeling) retelling of events. Given what she goes through, I was expecting much more anger, much more fight or edge. You don't really get a big impact until near the end, but even then... tragic as you can imagine such circumstances being, I wasn't really left broken by the telling. I also got a little weary with Chloe constantly feeling the need to push the envelope with her therapist, saying things simply for shock value.
This was a decent drama, but I'd like to check out more of Phillips' work in the future to get a better feel for her writing style. I just felt like this book was a little too short to make a fair opinion on whether I'm a fan of hers just yet.
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