The Nature of Jade (review)

The Jade of the title is a high-school senior, struggling with an anxiety disorder and with irritation at her static life. She breaks her routine by volunteering at the zoo's elephant compound, drawn at first by a young man she's seen watching the creatures; soon she's enamored of both the elephants and the young man, Sebastian. Sebastian has a toddler, Bo, from a previous relationship; though he initially tells Jade that Bo's mother has died, he eventually reveals that he's actually in hiding from her and her parents, who are seeking custody of the child. In Caletti's careful hands, this isn't just a romance; it's also a playing out of Jade's slow-coming independence, and the romance is a factor affecting her rich and believable family dynamics. Readers will immediately sympathize with Jade's frustration with her mother, who as dance chaperon and eager school volunteer is trying to have the high-school experience she wishes her daughter would have, and with Jade's irritation with her father, who's demanding and emotionally distant. Her relationship with Sebastian credibly becomes her way of bridging the gap to adulthood and the issue on which she finally separates from her parents; this means that her mother's decision, upon discovering the truth, to notify Bo's mother's family about Bo's whereabouts is a metaphoric grab for her daughter even as it's an understandable action to take. Smooth, perceptive writing adds polish to an already compelling story that's sure to draw teens contemplating their own leaps into independence.