“The Nature of Jade” by Deb Caletti

In many ways, Jade is your typical 17 year-old Senior. Facing post-high school plans she isn’t fully committed to and watching her friends drift away (as they do during this time of life) she finds solace in watching the elephants from a nearby zoo online at night. Jade is also not your typical teen. She suffers from anxiety disorders that paralyze her, to a degree, and keep her from taking charge of her life. By following up on her connection with elephants, her path crosses that of a young man who carries his own surprising burden. Ms. Caletti uses the same accessible writing here as in her other books. The characters are very contemporary and very real. No one is overly perfect nor a full-fledged monster. The characters, including the elephants, are all well developed and have several layers. Choosing to read this directly after finishing “The Secret Life of Bees” I was surprised at the parallels. Both lead characters are very lost internally, and both books begin each chapter with information on their animals of choice. I truly enjoyed this book and have a new appreciation for elephants having read it. The only minor stumbling block for me was a slight “tidying up” of a rather messy moral dilemma. I’m not sure young folk who read this will be as troubled as adults by the eventual choices made by the characters, although all sides of the issue are represented. As one character, Tess, says, life is really more about the grays than the black and whites. This story shows Jade’s growing appreciation of that fact, but also leaves the readers to mull it for themselves. I liked that this book made me smile and that an upbeat ending was found without being overly tidy. An excellent read and strong recommendation for teen readers.