The Jade Notebook

January 15, 2012
In this third in a series of novels focusing on Zeeta and her wanderlust-stricken mother, readers are immersed in the details of a lovingly described coastal town in Mexico and an action-filled mystery surrounding the poaching of ancient sea turtles that make their home there. Zeeta's decision to find her mom a job in Mazunte was no accident. Newly armed with a slew of hints about her father's background following the events of The Ruby Notebook (2010), she is madly hoping that it might be his hometown. It quickly becomes apparent that she's on the right track, and with her boyfriend, Wendell, by her side, she begins to fit together the pieces of the puzzle. Yet each answer uncovered seems to create more questions about her father's complex past. As in previous installments, this latest depends on a variety of coincidences, but Resau's skill in evoking an almost visceral experience of setting firmly anchors the story and allows it to expand leisurely to a satisfying end. Detracting here, however, is the appearance of characters that readers will likely spot as villains long before Zeeta does--disconcerting to those who have come to know the narrator as an astute observer. Fans of the series may quibble with some points, but they won't want to miss what is overall a graceful conclusion to Zeeta's story. (Fiction. 12-18)

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April 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-After 17 years of annual relocations, Zeeta believes she has found her home in the small town of Mazunte, Mexico, where her mother has taken a job managing cabanas nestled between a verdant jungle and a picturesque beach. Adding to her happiness, her boyfriend, Wendell, has taken a job at the local Turtle Center. Zeeta connects with the locals through interviews and with the land through exploration, recording her observations in a jade notebook. When she begins the search for her father, who initiated her move to Mazunte, she quickly becomes entangled in a series of connected mysteries involving a local bruja, or witch, poachers, and the authorities. In eloquent, full-bodied prose, this companion to The Indigo Notebook (2009) and The Ruby Notebook (2010, both Delacorte) tackles familial and romantic relationships, corruption, and ecological issues with veracity and complexity. Secondary characters are well formed and intrinsic to the plot development. The lush descriptions, intermittent action sequences, and sprinkling of fantasy all come together to form an engaging reading experience that will delight teens looking for a more mature story.-Nicole Politi, The Ocean County Library, Toms River, NJ

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