The Nature of Jade

In The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti, Jade DaLuna struggles with her anxiety disorder, her dysfunctional family and her senior year filled with Advanced classes. Her dad wants things his way, her mother seems to be reliving high school by attending all dances and events and her younger brother would just like to read Nania books all day.

The only calming influence in her life is the webcam at the zoo where Jade can watch the elephants all night long if she wants. One night she spots a young man in red jacket with a toddler also watching the elephants. The red jacket returns each evening sometimes with the toddler, sometimes by himself. Jade becomes obsessed with meeting him. Is the baby his? How old is he? Is he married? Jade decides to volunteer with the elephants in the zoo hoping to meet the boy. Finally they meet and Sebastian is everything that Jade expected him to be and more. However, Sebastian has a secret that will cause problems for Jade and himself and their relationship. Jade must confront the reality that Sebastian has a past.

This is a very gentle romance. The story is told from Jade’s perspective as she analyzes the world. Her analysis usually compares humans to animals, more specifically the elephants she works with. There is a great cast of characters from Damian the elephant keeper to Delores the zoo ticket taker to Tess Sebastian’s grandmother to Oliver Jade’s 10-year-old brother. I really enjoyed reading this book. In fact, I couldn’t put it down on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to plant some flowers around my yard, but all that had to wait until I had finished this fantastic book!