About the Book
“The Chameleon is on the loose.” Despite the whispers that sprung up, the Speaker continued, “He’s stealing our masks and assuming the identities of the victims. It is our duty to warn you—do not trust the masks alone.”
In Venesia, your mask is your life. It is your face, your rank, and your identity. Without a mask, you are nothing.
Which makes the Chameleon the most dangerous criminal in the land.
When the Chameleon attacks the talented mask maker Evie, he not only strips away Evie’s mask, destroys her home, and kills her father, but he also brands her face with his own criminal mark that would incriminate her for his wrongdoings should it be discovered. Her only choice is to go into hiding—at the royal palace. But as she creates a new identity—and plans to exact revenge—Evie soon learns that masks hide more than just faces . . .
I heard several people say this book was worth reading before I ever saw the cover, and when I finally opened the pages, I was not disappointed. However, I prefer ending things on a good note, so I'll cover the things I wasn't especially thrilled about first.
Occasionally, the author would tell instead of show, especially when it came to character development. For example, it was stated that a certain character was impatient, but up to that point, I never would've guessed that. Actually, until then I had assumed he was quite patient. When the author did show instead of tell, she did a fantastic job. I just wanted to see more of that.
Some of the author's language bothered me at first. (No, I don't mean vulgar language. This was very clean.) I felt it was pulling me out of the world she had created. But then I realized the language, her word choice, actually fit really well for who her audience probably was (young adult and teen). She used words and phrases they would probably relate to, and so they'd be better able to put themselves into the story.
Now I will go into what I enjoyed about this book. First off, I thought this was a fantastic retelling. It was easy to see the connection to the original fairy tale, but this was completely new. I really enjoyed the plot line. It gave me enough to make guesses about what would happen, but I didn't actually know until I read it.
I also really enjoyed the symbolism in this book. I don't know if the author did it on purpose or if it was just one of those happy accidents, but I had several good discussions about the symbolism found in here. The most obvious one is everyone wearing masks. But the deeper the story goes, the deeper the symbolism goes. It gave me the chance to reflect not only on the types of masks I wear but also how I react to the masks others wear. I'd keep going, but I'm trying hard no give any spoilers.
When the book ended, I was left with a lot of questions. But I'm hoping that the second book of the series, What Is Lost, will help answer most of the questions.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and discussing it with others. I give it a 4 out of 5.
