A review by kricketa
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
4.0
At the beginning of this book, Jade DeLuna defines herself by her anxiety. Diagnosed with panic disorder, she takes medication and goes to therapy as well as employing her own rituals (cough drops, patron saint candles, tapping doorways) to keep her panic attacks at bay. Constantly open on her computer is the nearby zoo's elephant house webcam; the elephants calm her.
Jade's parents and friends are changing, and Jade spends more and more time in front of her computer, noticing a repeat visitor at the elephant house. A boy in a red jacket comes almost daily, a baby in his backpack. Soon Jade is watching for red jacket boy more than the elephants, but when she finally gets the courage to walk the two blocks to the zoo, he isn't there.
Instead, Jade winds up volunteering in the elephant house, an activity that frees and saves her even more than red jacket boy, whom she eventually meets. By the end of the book, Jade and her readers have almost forgotten about her anxiety.
I loved being in Jade's head- the writing is solid and her thoughts are intriguing. I also loved the Seattle setting for obvious reasons...Caletti spends part of her time on a houseboat and part in Issaquah, not too far from where my parents live.
Jade's parents and friends are changing, and Jade spends more and more time in front of her computer, noticing a repeat visitor at the elephant house. A boy in a red jacket comes almost daily, a baby in his backpack. Soon Jade is watching for red jacket boy more than the elephants, but when she finally gets the courage to walk the two blocks to the zoo, he isn't there.
Instead, Jade winds up volunteering in the elephant house, an activity that frees and saves her even more than red jacket boy, whom she eventually meets. By the end of the book, Jade and her readers have almost forgotten about her anxiety.
I loved being in Jade's head- the writing is solid and her thoughts are intriguing. I also loved the Seattle setting for obvious reasons...Caletti spends part of her time on a houseboat and part in Issaquah, not too far from where my parents live.