MWSA Review
Chloe the Military Brat is a realistic look inside an eleven-year-old girl’s mind as she deals with not only a military PCS move and her parents’ divorced life but also the petty jealousies of tween girls.
As a military brat myself, and a mother to two of them, I think this book is a good stepping off point to starting a conversation with your child about a PCS or divorce. I appreciated that the adults in the book respected Chloe’s feelings, encouraged her to share them and validated that she had a right to experience them. I also appreciate the author showing the divorced parents as functioning co-parents.
Chloe’s journal entries gave us insight into how she was feeling and were a good example of it being okay to be angry. The author showed Chloe’s range of emotions, but that she still functioned in the family units with respect and understanding. It modeled for the reader the resilience that military brats are so well known for.
The introduction of the best friend from another duty station is very true to real life, as was the awkwardness yet ease at which they became reacquainted. I’ll be interested to see the stories of the new friends introduced in the end, assuming they are the other Cul-de-sac kids books.
The book, by nature of length and character age, is intended for elementary or lower middle grade children. There wasn’t a conflict to solve other than Chloe not wanting the things she had no control over: the move or being the child of divorce. She just had to deal with them regardless of her opinion and feelings, which is the reality for military kids after all!
It is a cute story to show military kids that they are not alone. I would recommend it to military parents with elementary-aged children preparing for their first move or middle grade readers preparing to PCS. I’d also recommend it to civilian children who have military brat friends, to better understand their lifestyle and hardships.
Review by Rosalie Spielman (June 2021)
Author's Synopsis
Life isn’t easy for any eleven-year-old, but when your mom is an active-duty Army officer and your parents are divorced, it becomes so much worse. Chloe has had to move three times already and is devastated to learn it will happen again, forcing her to leave behind yet another best friend. Can their friendship survive this world-ending news? And how will Chloe explain to her parents just how hard it is being a military brat? So far, she’s only been able to pour her feelings into her journal. Life isn’t looking too great, then she gets some surprising, yet bittersweet news. This first installment in a new series follows Chloe as she tries to navigate her conflicting love and anger for her parents and ongoing struggles to maintain friendships throughout moves. Filled with the typical mix of fun and angst of tween daily life but set against the background of Chloe’s life as a military brat, readers are sure to find this a different, yet engaging tween series.
The Cul-de-sac Kids Chapter Book Series was designed to show Military Brats they are not alone. Every book in the series will follow Chloe and her friends as they work their way through the challenges all Military brats face.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Middle Grade Chapter Book
Number of Pages: 98
Word Count: 15,612
