Click here to read reviewer Lori West's take on Chloe Does Yale.
Yale junior Chloe Carrington writes the Yale Daily News's most notorious column, "Sex and the (Elm) City." And though she writes about sex, Chloe's love life leaves a bit to be desired. The men she dates are intimidated about seeing the exploits of their encounters not-so-subtly chronicled in Chloe's column. However, between attending classes, writing papers, hanging out in campus bars, and refereeing fights between friends, Chloe doesn't have much time to pine away from loneliness.
Then Chloe begins to receive critical comments posted to the newspaper website about her column from a person known only as "Yalemale." The two start to communicate via e-mail and form a friendship--which Chloe hopes will develop into something more. Is there hope for romance when school keeps getting in the way?
Chloe Does Yale is not spectacular chick lit, but it is entertaining. College students are under-represented in this genre and will get a kick out of something they can identify with. Chloe is obviously patterned directly after the author, who wrote a column by the same name. I suspect the columns used in the book are actually Ms. Krinsky's from her stint at Yale. A great deal of risqué behavior is discussed and performed compared to a very slight amount of schoolwork. Yes, it would be boring to read about studying and classes, but Chloe's lack of work ethic and continual partying made me cringe more than once at the waste of money on an Ivy League education.
Chloe Does Yale is decently written when one considers the author is only twenty-one. I'll be interested to see if she can polish her skills with another book that isn't quite so autobiographical. There are some funny and highly original sections, but it's difficult not to compare this book to "Sex and the City" (both the book and the show) and find that it comes up short. Next time, Krinsky would do well to find a unique subject that doesn't have quite so many loyal fans. If you enjoy reading about college life in all its glory, Chloe Does Yale is a pleasant way to pass the time.