Name: Jade Is a Twisted Green
Rating: 3.8 (5 reviews)
ISBN: 9781459748613

Tanya Turton

Jade Is a Twisted Green follows the coming of age of Jade Brown, a young Black queer woman on the cusp of turning twenty-five. Her becoming story explores Jamaican Canadian identity, love, passion, chosen family, and rediscovering life’s pleasures after loss.

Jade Is a Twisted Green

For readers of “Queenie” and “Honey Girl”, a coming-of-age story about queer Black identity, love, passion, chosen family, and rediscovering life’s pleasures after loss.

Jade Brown, a twenty-four-year-old first-generation Jamaican woman living in Toronto, must find a way to pick up the pieces and discover who she is following the mysterious death of her twin sister.

Grappling with her grief, Jade seeks solace in lovers and friends during an array of hilarious and heartbreaking adventures. As she investigates some of life’s most frustrating paradoxes, she holds tight to old friends and her ex-girlfriend, lifelines between past and present. On the journey to turning twenty-five, she finally sees that she belongs to herself, and goes about the business of reclaiming that self.

Through a series of whirlwind love affairs, parties, and trips abroad, Jade stumbles toward relinquishing the weight of her trauma as she fully comes into her own as a young Black woman and writer.

Angelyn Francis

As a Black girl in Toronto this book sounds and feels so familiar and bathes you in the growing pains of your early 20s. Lovely lives to visit for a while

Ireland Compton

**I received an ARC of this novel through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review**

Jade is a Twisted Green is a twisty-turny narrative of a young woman’s struggle with grief and relationships in the wake of losing her twin sister. 

Turton’s writing is beautiful, and that she lets each character share their perspective on the events leading up to and following Roze’s passing and how intertwined their lives are with Roze and with Jade whom she leaves behind, is what held my attention throughout the book. Sometimes you need that outside perspective to shed light on the protagonist that the protagonist would not think to touch on. 

Not only does the book touch on grief and loss, but also on the experiences of first and second generation immigrant families and Black women in Toronto and Turton really captures the vibrancy and liveliness of Little Jamaica and Toronto more broadly in her writing.

While I think it started off a bit slow, you really grow to understand and love Jade and by the end of the book I was really rooting for her and ultimately thrilled with the growth she has seen throughout it. Overall, the book leaves Jade in such a good place and I’m really satisfied with how Turton ties things off at the end. 

4.5/5 Would recommend!

Caroll-Ann

This is a coming of age story that is so beautifully written. I sympathize with jade so much, not knowing who you are and trying to figure it all out. Not only that but also trying to live with grief and not being able to cope with it at first.
Like I said this story is beautiful, is it life changing? No but still worth a read

kailyn cann

I feel the book showed a great representation of someone struggling and dealing with the grief that can overtake a person when a family member or friend dies.

Jade Is a Twisted Green

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