A review by henrymarlene
Jade Is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton

2.0

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 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.

Thanks Netgalley for the gifted ARC.