Chameleon

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Paloma is a few months shy of turning 18, graduating high school, and moving on with her life when people at her old school have had enough – she's expelled from school and home. Her mother and step-father deposit her in a convent school with a mix of the privileged and orphans. Isolated, rejected, and defiant, Paloma determines that she'll endure the experience no matter what it takes.

At that time however, she hadn't considered the types of nuns she'll meet, the kind of peers she has – and the very real possibility that she'll meet a ghost (and maybe more than one). The nuns are a mix of judgmental and prejudiced against her; and welcoming and encouraging Her peers are largely a different assortment – some seem to be conscientious and studious, spiritual and compassionate, or spiteful and catty; most turn out to be everything they seem not to be. Paloma quickly (and despite herself becomes part of a group and finds that to be both a comfort and a source of distress. The ghost seems to be . . . well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

Paloma's life up to this point hasn't been that easy – there are some dark things in her past, and your idea of what some of those are is constantly evolving and you understand her better and she reveals more about herself. As you learn about her, she learns about her friends and “friends.” There's more going on at the convent than many would guess, and many of those things will be exposed in one way or another before the reader finishes Chameleon.

My wife and kids have been watching a lot of Chopped lately, so you'll have to forgive me for this metaphor: but Chameleon does a good job of using all the ingredients in the basket – paranormal elements (or are they?); complex female characters; even more complex relationships between them; a handful of mysteries; complicated family dynamics; and so on – combines them in some interesting ways, but the end result is a little undercooked. Yeah, it's a stretch, but as I've thought about this book the last few days, that's what kept coming to mind – if Kalo had given this another revision or two to smooth out some of the rough spots, better develop a few scenes, characters and relationships, this could've been much better. It's a good, enjoyable book – but it's not as good as it could have been.

I'm not sure what the point of setting the story in 1973 was – other than it being safely on the other side of PCs, the Internet, etc., I guess. It doesn't hurt or help the story – I just think that for a setting as specific as that, there should be a clear advantage.

It's a touch melodramatic for me with characters that need a little more time in the oven – but it did what it set out to do. Chameleon tells the story of this group of girls in a way that keeps you guessing, on your toes and turning pages. I anticipate the target audience will respond to things I didn't here, but even for those of us a couple of decades past that target, this is an enjoyable read.

Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for this post – thanks Ms. Kalo.