Acclaimed science fiction and fantasy writer Nalo Hopkinson turns her attention to YA fiction with her latest novel. Painting the challenges and angst faced by adolescents with the broad strokes of fantasy, Hopkinson draws on folklore, including that of her Jamaican and Caribbean roots, to create a world where nothing is as it seems.

Scotch has plenty on her mind. The 16-year-old has changed schools to escape intense bullying, she and her best friend have fallen out over a boy, and her parents have become so unbearably overprotective that she is secretly saving enough money to move out with her brother.

On a deeper level, as the Canadian child of a white Jamaican father and a black American mother, Scotch struggles with her identity. As if all that isn’t enough, she suddenly develops a bizarre condition in which black, sticky blemishes appear and spread across her skin. Doctors and specialists are unable to diagnose or treat the marks, and to further complicate matters, Scotch begins to see floating, disembodied, horse-like heads that are visible only to her.

When a strange, shimmering bubble appears before Scotch and her brother, she dares him to touch it. He does, then vanishes as the world is instantly thrown into a state of chaos. A volcano erupts on the Toronto Islands, people disappear, the power is cut, and objects are transformed: a car’s tires morph into cheetah legs, a fountain spews batteries. Meanwhile the black spots continue to spread over Scotch’s body.

The Chaos begins with an authentic portrayal of the daily struggles teens face, extending beyond the usual worries about popularity and boyfriends to examine deeper issues of sexuality, identity, and belonging. Hopkinson does an excellent job entering and validating this realm of confusion that is so encompassing for teens, yet distant and foreign to many adults.

But as Scotch’s world becomes a strange and unrecognizable place, much of this authenticity is lost. Though the story is fantastic and wonderful, too many layers of folklore, metaphor, and imagery cloud the underlying theme of struggling to find one’s place in the world. In the end, the book becomes as chaotic as the world it portrays.