JADED by Ela Lee

4 stars

Jade, was born Ceyda Kayaoğ lu, to a South Korean mom and Turkish dad, has changed her name to her Starbucks handle. At 25, she’s fully integrated into British society, with a posh white boyfriend Kit, a job as a lawyer at a top tier corporate law firm and a cool flat all her own. Her parents, still very much embracing their immigrant status, love both Jade and each other deeply. But all their supportive warmth cannot combat the pressures Jade finds herself under: the token minority at the mostly white and male law firm, herself a workaholic, Kit’s wealthy parents who embrace cultural racism such as throwing a Hong Kong costume party and see Jade as a novelty minority, and Kit himself who finds Jade’s independence her most attractive quality.

After a corporate holiday party at which Jade becomes thoroughly drunk, a male colleague rescues her from the unwanted advances of the firm’s senior partner only to accompany her home as she stumbles and passes out- to acquaintance rape her. Jade slowly gains back memories of the vicious date rape that leaves her internally injured. Her subsequent grief and victimhood turns to rage. In the process, her relationship with Kit erodes, as he simply cannot fathom the idea of her being with another man. Her relationship with her parents come under strain, in that Kit fears being honest with them will send them into grief and even more societal withdrawal. Kit also has to wrestle with how much her allowing herself to become besotted and out of control at the party played a part in the sex afterwards. Not to mention that all along with late night sessions, she’s flirted with the man involved. All the emotional complexities of a sexual victim come into play, along with how an incident can leave long term psychological damage.

Point made, and often uncomfortably so, the characters never really come to life beyond the symbolic plot roles they play. That being said Lee captures the powerful damage caused by misogyny, male sexual predators, racism and classism. It’s hard not to come away from Lee’s novel jaded.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.