I so desperately wanted to enjoy this one but try as I might, I didn't care for the writing style. It felt like we didn't spend enough time from Jade's point of view and honestly I'm not even sure what all the other points of view accomplished. It felt difficult to get through this one. I also do not think that the "polyamory" representation was accurate or needed... Despite the author's apparent opinion that this cheating subplot was polyamory, this is just not what polyamory is. It would have been better to just call it what it was or to have been left out all together than to include it with such a poor misrepresentation.

Thanks to NetGalley as always for the ARC of this one in exchange for my honest review.

Read this if you like: LGBTQ representation, found family, coming of age, Toronto settings

This is a coming of age story about a queer Black woman in Toronto dealing with the grief of losing her sister. Jade Brown is a twenty-four-year-old first-generation Jamaican woman. She must find a way to pick up the pieces and discover who she is following the mysterious death of her twin sister. Jade seeks solace in lovers and friends while dealing with her grief.

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.

I wanted to love this book. The writing style was a bit tough to get used to. It's very odd. It's a bit all over the place. There are different points of view added in that have no real need in the story. I enjoyed most of the cast. I love books with found family. I don't think it showcased her grief enough as much as it is the synopsis. You may love this book. I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Dundurn Press for the gifted e-book!

I received an ARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was really looking forward to this one as it's description is one of a queer black woman overcoming grief and finding love, life and family after loss. I wanted to love this one, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

I love the premise behind it, but I felt as if it was a bit all over the place. The chapters seemed to jump from POV and timeline, and I struggled to recall who each person was. I felt the different POVs weren't really necessary as it was meant to be about Jade's experience, but maybe I'm missing something there.

I loved the use of language/accents for the Jamaican characters, though there were a few times I couldn't quite figure out what they were saying - but that's a me problem and not the fault of the author.

I get what the author was going for, and I commend them for doing it, it just wasn't for me.

A beautiful, spiritual slice of life with culture on wonderful display. How grief is discussed and processed is gentle and kind, and the relationships are all so relatable and realistic. It's obvious that this is a story written with love and care.

I honestly don't think I've ever read something so calmly in my life before--it's such a comforting and comfortable read and experiencing Jade's journey--especially her spiritual experience later in the book--by proxy helped me to understand and process my own emotions. This is a story I think many people can benefit from reading to overcome something difficult in their lives; there's just so much good advice and wisdom in here.

Also I love how Turton describes people and outfits, it's just so fun to read and imagine. I love the use of patois as well. I would definitely recommend this book!

This is a coming-of-age story about Jade. Dealing with the grief of the loss of her twin sister, Jade sets about to determine who she is. Jade isn’t sure if she’s bisexual, gay, or just queer. She experiences several different relationships during the book and each relationship brings Jade a step closer to figuring out who she is.

I love the queer black voice Jade presents in this story. Also, the struggle of being a first-generation Jamaican Canadian. While some of the other characters were interesting, the switching between different POVs took away from the story in my opinion. I would have much preferred to read the whole story from Jade’s POV. I think it would’ve been a much more powerful coming-of-age story if it was written solely from Jade’s POV. For this reason, I give this 3 out of 5 stars.

I really enjoyed reading Jade Is a Twisted Green even in spite of the fact that it was hard to like Jade or her circumstances at times. As she battled to figure out who she was and how she fit in to the world after the loss of her twin sister, Jade's journey is heartening and beautiful. I loved the queer representation and the use of Toronto as such an identifiable backdrop.

Turton writes with an earnestness that pulls readers in but can also sometime repel when the tone of writing changes. Jade Is A Twisted Green is a story of searching and grief, of love and family, of doing things in your own time, and accepting the brokenness that now defines your life because of a shattering loss.

Jade is young and the ways in which she approaches life makes that obvious, but it is also real, in that young adults are still out there questioning and questing for their whole self. She makes mistakes, doesn't communicate, is afraid to confront head-on her intimate relationships, which then makes for difficult interactions and reactions.

I loved all the '90s call-backs via music, shows, and individuals. The slang that infuses the dialogue also speaks to the time and youth of these characters, although at times I felt that the slang of right now was also used and that didn't fit the time-frame over which the story took place.

Seeing her grow towards dealing with her grief, accepting her pain, and moving through to the other side where she finally was truthful about what she was feeling was great. Grief is a process, a constant, and thriving parallel to it is a path we all must walk.

Do you ever pick books and find they are not what you expected them to be? I was keen to read this story about Jade, a young black queer woman who was struggling to find herself after the death of her twin sister, Roze. What I found was a story that seemed disjointed, and it used a narrative style that introduced random points of view that did not add substance to the story. This did confound the flow of the book, and because many of the other narrator’s stories did not connect up, it seemed like they were thrown in because Jade had not yet found her voice. This was quite interesting given that Jade was trying to make her mark as a writer – her own voice was not strong enough in her personal life, let alone was her writing explored in any real detail till the end.

I was also disappointed because the book did not really cover the topic of loss, and the impact of a twin sister dying for a young woman who seemed to be in awe of her presence. The Jamaican Patios thrown in was wonderful, and this cultural connection with Jade did bring particular moments to life.

I could see what was being done to illustrate Jade’s curiosity in her sexuality, with her relationships with both men and women however I think there was a fine line that was crossed when setting up the storyline between Jade and Tay after the fact that Jade did cheat on her. The self-discovery journey Jade embarked on happened too late in this book to give it real significance to her coming into her own person, and realising that her direction as a writer was part of her salvation.

I really couldn’t vibe with the writing style of this one. It felt under developed and stilted. I think the author has huge potential but it needs work.

3/5 stars.

Many Thanks to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for providing me with an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
This is a lovely coming of age story about a queer Black woman in Toronto dealing with the grief of losing her sister, which was what initially drew me to the story.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love it, this story lost me several chapters in.
I finished the book with one main
question - were the different points of view necessary? due to the rather excessive points of view to keep up
with, even though this was jade's story, i did not engage with this as much as i would have liked nor did i feel that the plot was executed as well as it could have been. the vision was there, it was screaming at me from between pages. but it just did not match up to what i was
reading. this then meant that my interest in jade's journey decreased pretty quickly.
overall, i found this to be just okay rather than something to rave and write home about. the narrative style did not work for me, which is disappointing from something i was so looking forward to, but i remain hopeful for the future of tanya turton and her work.

I’ll be honest, I was super excited and intrigued to start reading this book but it took me ages to actually get into the story. I went into this story quite blindly with no expectations and was thoroughly confused for majority of the story what with the multiple POV’s and me trying to understand where every POV stood in Jade’s story. The moment I stopped looking for a significant plot I could focus on Jade’s healing and how every single person was connected to her in a way. It also helped that the book was written in such a poetic way. It almost felt like living Jade’s life from the side-lines at some points.

However, for a book about loss it barely talks about Roze, the twin sister that passed away. Another thing that bothered me is that at times Jade even came across as extremely selfish and rude, which is understandable to a *certain* degree when you haven’t fully learned to cope with extreme grief but sometimes it just felt off to me. Lastly, I really struggled with understanding the Patois most of the times as I’ve never come into contact with this language, but it also made the story even more real about their Jamaican heritage still actively living in Canada which to me was beautiful.
So to sum up my feelings about this book: it was insightful and beautifully written, but I don’t think it was for me. I don’t regret reading it though because it gave me an intriguing insight in someone’s life and coming of age.

Thanks Netgalley, Dundurn Press and Tanya Turton for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

How does Jade finally overcome the death of her twin Roze? Multiple people give their perspective in this unusual look at grief and healing. Jade is about to turn 25 but she seems younger. I liked the way Toronto becomes a character and the vivid representation. That said it's a bit challenging to read- and enjoy- in spots. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

Jade is a Twisted Green is a book about Jade's life, self-discovery and growth, and all the people who circle her orbit. It's about grief and about how broad and deep it can be. And it's about healing and the power of friends, family, found family and connection in general. This book also feels like a love letter to the city of Toronto.

I really wanted to love this book. It started off strong and sucked me right into the setting because, who doesn't love a book about the city they've lived in their whole life? There were so many things I enjoyed about this book: the settings, the nineties, the friendships. the queerness. I also loved the theme of the power of travel and solo adventures. There are times when the author's words struck me as so beautiful, compelling and poignant. But there were also many times when the writing really did not work for me. While I loved the setting/time - it sometimes felt like there were just too many references crowbarred into a small space. It kind of affected the flow. And while I loved the flashbacks to the nineties, the whole book had a tricky sense of time that, along with the constantly changing POW, I had trouble following.

Ultimately, I'm glad I had a chance to read this book - there really were some beautiful passages that swept me away (particularly the dialogue) and the cast of characters is great. I'd certainly give the author another try if she releases another novel.

I liked the description of the novel, but I felt it didn’t live up to my expectations of what it was going to be about and the themes that would be explored.

Because of the multiple POV’s in the novel, it was hard for me to connect to any of the characters in any real depth, especially Jade. The novel seems to go back and forth quite a bit to Jade’s grief, her previous relationship to Tay and her past. I understand that the author was trying to show Jade’s complexity of emotions between her present and past, especially after losing Roze. But it was hard for me to keep up with and took me out of the story.

It was a good book and there was great representation in it, I would be very interested to read another from Tanya Theron in the future, because I feel she’s really giving great insight into the black LGBTQ+ community.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of the arc.

Jade has lost her twin sister Roze. Seven years later she is emerging from her grief to try to discover who she is without her other half. A tale of self discovery, exploration and in some ways a coming of age story in that Jade has been stuck in her 17 year old self and needs to find a way to break out of that cycle.

I really enjoyed the way each chapter is told from a different perspective and we get a glimpse into each character's inner life. It did feel a little scattered in parts and the characters' motivations weren't always clear but saying that it is an enjoyable read.

This book would really suit someone who's into fashion, nightlife, a bit of glamour. The outfit descriptions are so fun and detailed. I think it fits very well in the YA category and it's so good to see some bi representation which seems quite rare to come across.

I had to DNF this book around 50% in. The story was hard to follow and I didn’t quite see where the story was going. I agree with the comparison to Honey Girl. I didn’t like the writing style or multiple POVs. I really wanted to like this book based on the premise but I just couldn’t get through it! I did like how the setting of Toronto was incorporated into the story.

Thanks to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley @netgalley and the publisher for providing this bow!

💚Rating: 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

💚 Synopsis: Jade Brown, a twenty-four-year-old Jamaican woman living in Toronto, must find a way to pull herself together and discover who she is after the mysterious death of her twin sister. Dealing with her pain, while trying to navigate life and love.

💚Opinion: I was excited to read this novel, what really grabbed me was the beautiful cover. The book addresses not only grief and loss, but also the experiences of immigrant families. However, much of the story seems to take a different course. I struggled with some of the grammar and writing style. This prevented me from connecting with Jade.

I felt like things were moving too fast. We had multiple points of view on the story and it wasn't just focused on Jade, this caused me conflict as I felt the chapters didn't flow together and disconnected me from reading.

I didn't get as involved as I would have liked nor did I feel like the plot was executed as it could have been. But I still think that the basis of the story is very good and can be improved

It should be noted that I am not closed to reading another work by the author Tanya Turton in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of the arc.

I struggled rating this book, I didn’t like the cheating in this and I felt that Tay was forced into being in a polyamory relationship. The multiple pov took Jade out of the story in which her rediscovering herself was what I connected to.

What a beautiful book. The journey Jade goes on to discover herself as she works through her grief was both entertaining, heartbreaking and encouraging. I was cheering so hard for her. I'd recommend this to fans of Queenie, Ties that Tether, She's Come Undone and The Vanishing Half.

As someone who lives close to Toronto, Ontario I loved how the city was integral and used in this story! Tanya Turton has written an expressive and beautiful novel centering on finding yourself and your purpose after unspeakable loss.
Jade Brown is a mid 20's woman living in Toronto as a first-generation Jamaican Canadian. After the sudden and mysterious death of her twin sister, we follow Jade as she navigates her life after this traumatic grief.
Heartbreaking but also written with such resilience and at times humour, I was captivated by the writing from the start. Very modern, with cultural references and writing style, I am so excited for more works by this author.
Everything felt so authentic and as a reader I felt so connected to Jade and the ups and downs she was going through.
A shorter book I got through it so quickly and only wished I could have savoured the writing and story more!