Customer Reviews

The Nature of Jade

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jade doesn't know yet that she wants something more out of life - and that she is about to meet someone that will change her life.

Good student Jade is an overachiever who has developed panic disorder. Sometimes, the medicine she takes makes her antsy at night, so she's taken to watching the online elephant cam from her local zoo. One night, the camera shows her a young boy in a red jacket with a baby boy, and she is inexplicably drawn to them.

Throughout the course of her senior year, Jade finds herself feeling more and more out-of-place with her friends as they discuss their future plans. She's ready for her life to change, but she's not sure how. When she gets a job at the zoo and befriends the elephants and their caretakers, things seem right again.

Then she meets the boy in the red jacket face-to-face. As their relationship grows, secrets are revealed on both sides, and it is that relationship which ultimately gives her the strength to make some extremely difficult choices.

I have never worked with elephants. I never knew a Sebastian. I (thankfully) haven't suffered from panic attacks. But there was something about Jade that mirrored something in me, and that really made me connect with the character.

Deb Caletti's novels are all poignant, well-written, and solid. The Nature of Jade, my favorite of her works, is strong and true. Highly recommended to adults and teens, and placed high on my Best Books of 2007 list.

"Nature of Jade" is an amazing, captivating book. The characters and plot are unique, and the style of writing is fresh. I love the relationship captured between Jade and elephants- it is truly heartwarming. I would highly recommend this book to animal lovers, or to anyone looking for a good read. You won't be dissapointed!

Jade has had a hard time living her life ever since she started getting panic attacks. The only thing that helps her stay calm is watching the elephants at the nearby zoo. She watches them from her bedroom on the webcam the zoo has installed, and that's where she first notices Sebastian. Jade watches for him and the baby he carries every day, curious. But when she meets him face to face months later, Jade begins to fall for him. She doesn't tell her parents, who are too preoccupied avoiding each other to notice her love life. She's afraid of what they might think about Sebastian being a teenage father, but for the first time in her life, she starts living without fear and worry. Things with Sebastian aren't simple or conventional, but they're right. But Sebastian is hiding a big secret, one that forces Jade to really decide what's right and what's wrong, and could threaten ruin everything.

The Nature of Jade is a thoughtful, sweet, and romantic novel with some very unique elements that will pull you right in. Jade is a very engaging and lively narrator that many readers will like immediately. She struggles with her anxiety disorder, but she refuses to let it define her or control who she wants to become. She fights it by finding what she's passionate about--caring for the elephants--and she gets involved. Her family is dysfunctional, but she deals with them the best she can, and her precocious little brother provides lots of comic relief. Sebastian and his little boy can't appear enough in this book. He's everything a girl could wish for in a guy, but he's not perfect either. Their romance is sweet, but not uncomplicated and he and Jade work well together. However, this book's main emphasis is on the importance of family and doing what's right, which Jade struggles with. Her journey has a lot of pain and hardship in it, but also a lot of hope and happiness, and readers will appreciate the fact that Caletti keeps this book realistic. The Nature of Jade is a one of a kind book--incisive, funny, real, and full of emotion.

Cover Comments: The cover shown isn't the original one, but I like this one best. It conveys a lot of emotion, and I think it's just so sweet. I love the smile on the girl's face, and how the sky is a bit cloudy. It's perfect.

After reading "The Nature of Jade" you would definitely find it on the bookshelf of any library. This book has everything a young adult book should have. I do find it a little slow at times, but reflects what a young female mind would feel in these situations. I do a few parents would restrict this book from their child, because Jade, a high school student is dating a slightly older gentleman and Jade does it behind the backs of her parents. At the same time, any parent who does not read this book from cover to cover should not make that judgement. My recommendations for what teens should read this book are:

-Any female high school student

-Honors student (it might help with the fear of moving away from home to college)

-Teens who are dealing with divorce

-Teens dealing with panic attacks or OCD (This would be the first book I hand them)

-A zoo loving teen (this book might inspire them to volunteer for their local zoo.)

-Any teen psychologist

-Teens who are going to a psychologist

Deb Caletti's THE NATURE OF JADE tells of Jade, who has been diagnosed with Panic Disorder and who finds it difficult to remain calm in the face of life's many uncertainties. When she becomes involved with a strange boy who stops by to watch the elephants at the nearby zoo - a boy carrying a baby who is raising his son alone - she finds something new and different to focus on in this vivid story of secrets and recovery.

There's really no other way to put it: this book is amazing.

Let's start with the narrator. Jade is new, fresh, and the perfect representation of a high school girl with a Panic Disorder. Her thoughts are witty and entertaining to read. Deb Caletti did a really brilliant job on writing in her perspective. Every word had me captivated.

Then there's Sebastian. He's mature beyond his years, and Jade's attraction to him is predictable, but still beautiful to read about as you learn more and more about this mysterious character.

Of course, then there's the DeLuna family. From Jade's mom who loves going to school dances and is way too involved, to her father who spends hours working on his mini train station, to her little brother who wants nothing more than to read about Narnia rather than tackle other people in football.

You'll fall in love with the elephants Jade knows as if they were real people, and all the side characters are beautifully developed. The plot was twisty and had you wondering about what would come next. The ending was a little abrupt, but still great.

I think the summary on the back of the book is a little misleading, but still a killer hook. It brought me in, and I honestly couldn't put it down. Please buy this book. It's Deb Caletti at her best.

i'm a fan of calittis books. yes. but this one i dont know, i didnt think it was her at her finest. read it if you like unrealitic things like a boy with a kid who is a hopless romantic at heart. its a good fairy tale, but not for a book about real life. you know.

Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, Jade DeLuna does not know how to cope with the shortness of breath and dizzy feelings, but could this all change when she meets the boy in the red jacket?

Jade,18, is in her senior year of high school when she is diagnosed. She knows nothing good can come out of it and she thinks not even the support of her family can help her through. Not only that, but her other family members have problems of their own.

Like her little brother, Oliver, who loves reading The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set books, but their dad has other plans for him. Dad wants Oliver to love sports, but even though Oliver has tried many times with soccer, baseball, and football, he can't seem to enjoy them. Jade and Oliver both notice their parents' marriage is falling apart, with mom always at PTA meetings and dad locking himself downstairs with his wooden city sculptures.

With all of this, Jade doesn't feel relaxed a bit.

Soon Jade finds an escape from everything, and that escape is the elephants. Not only do the elephants calm her down, they make her feel important and not so tied up in her schoolwork. Jade puts a video cam on the local zoo's elephants cage so she can have the elephants anytime she wants on her computer screen -- but one night she notices on the live video a boy in a red jacket with a toddler. Jade is so intrigued by the young man and the toddler that she volunteers at the zoo's elephant park. One day, while leaving the zoo, she finally meets the young man. The moment he speaks, Jade knows she likes him and she knows she wants to see him again.

Will I ever see the mysterious young man and the toddler again ?

If I do, will it develop into a relationship?

And is the toddler his kid?

These are all questions that Jade asks herself, and if you read this book you will find the interesting answers.

THE NATURE OF JADE by Deb Caletti is a great novel that keeps you attached and interested until the end. Ms. Caletti definitely knows how to write an engaging life story and I totally recommend this book to anyone who loves reading. I give it 5 stars!!!

Reviewed by: Kylie

I have read all of Deb Caletti's other books and have to say this isn't her best. However, The Nature of Jade is still a very nice read. The boy is a little different than most teen books, which adds interest. Personally, I loved where the book is set, Woodland Park Zoo. The relation to the animals is intriquing and thought provoking. I would definatley recomend the book. If you have read Caletti's other books, yu will still love this one.

3.5-4/5

I did quite enjoy this book. I find books where characters have kids or are pregnant really interesting, and I would read more of them if I could find them. And it's especially more rare for it to be the boy that's left with the kid.

The book is about Jade. She has a panic disorder, and she finds that the elephants at the zoo she lives by calm her. She starts working at the zoo with the elephants, and watching them on a webcam at home. And then she sees a boy in a red coat with a little boy visiting the elephants, and she's immediately captured. She knows that he's going to be a part of her life, and she can't stop thinking about him.

She gets close to the boy, Sebastian, and she learns about his kid, Bo, and his grandmother, Tess. And some stuff also goes down in her own family, with her mother and father. And she gets close to her co-workers at the zoo.

I like Jade. She over thinks things, and she freaks out over things. Her panic disorder also causes her to freak out a lot, and I actually liked that. And she's insecure and a bit irrational, and she has her moments of immaturity, but was still smart. She just has some more growing up to do. She's very much her own person, and we get a lot of moments just in her head, which is actually nice, and gave me a good idea of who she is. I'm a bit like her in most of these things, so that might be part of why I like her so much.

I liked Sebastian, too. He's very sweet, and he's also unsure of things and afraid, and even though he has a kid and had troubles with the mother, Tiffany, he's still a bit young and innocent. (Also, he works in a book store. How is that not awesome?)He's good with Bo, and he's good to Jade. And he loves her. Bo is adorable, but not as adorable as I was hoping he'd be.

Her co-workers are fun. Damien and Delores are nice, and I enjoyed the conversation between them all. And her family. I liked her little brother, Oliver. I didn't really like her mother, but I guess she got better at the end of the book. I don't think what she did was good, though, and even though I understand why she did it, I don't think that really forgives it.

And I do like the ending. I understand why she didn't go with him first thing, and she still needed to grow up some. But I would have liked more to the story, like a sequel or something. I want more of Jade and Sebastian and Bo. And to see what happens with Sebastian and Tiffany. Just more, really.

Caletti's writing is very smooth, and has a little bit of a subtle feel to it. I don't want to compare it, but it's a little bit like Sarah Dessen's, only slower. And the story progresses a little slowly. I should like that she doesn't only focus on Jade and Sebastian, but I would have liked more time for just them. More swoon-worthy moments. But instead there are a lot of moments of Jade by herself, and with her family and at school and at work. And it's good that her whole world isn't all about Sebastian, but I still wanted more of him.

So, even with wanting more of Sebastian everything else, I really did like the book. And want a sequel, badly.