Review of Chloe by Design: Intern Ambition

Chloe by Design: Intern Ambition

by Margaret Gurevich

Illustrated by Brooke Hagel

As a reward for winning the Teen Design Diva reality TV show, teenager Chloe Montgomery earns a spot as an intern with fashion guru Stephen Meyers, bringing her closer to her goal of designing her own clothing line. But life as an intern in the fast-paced fashion district of New York City in the run-up to Fashion Week requires hard work and patience, not just an eye for design. Chloe adjusts to life in New York City quickly, visiting coffee shops with her sketchpad, connecting with friends from the show, and sharing pizza with her fellow intern roommates. However, Madison, another intern at Stephen Meyers, tries to make things difficult by saying Chloe doesn’t deserve her internship because she wasn’t the best designer on the show. Chloe stays positive and impresses head designer Laura with her dedication to detail and her ambition to prove she belongs in the fashion world. Hagel’s full-color illustrations offer stylized sketches of Chloe’s diary descriptions of outfits and gowns, enhancing this slim young adult novel. This visual repetition helps non-fashionistas understand Chloe’s detailed descriptions of her work. Despite the tantalizing images, Chloe and the other characters remain flat and emotionally distant in a plot that ends before building to a climax. This second installation in the series is visually compelling, but offers little for readers to connect with characters.