📚 Book Review 📚
Title: Jaded
Author: Ela Lee
Publisher: Simon Books
Genre: Literary Fiction
Thank you @simonbooks #simonbooksbuddy for the #gifted copy of Jaded by Ela Lee. This is a debut novel, but you will be asking yourself “how?” because it’s so freaking raw, emotional, captivating and brilliant. This book had my undivided attention from the prologue until I closed the very last page. The character Jade felt so incredibly real she could’ve been your best friend and I just wanted to reach through the pages and give her a big hug.
“Jade isn’t even my real name. Jade began as my Starbucks name. I was an honest person until I realized how easy it was to just say I’m really good, thanks, and you?”
Jade comes from the background of two hard working immigrants in London. Her father is Turkish and her mother is Korean. They had a lot of business failures a long the way, but always wanted the best for Jade. She went off to college to become a lawyer and within the first week met a guy. Fast forward seven years and she’s still with her boyfriend, keeps her parent’s at arms length (because she doesn’t feel like they always understand her world), and now works as a high stakes lawyer which means she spends her days in a man’s world. Though, her company preaches the hiring of women and being diverse both numbers are incredibly low.
One night at a work function where alcohol is heavily pushed she ends up quite drunk and sharing an Uber with a work colleague who she is friendly enough with. That’s the last she remembers. The next morning she wakes up naked and alone. She really doesn’t remember anything, but begins to have flashes and nightmares. She can’t cope. Her best friend helps her to see the truth.
“You were hammered, you couldn’t have consented.”
Her boyfriend, job, and parents just want her to let it go and move on.
“If someone pushed your head underwater, you wouldn’t call it ‘swimming’ would you?”
This book explores many themes really well: cultural identity, sexual assault, racism, misogamy, power dynamics in the workplace, relationships, families. It looks like a lot of themes but they merge together very well.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 The story. The writing. I was so deeply engrossed and moved. Definitely tread lightly if this is a trigger warning, but this story feels healing for a girl. It’s ends very hopeful. Highly, highly recommend!
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