The Jade Rabbit [Kindle Edition]

Mark Matthews (Author)

Book Description

A female infant is abandoned by her birth-mother in a small Chinese village and spends her first ten months in an orphanage. She is adopted and raised in the United States where she becomes a social worker in order to help children in a desolate Detroit neighborhood.

Her nickname is The Jade Rabbit and this is her story.

As director of a shelter for runaway and neglected youth, Janice Zhu Woodward gets pulled into the lives of the lost children of the Detroit streets. Fueled by angry parents, stories of ghosts who haunt the shelter's basement, and her own history of being left by a birth-mother who may have long forgotten her, Janice emulates her adoptive mother and becomes an avid, nearly obsessed marathoner. Training injuries, failed goals, and unexpected trauma test her will and take her near her breaking point. When a mysterious girl with dreadlocks is abandoned at the shelter's front door, Janice becomes her surrogate mother and risks everything to save her. Only a miraculous, unforgettable run through the streets of Detroit can save them both.

** Second Edition - Newly Edited - December 2011 **

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the best fictional books I have read in a long time." ~Sara Wyen, Words To Run By

"I found myself wanting to know what would happen next and how each character would deal with the challenges presented to them. I read it in less than a week." ~ M. Lommer, Families With Children From China, N. California

"A unique view of adoption and adoption related grief, loss, and gain, a unique view inside the life of one fictitious girl who I wanted to cheer for across the finish line." ~Kelly Raudenbash, My Overthinking adoption blog

"I have really really enjoyed reading this story and highly recommend it...  VERY entertaining!"  ~Janae Jacobs, "The Hungry Runner Girl"

"Captured the delicate balance between the dark forces of everyday life and the hope that keeps most of us going" ~ Peter Rosch, author of My Dead Friend Sarah

About the Author

Mark Matthews is a therapist who has worked in the behavioral health field for nearly 20 years. His first novel, STRAY, is based on experiences working in a treatment center with an animal shelter right next door within barking distance. His second novel, The Jade Rabbit, is the story of a Chinese adoptee who runs marathons to cope with her history of trauma and her struggles to save youth in a Detroit area runaway shelter. The author is an avid runner and has completed 12 marathons, including 5 Detroit Free Press Marathons, the 2010 Boston Marathon, and is training to run the Ann Arbor Marathon and New York City Marathon in 2012. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, a licensed professional counselor, and lives near Detroit with his wife and 2 daughters. The author and his family have a personal interest in Chinese adoption and donate monthly to the Half The Sky Foundation. For information, please visit halfthesky.org/

Product Details

• File Size: 555 KB
• Print Length: 258 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005IQM8J2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,515 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a must-read i'm fortunate to have found May 23, 2012

By Peter Rosch

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

"We regret to report that the large majority of the population finds the howl of a universe in pain to be wonderful background noise while shopping, golfing, and watching football..."

In recent memory I've not read a book that captured the delicate balance between the dark forces of everyday life and the hope that keeps most of us going. Hope might not be the right word. I find it far easier to review a novel when it is seriously flawed, and extremely difficult to shower it with praise when it deserves it, as does The Jade Rabbit. I had zero expectations going into this story. It was a book I'd not have found on my own, and I consider myself extremely lucky to have had it put in front of me by whatever cosmic forces it took.

In my own efforts to depict the fragile zeitgeist of mankind, I find myself often relying on the absurd, or at least the quasi-unbelievable, to build the story around. Mark Matthews has left me envious, because in capturing the same he has told a completely realistic and beautifully crafted tale that exposes the best and worst in us all. The many underlying themes are woven together expertly, and as I continued my own mental marathon with Janice I couldn't help but wonder if the author himself had experienced all of this firsthand.

There will be some who pass on this book, and that's fine-it may very well not be for everyone. But I do hope that readers will find it when they need it, even if, like me, they didn't realize how desperately they did.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed and Recommended! May 12, 2012

By JSV

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

You can feel the depth of emotions that Janice feels as an adopted Chinese orphan. Chinese baby girls are often abandoned by their mothers, especially in rural areas, as they are considered to be more liabilities than assets in their families where boys are more desired. As an adult, Janice has become a social worker, in her job she tries to enact change in a very depressed area of Detroit working at a shelter where minority runaways are at great risk of repeating the cycle of poverty or falling into crime or drug addiction. Janice's adopted mother is an avid marathon runner and Janice takes up running as an avocation. This book is her story and how running helps her deal with all of the issues facing her, almost like a form of psychotherapy. A real and vivid portrayal of a young woman's life, her fears, her goals, her desires.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Absolutley Beautiful Book November 30, 2011

By Danica Page

Format:Paperback

This was a book that I never naturally would have picked up to read had I not been asked to review. And I would have been seriously deprived had I not done so. This book was so good.

This book was one that blurred the lines of fantasy and reality. It caused me to feel, to think, to ponder, and to dream. This book left an imprint on me. There are some books that after reading, you are forever changed--this was one of those books for me. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this.

Mark Matthew's writing style was beautiful and lyrical. I loved how he wrote this story. I loved his characters and the plot line.
This novel opened my eyes and allowed me to explore a world very different than my own. This book caused me to think about myself and my own life, any book that can do that is a great book.

This book follows the story of Janice, who works at Moonlight, a shelter for runaways. Janice is a Chinese woman who was adopted into an American family married to an African-American man named Randall. I loved both Randall and Janice.

This novel represented beliefs that on the surface were very different than my own; however, it also paralleled my own beliefs so clearly at the same time. That was partly what was so incredible about this book.

Definitely worth buying and reading--this novel comes highly recommended.

More About the Author

Mark Matthews is a therapist who has worked in the behavioral health field for nearly 20 years, but has been writing for much longer. His first novel, STRAY, is based on experiences working in a treatment center with an animal shelter right next door within barking distance. His second novel, The Jade Rabbit, is the story of a Chinese adoptee who runs marathons to cope with her history of trauma and her struggles to save youth in a Detroit area runaway shelter. Both novels have received excellent reviews. The author is an avid runner and has completed 13 marathons, including the 2010 Boston Marathon. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, a licensed professional counselor, and lives near Detroit with his wife and 2 daughters.

Look for this third novel, "On The Lips Of All Children", to be released in 2013.