Jaded

Book excerpt: Jade has spent her entire life within the confines of the eye-color- obsessed Nirvana commune. She dreams of experiencing freedom but travel to the Outside is forbidden. Besides, she's a dutiful daughter who never breaks the rules. As her seventeenth birthday approaches, however, she realizes just how little she wants to follow the commune rules. She doesn't want to undergo another eye color surgery, or immediately choose a life partner, or follow her parents' life paths of teaching or wine making. In fact, her green eyes suit her just fine, she's never even been on a date, and she's passionate about photography. And yet she's resigned to do as she's told because it's easier for her to close her eyes and follow orders. Her Grandmother Ruby's murder is the catalyst that causes Jade to open her eyes wide for the first time in her life. She's devastated yet determined to find the killer and their motive. With help from her mysterious friend Tyrian, and Peaches, the commune leader's sweet daughter, Jade unearths dark secrets which include her mother's illicit affair, her maternal grandparents' escape from Nirvana, and a plethora of murders. To make matters worse, someone is hell bent on ending Jade's mission for the truth, and that someone is most likely the killer. Jade can't continue conforming to an evil society and yet she fears the Outside is just as corrupt. If she resolves to flee and is caught, the punishment is banishment to the slave cabins...and blinding. Although Jaded is considered a young adult dystopian novel, adults will be able to relate to Jade's plight.