Review: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless

Author: Liz Czukas
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 3.5 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day

5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market

4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi

3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm

2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)

1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000

Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments.

My Review:

For fans of Breakfast Club, this cute, fluffy contemporary was a feel good read that reminded me of my own experience working as a cashier at a grocery store. Our main character, Chloe, is working the Christmas Eve shift at a grocery store. Her and her fellow high school aged employees are accused of stealing some money and are held after work until the police arrive to question them. The five teens, who don’t know each other at all, bond during their time in “work prison”.

So you can see where the references to Breakfast Club are coming from. I just fell in love with this cute story and the characters and everything that went down. The main character, Chloe was really relatable. She’s new at her school, hasn’t made very many friends and isn’t exactly what you would call outgoing. So she makes lists in her head every day in order to force herself to do stuff. Things on her lists include “learn one new thing about [insert coworker’s name here]”. I loved her way of pushing herself out of her comfort zone.

I used to work at a grocery store back in high school so this book brought back all those memories. Pushing carts through the soggy slush when it was snowing (the store I worked at was in the Chicagoland area so you can imagine how horrible winters were…), checking people’s massive orders out, conversing with my baggers, being sent on break, cleaning random stuff, calling for price checks. Okay, enough reminiscing. But I loved how this book transported me back to that place. And I so wish I could have done some of the stuff these five do after the store closes.

The little romance that was present was super cute. I loved getting to know Tyson. He had such a driven, ambitious, but still outgoing, goofy and fun personality. I also loved watching Chloe make some friends with people she never would have expected to be friends with. I think the whole experience was so good for her.

There is a little bit of a mystery involved. Who stole the money? I figured it out long before the big reveal, but I didn’t mind because that wasn’t really what the story was about. This is a story of finding friendship and even love in unexpected places. The only reason it got 3.5 stars is that it didn’t really stand out to me. There wasn’t anything inherently “wrong” with the book, but it’s probably not something I’ll read again. But if you want something cute and fluffy this is definitely the book for you.

Have you read this one yet? What did you think of the whole Breakfast Club feel? Did you like Chloe? What about the grocery store setting?