Product Description

I am not my illness. "Girl with Anxiety," "Trauma of the Week" -- no. I hate stuff like that. Everyone, everyone has their issue. But the one thing my illness did make me realize is how necessary it is to ignore the dangers of living in order to live. And how much trouble you can get into if you can't.

Jade DeLuna is too young to die. She knows this, and yet she can't quite believe it, especially when the terrifying thoughts, loss of breath, and dizzy feelings come. Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, she's trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That's why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and that's where she first sees the boy in the red jacket. A boy who stops to watch the elephants. A boy carrying a baby.

His name is Sebastian, and he is raising his son alone. Jade is drawn into Sebastian's cozy life with his son and his activist grandmother on their Seattle houseboat, and before she knows it, she's in love. With this boy who has lived through harder times than anyone she knows. This boy with a past.

Jade knows the situation is beyond complicated, but she hasn't felt this safe in a long time. She owes it all to Sebastian, her boy with the great heart. Her boy who is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right.

Master storyteller Deb Caletti has once again created characters so real, you will be breathless with anticipation as their riveting story unfolds.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107100 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781416910060
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Seventeen-year-old Jade DeLuna suffers from panic attacks brought on by realizations of her own mortality. In addition to therapy and prescribed medication, she finds relief from her condition by taking care of elephants at a local zoo in Seattle. When she meets Sebastian, a handsome boy with a 15-month-old son, she falls in love with him and becomes immersed in his world. In addition to dealing with her anxiety and keeping her relationship with Sebastian secret, Jade must also come to terms with her parents' deteriorating marriage, her friends drifting apart, and an A.P.-heavy course load. Told from her perspective, the novel contains intense passages about loneliness, death, and human relationships intercut with seemingly factual information about the physical and emotional lives of elephants. Frequent remarks about the similarities between humans and animals often feel redundant, and the plot is more entertaining than Jade's animal anecdotes. Despite this, the novel takes on an interesting perspective that is not often shown in books–that teen parents can form meaningful and loving relationships with their peers.–Marie C. Hansen, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Upon learning that the substance for which she was named is one of the strongest materials ("stronger than steel"), Jade replies, "I don't feel strong." And for good reason: the 18-year-old suffers from panic attacks. Partly to pursue a calming activity and partly to meet the cute boy she has observed on the Seattle's zoo's Webcam, Jade volunteers at the zoo and begins work at the elephant house. In due course, she meets the boy, Sebastian, and they fall in love. But there are problems: Sebastian is a single father, and he has a secret that threatens to destroy Jade's hopes and dreams. Jade's first-person voice seems overly sophisticated, and her story is sometimes needlessly complex--especially when Caletti tries too hard to equate human and animal behavior. On the other hand, the author does a fine job of developing both principal and supporting characters (even the elephants are nicely differentiated), describing their emotions deeply as well as authentically. The love story is also quite captivating. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Deb Caletti¹s first novel for teens was The Queen of Everything, about which Kirkus Reviews raved "Caletti expertly succeeds in capturing the way a smart teen can grasp and skewer her world" and Publishers Weekly announced "[This] marks Caletti as a writer to watch." In addition, it made the cover of the esteemed review journal the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, was nominated for YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults, and was chosen for PSLA's Top Forty of 2003 and the International Reading Association's Young Adult Choices for 2004.

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, a National Book Award finalist, was Deb's second book for teens. It received a starred review in School Library Journal, which called it "A story full of heart, fun, and energy." Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "tender and poetic" and the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books pronounced it "stylish and perceptive."

Deb lives with her family part-time on acreage in Issaquah, a Seattle suburb, and part-time in the city on a houseboat. She steals her best lines from her mother, her kids, and the dog, who doesn't seem to mind. When she is not writing books or reading them, Deb is a painter, a lyricist, and a lecturer. She is currently at work on her next book for teens. You can visit her at www.debcaletti.com.

Customer Reviews

Strong and True
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.

Amazing
"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!

The Nature of Jade
17-year-old Jade DeLuna's life is defined by her anxiety disorder and dysfunctional
family, until she meets a mysterious boy with a baby who seemingly shares her love for the elephants at a nearby zoo. When she discovers that this boy carries a secret from his past, Jade must decide whether to follow her heart or her mind. This novel is a touching look at a teenager suffering from anxiety disorder, and how she empowers herself to move beyond its limitations in order to lead a normal life.
--Reviewed by Jodi Wayne