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The Chaos
An acclaimed fantasy author navigates the world between myth and chaos in this compelling exploration of identity, told with a Caribbean lilt.
Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in—at home she’s the perfect daughter, at school she’s provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can’t be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother—and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she’s ever known—and she knows that the black shadowy entity that’s begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help.
A blend of fantasy and Caribbean folklore, at its heart this tale is about identity and self acceptance—because only by acknowledging her imperfections can Scotch hope to save her brother.
Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in—at home she’s the perfect daughter, at school she’s provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can’t be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother—and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she’s ever known—and she knows that the black shadowy entity that’s begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help.
A blend of fantasy and Caribbean folklore, at its heart this tale is about identity and self acceptance—because only by acknowledging her imperfections can Scotch hope to save her brother.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 17, 2012
23 people are currently reading
2,713 people want to read
About the author
Nalo Hopkinson
142books1,990followersNalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican-born writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
March 18, 2013
“Know Yourself�, says 16 year old Sojourner “Scotch� Smith’s English teacher as though Scotch has not been struggling with the issue of identity all her life. Her father is a white Jamaican, her mother a black Canadian. She thinks of herself as black but her skin tone is so light, she can easily “pass� for something else (not that she wants to but it has been pointed to her by clueless people who think they are helping ). She also deals with the unfair expectations from her traditional father on what he considers to be femininity and how he expects her to be a good girl. At her older school she had been mercilessly slut shamed and bullied by other girls but now that she moved away from all that, she is finally settling down and hoping to be able to experiment more without being shamed for it (although the fear is always there). Or she was until she got into a fight with her best friend over her former boyfriend and those tar-black blemishes started to appear in her skin. Not to mention the pesky floating creatures which keep appearing around her.
That’s when the world suddenly, inexplicably, goes to shit. In London, the Big Ben is blowing giant soap bubbles and chanting dirty seventeenth-century drinking songs. In Canada, a Volcano suddenly appears in the middle of Lake Ontario and covers the sky with its ashes. Scotch’s brother is sucked by a bubble of light and disappears into the phone lines and Scotch herself is slowly becoming something else as the tar-blemishes start to engulf her, as she is chased by her aunt’s not so imaginary dog. As she goes around Ontario in search of her brother � and of a safe place � she encounters all sort of creatures including a Sasquatch and Baba Yaga and her house. All of a sudden the entire world is able to see the madness that everybody carries inside.
From a Spec Fic perspective the book is wonderfully surrealist. It is a Fantasy tale that mixes stories from the Caribbean and Russia and once the story gets going, it is easy to be sucked in by its trippy-a surprise-at-every-corner chaos. I enjoyed this aspect of The Chaos although only to a certain extent as, from a personal point of view, its extreme surrealism was unfortunately a deterrent for a more deeper connection to the story and characters.
Which brings me to its main theme: at its core this is a book of self-identity and discovery. And Scotch’s journey of self-discovery is not only interesting but also incredibly diverse and extremely honest in its approach. She has friends at school that are on a polyamorous relationship, her best friend is gay. And although she obviously loves her boyfriend she also thinks of experimenting and about snogging other people all the time. For a YA book this is a HUGE thing as more often than not, YA � especially Paranormal Romance � tends to be really problematic when it comes to its widespread tendency toward Heteronormativity.
Scotch is also incredibly aware of racism. She is a keen observer of how society treats her brother (who has a much darker skin tone) as well as being constantly on the lookout for hand waving racism. One scene early in the book takes place at a bar and she starts talking to this guy and he loses all points with her when he starts saying idiotic things about her being of mixed race (the “she can pass� comment for example is one of those things). At the same time though, even though she is very race-aware Scotch can still be a homophobe ableist dickhead in the same casual way she calls other people on racism. Even though her best friend is gay, she constantly uses homophobe slurs in internal thoughts and once she lets it slip how she thinks of herself as “normal� because she is not gay. I found this aspect of the novel very compelling: that the fact that someone is AWARE of racism for example doesn’t necessarily translate into being an instant ally to other identities as well.
That said, although I completely 100% agree and appreciate this celebration of diversity and the positive, progressive messages, I did have problems on how those were incorporated into the story. I can’t help but to feel that there was a certain forced didacticism that felt disjointed and disconnected from the overall story. I don’t know, I tend to think that in a scenario where the world seems to be going to shit, where you are in constant danger of death, where your brother is gone to gods know where, you simply wouldn’t have time to consider Issues. It just broke the flow of the story at points and I felt that because of that, the connection between Spec Fic and Contemporary YA was not as seamless as it could have been.
The Chaos is an interesting book but one that I didn’t quite love. It also has the dubious honour of being one of the most surreal books I have ever read. Ultimately, despite agreeing and admiring its thematic premise, I appreciated it more than I truly enjoyed it, if that makes sense. Still: a very good book, different from anything I have read in YA for a while (if ever?).
That’s when the world suddenly, inexplicably, goes to shit. In London, the Big Ben is blowing giant soap bubbles and chanting dirty seventeenth-century drinking songs. In Canada, a Volcano suddenly appears in the middle of Lake Ontario and covers the sky with its ashes. Scotch’s brother is sucked by a bubble of light and disappears into the phone lines and Scotch herself is slowly becoming something else as the tar-blemishes start to engulf her, as she is chased by her aunt’s not so imaginary dog. As she goes around Ontario in search of her brother � and of a safe place � she encounters all sort of creatures including a Sasquatch and Baba Yaga and her house. All of a sudden the entire world is able to see the madness that everybody carries inside.
From a Spec Fic perspective the book is wonderfully surrealist. It is a Fantasy tale that mixes stories from the Caribbean and Russia and once the story gets going, it is easy to be sucked in by its trippy-a surprise-at-every-corner chaos. I enjoyed this aspect of The Chaos although only to a certain extent as, from a personal point of view, its extreme surrealism was unfortunately a deterrent for a more deeper connection to the story and characters.
Which brings me to its main theme: at its core this is a book of self-identity and discovery. And Scotch’s journey of self-discovery is not only interesting but also incredibly diverse and extremely honest in its approach. She has friends at school that are on a polyamorous relationship, her best friend is gay. And although she obviously loves her boyfriend she also thinks of experimenting and about snogging other people all the time. For a YA book this is a HUGE thing as more often than not, YA � especially Paranormal Romance � tends to be really problematic when it comes to its widespread tendency toward Heteronormativity.
Scotch is also incredibly aware of racism. She is a keen observer of how society treats her brother (who has a much darker skin tone) as well as being constantly on the lookout for hand waving racism. One scene early in the book takes place at a bar and she starts talking to this guy and he loses all points with her when he starts saying idiotic things about her being of mixed race (the “she can pass� comment for example is one of those things). At the same time though, even though she is very race-aware Scotch can still be a homophobe ableist dickhead in the same casual way she calls other people on racism. Even though her best friend is gay, she constantly uses homophobe slurs in internal thoughts and once she lets it slip how she thinks of herself as “normal� because she is not gay. I found this aspect of the novel very compelling: that the fact that someone is AWARE of racism for example doesn’t necessarily translate into being an instant ally to other identities as well.
That said, although I completely 100% agree and appreciate this celebration of diversity and the positive, progressive messages, I did have problems on how those were incorporated into the story. I can’t help but to feel that there was a certain forced didacticism that felt disjointed and disconnected from the overall story. I don’t know, I tend to think that in a scenario where the world seems to be going to shit, where you are in constant danger of death, where your brother is gone to gods know where, you simply wouldn’t have time to consider Issues. It just broke the flow of the story at points and I felt that because of that, the connection between Spec Fic and Contemporary YA was not as seamless as it could have been.
The Chaos is an interesting book but one that I didn’t quite love. It also has the dubious honour of being one of the most surreal books I have ever read. Ultimately, despite agreeing and admiring its thematic premise, I appreciated it more than I truly enjoyed it, if that makes sense. Still: a very good book, different from anything I have read in YA for a while (if ever?).
January 2, 2013
I freakingADORED this book. I'm really heartbroken that it's just a touch too mature for my local middle school booktalks.
It starts out as a quite realistic urban Canadian story about a black girl and her dance team drama. Her brother's been in prison for drugs, her parents are superstrict, and she's having serious friend troubles.
And I woulda been fine with it staying that way, to be perfectly honest. Scotch has a strong voice. She's got some serious conflict going on and I was interested in seeing how she was going to start to solve all of her issues. I never really believed in the romance, but I appreciated that the romantic relationship wasn't particularly important and Scotch's ambivalence was refreshing.
Then, while she's illegally at a club, all hell breaks loose. There are hints of it before (she sees invisible-to-everyone-else creatures she calls "horseless headmen" everywhere she goes, and is growing a weird rash in spots all over her body), but when a volcano emerges from a great lake in a night and sasquatchs are walking all over town, you know the shit's hit the fan.
Throwing every paranormal weird phenomena into one book shouldn't work. And I'm sure some people think it doesn't work here. But I loved that it was so out of the box. That if you could think of a paradigm of mythology and/or speculation, it was in here. The fact that the primary cast was made up of queers and people of color and it was set out of amerika was pure gravy, icing, kicked it up a notch, and made me drool.
This book is hot. I kinda don't want to let it out of my sight. And I will be handselling it like a mofo.
It starts out as a quite realistic urban Canadian story about a black girl and her dance team drama. Her brother's been in prison for drugs, her parents are superstrict, and she's having serious friend troubles.
And I woulda been fine with it staying that way, to be perfectly honest. Scotch has a strong voice. She's got some serious conflict going on and I was interested in seeing how she was going to start to solve all of her issues. I never really believed in the romance, but I appreciated that the romantic relationship wasn't particularly important and Scotch's ambivalence was refreshing.
Then, while she's illegally at a club, all hell breaks loose. There are hints of it before (she sees invisible-to-everyone-else creatures she calls "horseless headmen" everywhere she goes, and is growing a weird rash in spots all over her body), but when a volcano emerges from a great lake in a night and sasquatchs are walking all over town, you know the shit's hit the fan.
Throwing every paranormal weird phenomena into one book shouldn't work. And I'm sure some people think it doesn't work here. But I loved that it was so out of the box. That if you could think of a paradigm of mythology and/or speculation, it was in here. The fact that the primary cast was made up of queers and people of color and it was set out of amerika was pure gravy, icing, kicked it up a notch, and made me drool.
This book is hot. I kinda don't want to let it out of my sight. And I will be handselling it like a mofo.
September 17, 2020
3.5 rounded up. This seemed more like a YA book than I was expecting. It combines a dystopian event with a coming of age story for the protagonist, who has to learn to rely on her own resources in the midst of real chaos and learn what really matters. It was a quick and enjoyable read.
April 5, 2016
A finished unsolicited copy was provided by the publisher for review.
Scotch is half Jamacan and half white. And all her life people claim her to be part of every kind of race just because her skin colour is such a light brown. She feels like he never fits in. Her parents are too strict, her best friends Ben and Glory are wrapped up in their own lives and her brother Richard is busy trying to stay out of trouble. One night after her parents go on a trip, Scotch and Richard go to an open-mike bar and try to have fun. Only that’s when a volcano explodes in the middle of Lake Ontario and all hell breaks loose. The Chaos begins.
I could not fathom what the heck was going on after The Chaos started. I really couldn’t believe what I was reading at some points and to think the ending made up for it? No it did not. I was just as lost as in the beginning. It sure was entertaining a nd humorous to read some of the passages but I felt that it didn’t amount to anything.
Guns turning into a street lamp, men and dogs turning into jelly beans with teeth, purple hippos dancing in the street, a house with dinosaur legs that laid eggs!?!?, the weirdness continued! If you want some weird fantastic humorous read, then please take The Chaos and read it! It was midly entertaining minus the sub-par plot. The writing was well done so I gave this book 3 stars out of 5. Plus I love how it’s set in Toronto. Knowing where they were and having Tim Hortons splashed across the page made it cool to read about places I know.
Quotes
“This is all so nuts. On the way over here, while my mom’s car stopped at a red light, I saw a tiny cow with wings. It flew over our car and pooped right on the windshield. Then this little thing that looked like Tinker Bell, only with fangs, flew down, scooped the poop up, and flew around throwing it at people’s heads and laughing an insane little Tinker Bell laugh.”–Glory
“We make the world a crazy place. Maybe some of it is that our crazy isn’t invisible anymore.”–Ben
Scotch is half Jamacan and half white. And all her life people claim her to be part of every kind of race just because her skin colour is such a light brown. She feels like he never fits in. Her parents are too strict, her best friends Ben and Glory are wrapped up in their own lives and her brother Richard is busy trying to stay out of trouble. One night after her parents go on a trip, Scotch and Richard go to an open-mike bar and try to have fun. Only that’s when a volcano explodes in the middle of Lake Ontario and all hell breaks loose. The Chaos begins.
I could not fathom what the heck was going on after The Chaos started. I really couldn’t believe what I was reading at some points and to think the ending made up for it? No it did not. I was just as lost as in the beginning. It sure was entertaining a nd humorous to read some of the passages but I felt that it didn’t amount to anything.
Guns turning into a street lamp, men and dogs turning into jelly beans with teeth, purple hippos dancing in the street, a house with dinosaur legs that laid eggs!?!?, the weirdness continued! If you want some weird fantastic humorous read, then please take The Chaos and read it! It was midly entertaining minus the sub-par plot. The writing was well done so I gave this book 3 stars out of 5. Plus I love how it’s set in Toronto. Knowing where they were and having Tim Hortons splashed across the page made it cool to read about places I know.
Quotes
“This is all so nuts. On the way over here, while my mom’s car stopped at a red light, I saw a tiny cow with wings. It flew over our car and pooped right on the windshield. Then this little thing that looked like Tinker Bell, only with fangs, flew down, scooped the poop up, and flew around throwing it at people’s heads and laughing an insane little Tinker Bell laugh.”–Glory
“We make the world a crazy place. Maybe some of it is that our crazy isn’t invisible anymore.”–Ben
Shelved as 'abandoned'
September 2, 2018Throwing in the towel at 40% in.
Some writers can manage to write a decent YA novel. Others shouldn't even try. Unfortunately, Hopkinson falls into the latter category.
Too much talking about clothes and dating and unimportant (and irrelevant) school drama, and too little talking about real issues.
Once the plot finally starts at around 30% in, I was hoping it would have gotten better, but... no. Scotch stops in the middle of running to look for her missing brother to fix her hair so it would cover a spot on her ear! Never mind that her original hairstyle would have been more practical for running around. She's gotta look her best. Shortly after, she has a conversation regarding her companion's "cool" gold eye lashes. Somehow, I think they have more important thing than appearances to worry about right then.
And then there's all the social issues Hopkins brings up. If an author can manage to talk about heavy issues like racism, homophobia, ableism, etc. and make it seem natural, I'm all for that! But when it feels heavy and shoehorned in (such as stopping a frantic "where's my brother?!" scene to discuss whether some people find other people attractive, regardless of them being in a wheelchair) that ends up being really counter-productive.
I held on through the teen drama heavy beginning hoping that it'd get better once the action started, but I think the action is only making some of the other flaws even more apparent, so I give up.
Some writers can manage to write a decent YA novel. Others shouldn't even try. Unfortunately, Hopkinson falls into the latter category.
Too much talking about clothes and dating and unimportant (and irrelevant) school drama, and too little talking about real issues.
Once the plot finally starts at around 30% in, I was hoping it would have gotten better, but... no. Scotch stops in the middle of running to look for her missing brother to fix her hair so it would cover a spot on her ear! Never mind that her original hairstyle would have been more practical for running around. She's gotta look her best. Shortly after, she has a conversation regarding her companion's "cool" gold eye lashes. Somehow, I think they have more important thing than appearances to worry about right then.
And then there's all the social issues Hopkins brings up. If an author can manage to talk about heavy issues like racism, homophobia, ableism, etc. and make it seem natural, I'm all for that! But when it feels heavy and shoehorned in (such as stopping a frantic "where's my brother?!" scene to discuss whether some people find other people attractive, regardless of them being in a wheelchair) that ends up being really counter-productive.
I held on through the teen drama heavy beginning hoping that it'd get better once the action started, but I think the action is only making some of the other flaws even more apparent, so I give up.
April 2, 2012
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
My Summary: Scotch just wanted to spend the night at a poetry slam with her brother after a long day. But things are never easy for Scotch, whose mixed-race heritage makes her feel like an outsider in every social group. But race is the least of her worries when strange things start to happen: a volcano appears in the Toronto Bay, and her brother disappears. Scotch's world turns to chaos as people around her struggle to figure out what's going on and the world turns into something you'd see in Alice in Wonderland. Now, alone in the midst of all this insanity, Scotch must struggle against the weirdness around her and find her brother.
My Thoughts: This book is like nothing I've ever read before. The closest thing I can compare it to is probably Alice in Wonderland because there are times when you honestly have no idea what to expect next. I loved the use of mythology and folklore weaved into the story - I found myself googling a lot of the stuff after finishing the novel because it was so interesting (on an unrelated note, can you believe 'googling' isn't a word? I thought it was for sure!).
Also, being Canadian and having lived in Toronto for a good chunk of my life, I loved that the story was set there. The author did an amazing job of making the city come to life through her descriptions (even when things started to get really strange). I also really liked the dialogue and the dynamics of the characters - it seemed very natural and age-appropriate, which is pretty rare to find in most young adult novels.
Final Thoughts: I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone looking for something really different from the usual love triangle and vampire / werewolf thing. Check it out!
My Summary: Scotch just wanted to spend the night at a poetry slam with her brother after a long day. But things are never easy for Scotch, whose mixed-race heritage makes her feel like an outsider in every social group. But race is the least of her worries when strange things start to happen: a volcano appears in the Toronto Bay, and her brother disappears. Scotch's world turns to chaos as people around her struggle to figure out what's going on and the world turns into something you'd see in Alice in Wonderland. Now, alone in the midst of all this insanity, Scotch must struggle against the weirdness around her and find her brother.
My Thoughts: This book is like nothing I've ever read before. The closest thing I can compare it to is probably Alice in Wonderland because there are times when you honestly have no idea what to expect next. I loved the use of mythology and folklore weaved into the story - I found myself googling a lot of the stuff after finishing the novel because it was so interesting (on an unrelated note, can you believe 'googling' isn't a word? I thought it was for sure!).
Also, being Canadian and having lived in Toronto for a good chunk of my life, I loved that the story was set there. The author did an amazing job of making the city come to life through her descriptions (even when things started to get really strange). I also really liked the dialogue and the dynamics of the characters - it seemed very natural and age-appropriate, which is pretty rare to find in most young adult novels.
Final Thoughts: I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone looking for something really different from the usual love triangle and vampire / werewolf thing. Check it out!
May 17, 2012
I really hate to have to give a Nalo Hopkinson book only two stars, especially her first young adult novel. I looked forward to it for so long, AND it was political and talked about queers, ableism, and racism. But, it really was only "ok." I couldn't really connect with the main character, the dialogue was stilted and didactic, and, well, it was... chaotic. Eh.
July 30, 2013
Weirdest. Book. Ever. And I have read a lot of books.
February 8, 2019
Boring random silly little dramas all in scratchy suffocating repetitive dialogue.
October 27, 2018
I think the biggest strength of this novel is the direct commentary on how society treats disabled people.
April 28, 2018
3.5 stars
I liked The Chaos. It's trippy and odd in ways that maybe aren't the best choices for a YA novel, and I wouldn't recommend this as introduction to Nalo Hopkinson's writing, but it's also kind of gorgeous and mesmerizing in its weird way. Also, there's a Black dyke who uses a wheelchair, and she's awesome.
I liked The Chaos. It's trippy and odd in ways that maybe aren't the best choices for a YA novel, and I wouldn't recommend this as introduction to Nalo Hopkinson's writing, but it's also kind of gorgeous and mesmerizing in its weird way. Also, there's a Black dyke who uses a wheelchair, and she's awesome.
January 6, 2021
the title says a lot. interesting characters, odd bits and pieces of folklore throughout. The interesting part is that once it is over, maybe it will happen again ...
May 2, 2012
I received this ARC for review from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own.
This is a very bizarre book!
Sixteen year-old Sojourner (nicknamed Scotch after the Scotch Bonnet Jamaican pepper for her red-hot dance moves) is the biracial daughter of a white Jamaican father and African-American mother. People often do not believe that she is “black�, and she feels that her skin is not dark enough and wishes that her contrived Jamaican accent was authentic. She has an older brother, Rich, whose skin colour is darker than her own...the colour she wishes that hers was. Her best friends are Gloria (who later turns out to be lesbian) and Ben, who is gay.
Scotch has broken up with her boyfriend, Tafari, who is close friends with her brother. She doesn’t want Tafari to find out her secret, which is that she has been developing black, sticky patches on her body that appear to be growing. She has tried creams and remedies, but nothing seems to help this bizarre skin condition. She is also afraid that she is losing her mind because she sees what she calls “Horseless Head Men,� little heads with no bodies, which appear to be invisible to everyone else.
Scotch’s parents go away for the weekend, and Rich invites Scotch to come with him to Bar None during spoken word open-mike night so that he can share his poetry. An eerie bubble appears from below the stage and gets larger as it moves across the room. Scotch dares Rich to touch it and, when he does, the world changes forever. A flash like a lightning bolt appears, and a volcano grows in the middle of Lake Ontario. Both the bubble and Rich have disappeared, and there is a large hole in the ground where the stage and bubble used to be. Now, the Horseless Head Men are visible to everyone instead of just Scotch.
Scotch sets out to try to get to find her brother as she makes her way to her Auntie Myriss’s house. She encounters many bizarre things along the way, among them a witch with a flying house named Izbouchka that has two feathered dinosaur legs that believes (the house, that is) it is a bird and even lays eggs. A black blobby mass that smells of asphalt with angry yellow eyes starts to chase Scotch, and she winds up down by the lake where she finds a woman bobbing in the water. Scotch realizes that it is her Auntie Myriss, and she rescues her. Auntie Myriss keeps asking where “Spot� is, her imaginary guard dog. Only Spot is no longer imaginary. It seems that Spot is the black tarry creature that has been chasing Scotch! Auntie Myriss tells Scotch that Spot is a “rolling calf� which can also take on different shapes such as a sweet kitten or a dog. All the while, the black, sticky patches on Scotch’s body are growing.
No one knows why The Chaos occurred, but the world survives although some people, like Scotch, are changed. Scotch always wanted to be “blacker,� and now she has her wish: A real-life tar baby.
Hopkinson is a new-to-me author, and this is her debut novel in the Young Adult genre. I wish that I knew more about Caribbean folklore to understand more of what was happening in the story, in particular the “rolling calf.� I would venture a guess that the witch with the flying house was Baba Yaga, who is portrayed in Russian folklore. There were a couple parts of the book that shocked me with respect to sexuality (no, I am not referring to the homosexuality). There was a comment about Scotch “blowing� the whole basketball team and another about masturbation, which are topics that I do not like to see in books meant for Young Adults. Is this a book that I would feel comfortable letting my teenage daughters read? I wouldn’t, but others may feel differently. I also did not care for the swearing and Scotch’s behaviour, who often deceived her parents. For example, she had what she called “real� clothes (skimpy and revealing) that she stashed away in her backpack to change into as soon as she got to school instead of the “regular� pants and tops that she wore around her conservative parents. The premise of the book was interesting, but I just could not connect with Scotch because I did not particularly like her.
MY RATING: 2 stars!! Meh, it was just "ok."
June 4, 2012
There were many, many things I really liked about The Chaos. I loved how real Scotch's voice was and her interactions with her brother and family rang very true for me. It may be a cliche for the teen girl to change into more conservative, parent-approved clothes before heading home, but it helps establish Scotch's character and family dynamics. The Chaos is certainly an original end-of-the-world scenario in a sea of other YA apocalypses. The distorting, manipulating, oozing rolling calf was a great addition to the story, especially in opposition to the rule-dominated Russian folktale witch character (who shared many characteristics with traditional Western fairy tale witches, like the one in Hansel and Gretel). Some reviewers have complained about the inclusion of the rolling calf as they are unfamiliar with it. I think anyone familiar with fairy tales can figure out what sort of mythological being it is. And if it inspires some young person to look up rolling calf and duppies and Caribbean mythology to learn more then so much the better.
I feel a little ridiculous making the following criticism of a novel called "The Chaos", but nonetheless: the book is a little too chaotic. I really liked the opening parts, especially the characterization of Scotch and the way she thinks about boys. I can't remember ever reading a teen girl POV that struck me as so absolutely authentic, especially in terms of responding to the male gaze. Once the Chaos hits and things start happening - the volcano, various transformations - those authentic reactions seemed to disappear. Everyone, not just the main characters, responded extremely calmly to the situation considering what was happening. It made the stakes seem quite low. People were worrying about last family, but no one was losing their minds over the fact that the the world was absolutely mad. At one point someone suggests that the Chaos is manifesting people's inner inner lives, but this has little resonance in terms of the story as any connections, if they exist, are very hard to decipher. Scotch's journey is very haphazard, and
I love Nalo Hopkinson's Midnight Robber for its mix of Caribbean mythology, amazing characterization, and science fiction and hoped that The Chaos would be similarly engrossing. For me, it wasn't; but I would certainly recommend it to teens who are bored of the zombie apocalypse, interested in strong, active female characters, looking for representations of their culture and experiences, and like creative imaginary worlds.
I feel a little ridiculous making the following criticism of a novel called "The Chaos", but nonetheless: the book is a little too chaotic. I really liked the opening parts, especially the characterization of Scotch and the way she thinks about boys. I can't remember ever reading a teen girl POV that struck me as so absolutely authentic, especially in terms of responding to the male gaze. Once the Chaos hits and things start happening - the volcano, various transformations - those authentic reactions seemed to disappear. Everyone, not just the main characters, responded extremely calmly to the situation considering what was happening. It made the stakes seem quite low. People were worrying about last family, but no one was losing their minds over the fact that the the world was absolutely mad. At one point someone suggests that the Chaos is manifesting people's inner inner lives, but this has little resonance in terms of the story as any connections, if they exist, are very hard to decipher. Scotch's journey is very haphazard, and
I love Nalo Hopkinson's Midnight Robber for its mix of Caribbean mythology, amazing characterization, and science fiction and hoped that The Chaos would be similarly engrossing. For me, it wasn't; but I would certainly recommend it to teens who are bored of the zombie apocalypse, interested in strong, active female characters, looking for representations of their culture and experiences, and like creative imaginary worlds.
February 17, 2017
*Some spoilers below*
Where do I begin with this book honestly... I have never read Nalo Hopkins but I have heard good things about her. When I found this book at my local library, on sale for $0.50 I just couldn't pass it up. I won't say my expectations were high, in fact, they were quite low, but I was still disappointed.
The book is about Scotch. A 16-year-old transfer student going through some difficulties with her school and home life. Suddenly the world is thrown into *dun dun dun* you guessed it! Chaos. Weird creatures are roaming the streets, people evolving, and magic bubbles! It follows Scout as she still deals with drama stuff, copes with her getting covered in a sticky charcoal like thing while being hunted by a creature of the same substance, and just seeing all the weird and random stuff happen
I will say that this book was not afraid to tackle some modern world stuff. Scotch had to leave her old school because people were bullying her for being a "slut"; one of her best friends is gay and the other ends up being a lesbian; her brother was in jail cause his parents turned him over to the police for smoking weed, and Scotch and her brother are both biracial. The characters themselves were very deep and well thought out and they were the only thing I really enjoyed about the book.
But the Chaos itself, the actual catastrophe... What the heck was actually happening?! To start off, it was just so random. I can't think of anything scientific that would have explained what happened. I mean singing clock towers? Bodiless horses? The sticky blotches on Scotch? None of it connect in any way possible. To make it worse the book didn't explain what triggered the Chaos. It just kinda happened, and then it just kinda didn't. That's not satisfying. I want to know what happened. Like what was up with the worm tunnel? That didn't really have a point. And what about the bubble Rich was in? Did he just happen to be in the one Tafari got stuck to? and were there others who had the same thing happen to them? There were just so many random odds and ends like fake Tafari and Izbouchka. If they had offered some sort of explanation the book would have been better.
My last point about this book is the missing promises. In a book description, it says what will be happening in the book if it doesn't then its lying and has broken its promise to the reader. This is what this book did. It talked about how Scotch struggles with her skin tone, how she is out of place because of it. But that was never really shown. The trouble with her last school was because of mean rumors. She is actually quite popular in her new school and no one really talks about her skin tone except for her and one jerk at a bar. That or I read the book wrong and missed some racist undertones but I don't believe so. Also, in the description, it talks about her searching for her brother to rescue him. And while he was missing and Scotch talked about searching for him, it never really happened. Things kept getting in the way and she was never actively searching for him. Plus she knew where he was, he was in the airwaves. It just felt undelivered.
That's really about it. The book was just empty to me. I liked the characters but the plot was lacking. To have a good dystopian book you need some sort of explanation, some concrete to it. This book was just, well chaotic. Nothing made sense and everything was so random. It was unsatisfactory and just left me more confused than when I started it.
Where do I begin with this book honestly... I have never read Nalo Hopkins but I have heard good things about her. When I found this book at my local library, on sale for $0.50 I just couldn't pass it up. I won't say my expectations were high, in fact, they were quite low, but I was still disappointed.
The book is about Scotch. A 16-year-old transfer student going through some difficulties with her school and home life. Suddenly the world is thrown into *dun dun dun* you guessed it! Chaos. Weird creatures are roaming the streets, people evolving, and magic bubbles! It follows Scout as she still deals with drama stuff, copes with her getting covered in a sticky charcoal like thing while being hunted by a creature of the same substance, and just seeing all the weird and random stuff happen
I will say that this book was not afraid to tackle some modern world stuff. Scotch had to leave her old school because people were bullying her for being a "slut"; one of her best friends is gay and the other ends up being a lesbian; her brother was in jail cause his parents turned him over to the police for smoking weed, and Scotch and her brother are both biracial. The characters themselves were very deep and well thought out and they were the only thing I really enjoyed about the book.
But the Chaos itself, the actual catastrophe... What the heck was actually happening?! To start off, it was just so random. I can't think of anything scientific that would have explained what happened. I mean singing clock towers? Bodiless horses? The sticky blotches on Scotch? None of it connect in any way possible. To make it worse the book didn't explain what triggered the Chaos. It just kinda happened, and then it just kinda didn't. That's not satisfying. I want to know what happened. Like what was up with the worm tunnel? That didn't really have a point. And what about the bubble Rich was in? Did he just happen to be in the one Tafari got stuck to? and were there others who had the same thing happen to them? There were just so many random odds and ends like fake Tafari and Izbouchka. If they had offered some sort of explanation the book would have been better.
My last point about this book is the missing promises. In a book description, it says what will be happening in the book if it doesn't then its lying and has broken its promise to the reader. This is what this book did. It talked about how Scotch struggles with her skin tone, how she is out of place because of it. But that was never really shown. The trouble with her last school was because of mean rumors. She is actually quite popular in her new school and no one really talks about her skin tone except for her and one jerk at a bar. That or I read the book wrong and missed some racist undertones but I don't believe so. Also, in the description, it talks about her searching for her brother to rescue him. And while he was missing and Scotch talked about searching for him, it never really happened. Things kept getting in the way and she was never actively searching for him. Plus she knew where he was, he was in the airwaves. It just felt undelivered.
That's really about it. The book was just empty to me. I liked the characters but the plot was lacking. To have a good dystopian book you need some sort of explanation, some concrete to it. This book was just, well chaotic. Nothing made sense and everything was so random. It was unsatisfactory and just left me more confused than when I started it.
October 28, 2019
3.5. Kind of a strange mess, but I liked it.
August 27, 2016
I had a lot of fun with this book. First off, a bit of background: Sojourner 'Scotch' Smith is a regular 17 year old biracial girl living in Toronto; she doesn't quite fit in anywhere, she's fighting with her best friend, and she's desperate to win an upcoming dance battle so she can afford the deposit to move into an apartment with her brother.
Normal issues. For a normal world. Except things aren't exactly normal. Scotch has a thick sticky blackness growing on her in places. And strange monsters visible only to her float around her at the most inopportune times. It only gets weirder from there.
Scotch and her brother Rich, an aspiring rapper-poet with stage fright, head downtown to an open-mic night at a bar. She befriends a truly great character, Punum, in the bathroom at the bar and then her brother is absorbed by a glowing ball, a volcano appears in the middle of Lake Ontario, and trippy things start happening. This is the part where everything got original. It was a truly trippy experience reading this book, mixing multicultural Toronto with Jamaican legends and LSD.
Scotch was a great protagonist. She's a typical teenager - disagreeable, impulsive and occasionally says stupid shit she doesn't mean -, but she's also compassionate, loyal and smart. She's complex and that makes her entirely endearing. I'd read an entire series about her, paranormal or not. The supporting characters are fun and fully characterized as well, each with their own personalities. I particularly liked Punum, an out-spoken Sri Lankan butch lesbian punk in a wheelchair, and the way she challenged Scotch.
I hope this is the future of YA because smart, well-written and diverse is just what I want. 8.6/10
Normal issues. For a normal world. Except things aren't exactly normal. Scotch has a thick sticky blackness growing on her in places. And strange monsters visible only to her float around her at the most inopportune times. It only gets weirder from there.
Scotch and her brother Rich, an aspiring rapper-poet with stage fright, head downtown to an open-mic night at a bar. She befriends a truly great character, Punum, in the bathroom at the bar and then her brother is absorbed by a glowing ball, a volcano appears in the middle of Lake Ontario, and trippy things start happening. This is the part where everything got original. It was a truly trippy experience reading this book, mixing multicultural Toronto with Jamaican legends and LSD.
Scotch was a great protagonist. She's a typical teenager - disagreeable, impulsive and occasionally says stupid shit she doesn't mean -, but she's also compassionate, loyal and smart. She's complex and that makes her entirely endearing. I'd read an entire series about her, paranormal or not. The supporting characters are fun and fully characterized as well, each with their own personalities. I particularly liked Punum, an out-spoken Sri Lankan butch lesbian punk in a wheelchair, and the way she challenged Scotch.
I hope this is the future of YA because smart, well-written and diverse is just what I want. 8.6/10
September 26, 2016
The Chaos was so freaking bizarre! It was definitely a lot weirder than I thought it was going to be, but that certainly isn't a bad thing! For the last few months, Scotch has been plagued with a weird, sticky rash that just seems to keep spreading. She's managed to hide it for now (although her dance uniform will be a whole other issue), but it's becoming harder to hide the fact that she sees odd little creatures flitting around. Then one night, her exboyfriend sees them too, along with a giant bubble. No one could imagine what would come next.
Like I said, The Chaos is weird. So weird. What happens after that bubble appears truly is chaos. It's like a whole bunch of random things just start happening with no rhyme or reason. A volcano shoots up in Toronto, houses start walking and laying eggs, computers turn into street lamps, Scotch has a tar baby, homeless people wake up in houses, etc. It's just so strange, and no one knows what to do about it! Scotch's brother disappeared after touching the bubble so she spends the next day searching for him while avoiding getting eaten by a witch and a giant cat! It's nonstop weirdness and excitement.
I don't even know what to say about The Chaos. If you like weird, semi-apocalyptic books, then definitely check it out! It's so much fun! Also, if you're looking for diverse reads that are authentic, you'll need to read this one! Scotch and her brother are half-Black half-Jamaican, her best friend is gay, and she teams up with a wheelchair bound lesbian to save the day! There's a lot of great stuff shoved into these few pages.
Read more of my reviews at .
Like I said, The Chaos is weird. So weird. What happens after that bubble appears truly is chaos. It's like a whole bunch of random things just start happening with no rhyme or reason. A volcano shoots up in Toronto, houses start walking and laying eggs, computers turn into street lamps, Scotch has a tar baby, homeless people wake up in houses, etc. It's just so strange, and no one knows what to do about it! Scotch's brother disappeared after touching the bubble so she spends the next day searching for him while avoiding getting eaten by a witch and a giant cat! It's nonstop weirdness and excitement.
I don't even know what to say about The Chaos. If you like weird, semi-apocalyptic books, then definitely check it out! It's so much fun! Also, if you're looking for diverse reads that are authentic, you'll need to read this one! Scotch and her brother are half-Black half-Jamaican, her best friend is gay, and she teams up with a wheelchair bound lesbian to save the day! There's a lot of great stuff shoved into these few pages.
Read more of my reviews at .
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August 24, 2013Things I liked about this book:
The realistically diverse cast of characters. Nobody was a token anything. There were multiple characters of color, multiple queer characters, multiple characters with disabilities. Felt like Toronto.
The very, very creative ways in which the city fell apart when the Chaos hit.
Sojourner/Scotch,a strong and capable protagonist.
But:
A few characters felt superfluous, like they were only introduced to make a point. The Thompson Twins, who appeared at the beginning and never showed up again.
I know the Chaos was supposed to be, well, chaotic, but some elements seemed like they needed more explanation than they got.
While I liked Scotch, she sometimes frustrated me.
The realistically diverse cast of characters. Nobody was a token anything. There were multiple characters of color, multiple queer characters, multiple characters with disabilities. Felt like Toronto.
The very, very creative ways in which the city fell apart when the Chaos hit.
Sojourner/Scotch,a strong and capable protagonist.
But:
A few characters felt superfluous, like they were only introduced to make a point. The Thompson Twins, who appeared at the beginning and never showed up again.
I know the Chaos was supposed to be, well, chaotic, but some elements seemed like they needed more explanation than they got.
While I liked Scotch, she sometimes frustrated me.
August 18, 2012
I read this book in an afternoon.
I know people say that this book is too chaotic, but I don't think that it suffers for that. Who else but Nalo Hopkinson would have a rolling calf and Baba Yaga in the same book? And- no spoilers, but let's just say she finds a very neat way to poke a hole in the idea that lighter skin is better.
The only complaint I have at all is that it wasn't long enough, which is why the characterizations of people other than the main character felt a little bit flat and one-dimensional. I could read a whole book about her nutty Aunt Maryss, for example.
I know people say that this book is too chaotic, but I don't think that it suffers for that. Who else but Nalo Hopkinson would have a rolling calf and Baba Yaga in the same book? And- no spoilers, but let's just say she finds a very neat way to poke a hole in the idea that lighter skin is better.
The only complaint I have at all is that it wasn't long enough, which is why the characterizations of people other than the main character felt a little bit flat and one-dimensional. I could read a whole book about her nutty Aunt Maryss, for example.
Read
June 13, 2013I love that this YA novel has a mxd race protagonist, I love that most of her friends are queers of color, I love that the book confronts racism and ableism as a matter of course. The sci fi/fantasy elements are intense; being in this book kinda makes it feel like the world outside is disintegrating - it was pretty emotional for me (also I read the entire thing in one day, practically one sitting). I was surprised at the cheesy ending - it felt like things wrapped up a little too easily. But mostly I loved this and it was a good start to my summer reading series "grrrls of color survive dystopia."
July 10, 2012
Chaos is the name for what's happening, but surreal is what this story ends up being. It is a crazy mash-up of mythologies that often get overlooked. There is everything from Jamaican lore to slavic folktale in this novel. This mash-up effect lends the novel the pizazz it needs to keep the reader engaged.
It is sometimes reminiscent of Clive Barker's horror fiction and at others it reads more like social diatribe. I admire what the author was attempting to do with the social commentary, but it often comes off as rushed or blithely vague.
It is sometimes reminiscent of Clive Barker's horror fiction and at others it reads more like social diatribe. I admire what the author was attempting to do with the social commentary, but it often comes off as rushed or blithely vague.
July 27, 2012
Sometimes when adult writers pen a YA title it works, and other times, well . . . It takes more than just placing your character in the teen age range. There has to be a genuine feel for the teen audience, and sadly, with cookie cutter observations like boys who sleep around are studs, and girls are sluts, Ms. Hopkinson just doesn't get it. One of the few books I DNF - which is a bummer, given the dearth of decent characters of color in YA fantasy, I was really hoping to love this one.
February 7, 2017
I'm so confused about this book, I don't really even know how to appropriately rate it. :( Had high hopes for this one...
July 8, 2013
What happens when a volcano emerges out of Lake Ontario, billowing gray smoke and changing everything on the planet? Nalo Hopkinson vividly imagines a teen world full of adolescent angst and strange new realities. What's particularly lovely about this YA novel is how well it describes Toronto (well, Toronto on LSD, perhaps), and its diverse citizenry.
March 17, 2015
Well that was definitely one of the weirdest books I've read. And sadly the main character is not queer (several secondary characters are). A little underwhelming, especially since I loved Salt Roads. I'll still be picking up more of her adult books, but this wasn't a favourite.
June 22, 2013
The book starts off pretty slow, but, when it picks up, boy does it!
January 28, 2017
This was a very strange and interesting book. Although there were a lot of wacky things going on, I really enjoyed it and loved the different folklore that was present in the story.
April 27, 2023
My Rating:
Writing:5 Stars
Characters: 3 Stars
Plot: 4 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars
My Personal Enjoyment: 4 Stars:
(All Out of 5 Stars)
Total: 4.2
Summary:
Scotch is an ordinary 15-year-old whose biggest issues are strict parents and winning the next local dance competition. But when the chaos comes and takes over the whole world Scotch Mudt navigates her way through this world and survives.
My Review:
This book is weird and I mean it. It is the weirdest thing I have ever read. I say that with love though as I truly loved this book. I never knew what was coming next, whether that be a bigfoot talking to a homeless man, a house with bird legs, or a massive slime. I could never predict what chaos was going to come next. It was a truly unique world and one that made me want to keep coming back to it. The writing in the book was beautiful and really made you feel the chaos unfolding along with our MC and the descriptions made you feel like you were truly there. I loved Scotch. She didn’t feel like a typical Young Adult protagonist who is a perfect sweetheart. She has flaws and they are up in your face. In the beginning, she obsesses over herself, is ableist, and is slightly homophobic. She makes slight remarks that set people off and blames others for her life but all comes to bite her in the but and she learns from it. The best part about Scotch though is she is still not perfect at the end of the story she has changed to do and that is what makes her so rich of a character.
“Okay, they didn’t look like people at all. But way more like a cross between a melty, burning wax candle and the color three, or the ones that tasted like yesterday and whistled like empty brains. It smelled weird in there. Lilac, if lilacs were to be nightmares soaked in regrets.�
I did not like the romance between Scotch and Tafari. It felt flat and needed development. She feels guilty for leaving him but that’s the only feeling that is expressed towards him. I wanted more scenes between them but there were hardly any. I also feel that the intro to the book with the stereotypical high school life was too long in comparison to the rest of the book. It was a whopping 30% of the whole thing! I wanted more chaos, more weird stuff, and fewer missing counts on dances. The chaos was a lot at times and I do warn that although this book is on the shorter end you can not finish it in one sitting. There is so much happening that is out there and odd that you need time to think about what fully just happened.
“Fine. Suit yourself. It’s been real. Well, no, it hasn’t. Nothing’s been real today. But you know what I mean.�
Overall I give The Chaos by Nola Hopkinson a 4.2 out of 5 stars. The creativity and world-building were amazing but the relationships and introduction dragged down my rating.
So who would I recommend The Chaos to? Anyone that wants something unlike anything else they have read. This book isn’t for everyone but for the token few who love the unordinary this book will be a new favorite.
Writing:5 Stars
Characters: 3 Stars
Plot: 4 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars
My Personal Enjoyment: 4 Stars:
(All Out of 5 Stars)
Total: 4.2
Summary:
Scotch is an ordinary 15-year-old whose biggest issues are strict parents and winning the next local dance competition. But when the chaos comes and takes over the whole world Scotch Mudt navigates her way through this world and survives.
My Review:
This book is weird and I mean it. It is the weirdest thing I have ever read. I say that with love though as I truly loved this book. I never knew what was coming next, whether that be a bigfoot talking to a homeless man, a house with bird legs, or a massive slime. I could never predict what chaos was going to come next. It was a truly unique world and one that made me want to keep coming back to it. The writing in the book was beautiful and really made you feel the chaos unfolding along with our MC and the descriptions made you feel like you were truly there. I loved Scotch. She didn’t feel like a typical Young Adult protagonist who is a perfect sweetheart. She has flaws and they are up in your face. In the beginning, she obsesses over herself, is ableist, and is slightly homophobic. She makes slight remarks that set people off and blames others for her life but all comes to bite her in the but and she learns from it. The best part about Scotch though is she is still not perfect at the end of the story she has changed to do and that is what makes her so rich of a character.
“Okay, they didn’t look like people at all. But way more like a cross between a melty, burning wax candle and the color three, or the ones that tasted like yesterday and whistled like empty brains. It smelled weird in there. Lilac, if lilacs were to be nightmares soaked in regrets.�
I did not like the romance between Scotch and Tafari. It felt flat and needed development. She feels guilty for leaving him but that’s the only feeling that is expressed towards him. I wanted more scenes between them but there were hardly any. I also feel that the intro to the book with the stereotypical high school life was too long in comparison to the rest of the book. It was a whopping 30% of the whole thing! I wanted more chaos, more weird stuff, and fewer missing counts on dances. The chaos was a lot at times and I do warn that although this book is on the shorter end you can not finish it in one sitting. There is so much happening that is out there and odd that you need time to think about what fully just happened.
“Fine. Suit yourself. It’s been real. Well, no, it hasn’t. Nothing’s been real today. But you know what I mean.�
Overall I give The Chaos by Nola Hopkinson a 4.2 out of 5 stars. The creativity and world-building were amazing but the relationships and introduction dragged down my rating.
So who would I recommend The Chaos to? Anyone that wants something unlike anything else they have read. This book isn’t for everyone but for the token few who love the unordinary this book will be a new favorite.
Read
June 10, 2012I may add stars later - still trying to decide!
From LJ:
Well, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of writing anything coherent about this one, so have a ŷ synopsis:
Actually, that's kind of helpful because I don't think it's great as descriptions go, though it's easier to criticize than to write one myself. Starting from the top, Scotch (also known as Sojourner, which is such a wonderful name) is hardly the perfect daughter; she may hide things like the clothes she *really* wears at school, and she may have hidden the fact that she was going out with a white guy, but that's not quite 'perfect'. Provocatively sassy is an odd one, but I think the third is just a bit off: I'd read this description, and read Hopkinson discussing it, and expected Scotch to feel more obviously as if she didn't belong. In the book, she gets grief about not looking like her darker brother, but she's very able to deal with it. And she simply doesn't *take* the grief about her Jamaican accent not being right or the like (from some of the kids at school).
Anyway, the Chaos is the name given to all the weird stuff that happens, both in Toronto and around the world. And it's seriously weird, which in a way is all I feel like saying about it - it's Seriously. Weird. If you don't like random surreal things happening for no reason, this is probably not the book for you. I really liked it, but I'm not at all sure that I'd be able to justify it if I were writing a real review of the book. It's a bit too random and there's a bit of heavy metaphorical layer to the randomness that I'm not sure totally works. But this isn't a real review - hurrah!
Anyway, the Chaos is now dealt with! And there's a really interesting YA story there too, though it's not at all as simple as "Teen of Mixed Racial Identity Comes to Terms with her Identity". But the thing about that YA story is that Scotch is a real jerk at times, and her repeated "Oh no, she didn't!" moments got to be a bit annoying. The first one is quite neat though. She's just dealt with a guy in a bar (her brother snuck her in so she could hear him perform his poetry) who's being all flirty until he sees her brother. When Scotch tells the guy it's her brother rather than her boyfriend, he says ALL the awful things about how they can't be related, really, and then goes on to say the most hideously awful thing about how she could even 'pass as white'. She's duly disgusted, but tells him off with (alas, probably practiced) ease. And shortly after, she's talking to a girl, Punum, who's just performed, and assumes it's her first time performing (she's in a wheelchair). Punum calls her on it asking if it's because she hasn't seen "a chick doing spoken word, or a crip doing it?" When Punum says that Scotch can't use 'crip', Scotch says she gets it, because it's 'like me being black. There's names we can call ourselves that other people better not.' The way Scotch understands her own situation perfectly, and has very much missed that people with a disability should get the SAME RESPECT, is really well done. But next page she starts to realise that Punum is gay and thinks "Great. I had a big old dyke stepping to me. Or wheeling to me. As if." ::smacks Scotch::
And then she falls into the trap of thinking she's so awesome for defending Punum (verbally) when Punum has gone out to take on the police who have been beating up a guy in a wheelchair. But right after defending her, she acts in exactly the same way, if down a notch, by assuming that Punum can't possibly make her way across town without Scotch there to hold her hand, despite its being perfectly obvious that Punum is more than able. Furthermore, her thought is that Punum should be 'grateful' to her for the defending, instead of being 'so mean'.
Aaaand then, a short time later, she says the inexcusable thing: about how she'll be the only one (of her threesome of friends) who's 'normal' if another one of the three is gay as well. (Her relationship with Ben, who'd been dating guys for a while, had seemed so lovely, and HE is so lovely, that this comes as even more of a smack in the face.)
There's something slightly odd going on about sexuality and gender already though, and I'm finding it a bit hard to pinpoint. At the start of the book, the threesome has broken up (with Ben staying friends with Scotch) because, she says, Gloria is trying to 'steal' her boyfriend. Actually, her ex-boyfriend. Actually, the ex SHE dumped, quite coldly. (She had some reasons, which have to do with the weird, but still.) But even though Scotch only admits later that she actually dumped the bf, and oh, yes, realises that Glory wasn't interested in him anyway, and she and Ben have both stopped being friends with Glory over it, there's never quite the acknowledgment of how horribly unfair she's been, and how hurtful it must have been to Glory. I found that a bit off, even though Scotch does learn a lot of things, including about her own bad behaviour as she goes on. (I loved Ben's trying to get them to stop fighting, muttering "Two girls fighting over a guy. How original." Also Glory's calling her on the 'trying to steal' line - "Like a boy is a candy bar you carry around in your purse with no will of him own.") There's also a degree of oddness in the whole 'slut' thing. (The book's term, not mine!) There's a little bit of expositional dialogue between Ben and Scotch near the beginning, which is rather awkward in trying to explain the double standard about girls being 'sluts' and boys being 'studs', but Scotch still seems ready to call another girl a slut, given that she was bullied so horribly at her previous school about it (and just because she was bustier than the other girls).
So, I suppose the thing I'd really love to discuss with friends is whether Scotch's awful behaviour in the ableist, homophobic senses is used well enough by the text to justify its being there. Because, honestly, it's quite painful. And I'd also love to know what people make of the final outcome of her whole transformation into the 'Tar Baby' thing. Me, I'm not quite certain I see that as a great resolution to her pre-transformed self. [Adding a spoilerific explanation for this GR write-up, because spoilers are easy to do here:
From LJ:
Well, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of writing anything coherent about this one, so have a ŷ synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in—at home she's the perfect daughter, at school she's provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can't be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother—and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she's ever known—and she knows that the black shadowy entity that's begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help.
A blend of fantasy and Caribbean folklore, at its heart this tale is about identity and self acceptance—because only by acknowledging her imperfections can Scotch hope to save her brother.
Actually, that's kind of helpful because I don't think it's great as descriptions go, though it's easier to criticize than to write one myself. Starting from the top, Scotch (also known as Sojourner, which is such a wonderful name) is hardly the perfect daughter; she may hide things like the clothes she *really* wears at school, and she may have hidden the fact that she was going out with a white guy, but that's not quite 'perfect'. Provocatively sassy is an odd one, but I think the third is just a bit off: I'd read this description, and read Hopkinson discussing it, and expected Scotch to feel more obviously as if she didn't belong. In the book, she gets grief about not looking like her darker brother, but she's very able to deal with it. And she simply doesn't *take* the grief about her Jamaican accent not being right or the like (from some of the kids at school).
Anyway, the Chaos is the name given to all the weird stuff that happens, both in Toronto and around the world. And it's seriously weird, which in a way is all I feel like saying about it - it's Seriously. Weird. If you don't like random surreal things happening for no reason, this is probably not the book for you. I really liked it, but I'm not at all sure that I'd be able to justify it if I were writing a real review of the book. It's a bit too random and there's a bit of heavy metaphorical layer to the randomness that I'm not sure totally works. But this isn't a real review - hurrah!
Anyway, the Chaos is now dealt with! And there's a really interesting YA story there too, though it's not at all as simple as "Teen of Mixed Racial Identity Comes to Terms with her Identity". But the thing about that YA story is that Scotch is a real jerk at times, and her repeated "Oh no, she didn't!" moments got to be a bit annoying. The first one is quite neat though. She's just dealt with a guy in a bar (her brother snuck her in so she could hear him perform his poetry) who's being all flirty until he sees her brother. When Scotch tells the guy it's her brother rather than her boyfriend, he says ALL the awful things about how they can't be related, really, and then goes on to say the most hideously awful thing about how she could even 'pass as white'. She's duly disgusted, but tells him off with (alas, probably practiced) ease. And shortly after, she's talking to a girl, Punum, who's just performed, and assumes it's her first time performing (she's in a wheelchair). Punum calls her on it asking if it's because she hasn't seen "a chick doing spoken word, or a crip doing it?" When Punum says that Scotch can't use 'crip', Scotch says she gets it, because it's 'like me being black. There's names we can call ourselves that other people better not.' The way Scotch understands her own situation perfectly, and has very much missed that people with a disability should get the SAME RESPECT, is really well done. But next page she starts to realise that Punum is gay and thinks "Great. I had a big old dyke stepping to me. Or wheeling to me. As if." ::smacks Scotch::
And then she falls into the trap of thinking she's so awesome for defending Punum (verbally) when Punum has gone out to take on the police who have been beating up a guy in a wheelchair. But right after defending her, she acts in exactly the same way, if down a notch, by assuming that Punum can't possibly make her way across town without Scotch there to hold her hand, despite its being perfectly obvious that Punum is more than able. Furthermore, her thought is that Punum should be 'grateful' to her for the defending, instead of being 'so mean'.
Aaaand then, a short time later, she says the inexcusable thing: about how she'll be the only one (of her threesome of friends) who's 'normal' if another one of the three is gay as well. (Her relationship with Ben, who'd been dating guys for a while, had seemed so lovely, and HE is so lovely, that this comes as even more of a smack in the face.)
There's something slightly odd going on about sexuality and gender already though, and I'm finding it a bit hard to pinpoint. At the start of the book, the threesome has broken up (with Ben staying friends with Scotch) because, she says, Gloria is trying to 'steal' her boyfriend. Actually, her ex-boyfriend. Actually, the ex SHE dumped, quite coldly. (She had some reasons, which have to do with the weird, but still.) But even though Scotch only admits later that she actually dumped the bf, and oh, yes, realises that Glory wasn't interested in him anyway, and she and Ben have both stopped being friends with Glory over it, there's never quite the acknowledgment of how horribly unfair she's been, and how hurtful it must have been to Glory. I found that a bit off, even though Scotch does learn a lot of things, including about her own bad behaviour as she goes on. (I loved Ben's trying to get them to stop fighting, muttering "Two girls fighting over a guy. How original." Also Glory's calling her on the 'trying to steal' line - "Like a boy is a candy bar you carry around in your purse with no will of him own.") There's also a degree of oddness in the whole 'slut' thing. (The book's term, not mine!) There's a little bit of expositional dialogue between Ben and Scotch near the beginning, which is rather awkward in trying to explain the double standard about girls being 'sluts' and boys being 'studs', but Scotch still seems ready to call another girl a slut, given that she was bullied so horribly at her previous school about it (and just because she was bustier than the other girls).
So, I suppose the thing I'd really love to discuss with friends is whether Scotch's awful behaviour in the ableist, homophobic senses is used well enough by the text to justify its being there. Because, honestly, it's quite painful. And I'd also love to know what people make of the final outcome of her whole transformation into the 'Tar Baby' thing. Me, I'm not quite certain I see that as a great resolution to her pre-transformed self. [Adding a spoilerific explanation for this GR write-up, because spoilers are easy to do here:
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