Amber Salpone believes in chocolate and not a lot else. Chocolate has been a reliable friend in an otherwise frightening world. Amber's childhood has left her with trust and commitment issues and a tendency to avoid conflict and love wherever possible.
She categorises the people she meets as types of chocolate and goes to the supermarket to sniff chocolate (yes, really) when stressed.
Amber is a sympathetic character but she's not pathetic. I loved the fact that she seems to have a healthy body image and doesn't angst over her size (much) and that she is successful at work.
It's just in her personal life where Amber all goes to pot. When she sleeps with her best friend and famous lothario Greg Walterson, she goes into meltdown. They manage a relationship (which they keep secret from their two mutual friends), but Amber is terrified by the intimacy.
Added to this, her other best friend - Jen - is being utterly horrible and her family still has the power to disconcert her.
Amber's past reaction to emotional problems has been to do a chocolate run - to another city, but this time she tries to face it all.
As Amber is in denial about relationships, she misses some obvious cues and doesn't always act very rationally. However, it is testament to Koomson's writing that this comes across as realistic rather than infuriating.
The Chocolate Run is a character-driven book and very focused on emotions and Amber's past (and her thoughts about the past). Not a huge amount happens and at times I found myself wanting to skip ahead, but it is well-written and warm, so perhaps I just wasn't entirely in the right mood.
Rating: 4/5
Like this? Try: The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney
