The Nature of Jade
Deb Caletti
288 pages
Realistic Fiction
The Nature of Jade, a 288-paged book by Deb Caletti, tells the story of Jade DeLuna, a teenager diagnosed with Panic Disorder. She lives in Seattle with her dysfunctional family during her senior year. Strangely, watching the elephants at the zoo via the zoo’s web cam calms her. That’s where she first sees Sebastian Wilder, a 20-year-old with a 15-month-old son named Bo. Jade tries to meet him in real life, and has several failures until one day she sees him again while volunteering at the zoo. She is swept up in his life when they start a relationship. Sebastian tells her nothing about Bo’s absent mother, except that she died of childbirth. Their relationship keeps her from falling apart when things at home begin to get crazy. That is, until Jade finds out that Sebastian is hiding a secret from her about Bo’s mother. It is then that she has to decide between doing the right thing, and doing what feels right to her. I would give this book a 10 because the characters are flawed and are people just like us, and the plot is sad but relevant to real life. What I would change about the story is Mr. DeLuna’s attitude toward his family, especially his son Oliver, whom he forces to play sports.
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