Finding Jade

Daughters of Light #1

by Mary Jennifer Payne

The year is 2030, and climate change is making life on Earth more challenging. Fourteen-year-old Jasmine Guzman is struggling to come to terms with the abduction of her twin sister, Jade, and her mother’s illness. Things go from bad to worse when a series of bizarre occurrences make Jasmine wonder if she’s losing her mind. But, with help from Raphael, a boy at her new school, Jasmine learns she actually has special powers that are putting her life in danger.


Most surprising, she learns that her sister isn’t actually missing … Jasmine just needs to look in the right place: The-Place-in-Between, where the demons dwell.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Canada

216 pages, ebook

Published December 17, 2016

About the author

Mary Jennifer Payne's writing has been published in journals, anthologies, and magazines both in Canada and abroad, and she is the author of several YA graphic novels. Since You've Been Gone is her first YA novel. She teaches with the Toronto District School Board and lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[James Tivendale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hello, Goodreads friends. I received this story in advance of release from Netgalley for an honest review. I would like the thank Mary Jennifer Payne and dundurnpress for this opportunity.
#Daughtersoflight x.

My good friend, Mrs. M J Payne throws us- as lovely readers into Toronto 2030. Dystopian. Very similar to our existence but climate change has made a difference so characters have to wear masks so they do not find themselves deceased as has happened to many individuals since our three favourite seasons have vanished. Welcome to eternal summer. It is hot. Lots of small children died too.

We follow a lovely teenager called Jasmine, or Jazz to her friends (I have never been c00l enough to give people nicknames like that lol).

She attends school one day.. and isn't welcome. This is odd. She only lives around the corner but entrance into the establishment is not allowed for her. Strange. She must then travel miles away to another school.

She ends up in a sort of magic school, full of seers, and females twins who happen to have certain super powers as they are related to Adams first wife. (Don't tell Eve... she is mean) !

The main characters are our storytellers - Jasmine.. we also hear about Mina who is a bitch but I think she may have something to do with how the story progresses after this book. We have Raphael who sounds like a member of the French Revolution, however, is Jazz's main man in letting her know her power as a seer. Which means, telepathy, reading minds, attitude to do damage when a 14-year-old girl should not have that vibe within her. She also fancies the pants of him. He is more than meets the eye.... back off Jazz!!! There is a lot more to Jasmine than can be initially analysed so I (and I hope you fellow readers) can not wait to read the next book of this saga.

The first quarter of this book is similar to our existence. A nice, cool visitation of schools. They even talk about age old things such as Edward Scissor hands... how old it that film in the year 2030? Wow.

Okay, so Jasmine visits this school and thinks it is royally weird. Why are there so many twins? And who is this good looking, black hair flaunting Raphael dude?

This is a mix of dystopian and grim past experience and I think these two avenues mix together well. The current 2030 world. Climate change has fucked us up and it isn't nice.

I do not normally read YA books but I found this stunning. The main story is that we (the author makes us feel part of the gang) are trying to find Jade. Jade is our lovely main first person perspective character Jasmine's twin sister.

We venture, to find the lovely Jade in the Place-In-Between.. which is a sort of Limbo. People who have been upset with their reality live here between life and the underworld in a shadowy despondent existence. The shadow world is London in ages of a dilemma. Wars, plagues, fires ... etc...
1943, 1666, whatever happens, you do not wish to be there.

For some reason, demons persist in the Place-In-Between but are growing more prominent with their powers... I envisage they are from the underworld but are lurking in this stories equivalent of limbo or purgatory; are hating our heroes. They tried to kill our friend Cassandra as a witch, demons took chunks out of our heroes ankles. Demons are after the seers and it is not cool. Good job they have Raphael .. he happens to be more than meets the eye and can help injured people hmmm.

I have said enough. This was my first NetGalley review and I thought it was awesome.

Your friend who is more magical than Jazz. James x
www.youandibooks.wordpress.com xx

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the year 2030 the Earth has undergone many changes due to the changes in the climate, a lot of the world has become uninhabitable and there is much debate on what to do with the refugees. Fourteen year old Jasmine Guzman lives in an habitable area but she is still trying to cope with the abduction of her twin sister when the girls were ten.

Along with the loss of her sister Jasmine's mother is battling Lupus so Jasmine has had to grow up rather quickly. When sent to a new school Jasmine's whole world is turned upside down when she finds out that she is actually a Seer with powers and that her sister is trapped in the Place-in-Between where demons dwell.

Finding Jade is a book that it became rather obvious to not judge books by their covers. Looking at this one I would say the book would be about the abduction of a young girl named Jade but while it sort of falls in that path it veered pretty far away when you add in it's a not to distant dystopian read along with adding in special powers and demons. A rather odd combination but I actually enjoyed that this one went way out on a limb and claimed it's own story to not feel like I was reading something I had before.

Now as far as the dystopian aspect of this book it wasn't really given a whole lot of depth to it but what you do know is this one is taking place only 13-14 years from now and when it's been a constant debate on the global impacts of our climate changing it really is somewhat believable that the world could end up this way. On the other hand with the rest of this story you do learn a bit more about what had happened to Jade and how Jasmine finds out her powers and this whole world of demons and angels she didn't know existed.

Overall, I found this one got off to a sort of slow start for a couple of chapters but once it picked up it became a unique mix of genres that I found really interesting.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....

[Sheila G · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my FULL review of this book on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Dun Durn, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Jasmine has always been different from most kids her age--she was born a twin. She grew up close to her sister until a few years ago when Jade was abducted. Jasmine and her mother have never recovered from the incident, understandably. With no body, or trace of evidence, there was no closure for them.

Life in 2030 was hot, no matter where one lived. After a drastic climate change, much of the world has been changed past the point of inhabitation. The conditions make it difficult for anyone to thrive. Jasmine’s mother, riddled with a debilitating disease, only grew worse when the abduction happened. Jasmine has worked hard ever since to help her mom out in any way possible, alongside her mother’s close friend Lola.

When Jasmine is transferred to a new school, she realizes that something strange is going on. Most of her classmates are made up of twins. Introduced to the world of demons, Jasmine learns that she is a part of a special network of individuals who have access to unusual abilities. There, she meets a boy named Raphael who has a hankering for helping her in the times that matter the most.

Jasmine learns through a series of extraordinary events that her sister is alive, but is stuck in a place called The-Place-in-Between. More sinister than it sounds, Jasmine must quite literally face her demons in order to rescue her long-lost sister from the shadowy realm.

------------------------------------------------

I like it when I go into a book not really knowing what to expect. I like even more when a book takes the reins and leads me down a path that I don’t foresee. Finding Jade had a lot of surprising attributes to it that make it stand out. However, a few of those attributes could ultimately be its downfall, as some are under-developed and without must investigation. Needless to say, I thought this was an interesting take on the paranormal topic of angels and demons. While I didn’t necessarily like parts of the backstory, I appreciated the author’s ingenuity and ability to converge several (seemingly random) paths into one.

Things that I liked:

#1 There is a lot of diversity among the characters. Both Jasmine and Jade are of Chilean descent, and the book is mostly set in Toronto which has a lot of diversity in and of itself.

#2 The concept, while a bit unpolished, was interesting. I did not expect the book to travel in the direction that it headed toward, which made for a surprising read.

#3 I loved the (random) variation of settings, and how they were tied into the plot. The-Place-in-Between, aka a Pergatorish “Hell-like" state where people would become stuck in was original and rather creepy. I felt like I was stepping onto a London street at night knowing that Jack the Ripper was on the loose when reading these scenes.

Things that I didn’t like:

#1 I felt that there were several aspects of this book that were left without much explanation. Granted, this is the first book in a series, but I found that it would have been more beneficial to have more information on specific topics such as Lola’s Ibeja doll, the Seers themselves and what all they are actually capable of, and more on Raphael (but I’m certain more is coming on him in Solomon's Ring.

The Seers were never painted into a full picture for me.

Seers are genetically connected to this chick called Lilith, who was apparently Adam’s wife before Eve. She’s gotten a bad rap over the centuries because she held supernatural powers and led armies into battle, refusing to be subservient to men. Good for her, right? But because she used her girl power without shame and men could not control her, they made up nasty rumours about her. Rumours that she was a demon, a vampire, and an evil whore. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: not a lot has changed between guys and girls over the years. Kind of depressing. Instead of spreading this stuff on social media, guys back in the day wrote trashy rumours on scrolls and cave walls. Nice.

While we do get some background information, (with some jabs at the male gender - another thing I didn’t care for) I couldn’t seem to grasp the entirety of their capabilities and entire purpose.

#2 I found Jasmine’s reaction to finding her sister so...odd. A lot of time was spent in the first portion of this book with her pondering her sister’s disappearance. Yet, when she discovered she was alive and successfully rescued her from The-Place-in-Between, she almost seemed indifferent. No, I don’t expect her to be jumping up and down from that moment on. I just found her to have a lack of engagement with her sister’s return. It was weird.

#3 While the setting clearly takes place in Toronto, I had a hard time envisioning where the characters were throughout. The proximity of the schools, what they were like, the subway scenes, and The-Place-in-Between settings were only briefly touched upon. Especially seeing how this takes place in a dystopian future, I was looking for more detail on the different locations, as well as the drastic variances between them and the eras in which the characters travel.

Overall, I thought this was a unique read. While I had some issues with underdevelopment of some aspects of the plot, I thought the characters were decently-developed and played into the plot well. I’m curious to see where they will end up in Solomon's Ring.

Vulgarity: Minimal.
Sexual content: Kissing only.
Violence: Moderate - there were some scenes particularly in The-Place-in-Between that were grotesque, including decapitation of some characters.

My Rating: ★★★

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[Nadja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested this book a while ago via Netgalley but never really found the time to read it, although I kept looking into it constantly reading a couple of pages.

So I guess I have to double thank Dundurn here and apologize for my delayed reviews to all my readers and goodreads followers who have seen this on my shelf for at least 3 months now.


So finding Jade is for me difficult to place in a genre, it has a bit of distopian elements but also fantasy, yet again certain elements are so real. One thing I can say for sure is that it is a YA novel.


So we are having the year 2030, climate change has made it difficult to live on our beautiful planet. Teenage girl Jasmine Guzman is living with her mother who suffers from Lupus. But there is more to the story, because a couple of years back Jasmines sister, Jade, got abducted. While no one in Jasmines surroundings believed in Jade being still alive, Jasmine didn't want to give up on her sister.

After Jasmine was send to another school she suddenly noticed all those strange things happening and at some point she finds herself in the place in-between. She gets to know that she is a seer and how powerful she and Jade are together. She learns that she can save her sister and the adventure starts.

There are angels and demons and can I say it again a place in-between.


So this book is a really fast read, at the beginning I wasn't sure what to think about it and I still wasn't at the end. I really enjoyed the aspect of climate change and criticism. I also enjoyed the part where they try to rescue Jade (not gonna tell you how that ended) but I definitely needed some more explanation to all that Seer, Demon and Angel part and where all that is supposed to go. But thankfully this is a series and I might find out in the next book.


As this book is one of those that I somehow like but somehow also do not know what to say about I rate it with 3/3.25 stars out of 5 stars.


Thanks again to Dundurn and Mary Jennifer Payne for providing me with an egalley of this book.

[Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

It’s difficult to write a review for this book, because the book itself doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Is it dystopian? Yes. Set in the near future (2030) where climate change has adversely affected the world. Is it paranormal? Yes. Seer twins attending a magical school. Is it supernatural? Yes. Angels, Demons, and Limbo. Is it time travel? Yes. London during WWII and the Black Death. The book references an Ibeji doll, but doesn’t bother to mention that the story itself is based on the Ibeji…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibeji. There’s a sacrifice at the end that comes completely out of left field and, to me, seemed like a Deus Ex Machina. The categories I referenced above are ones I enjoy reading, but they don’t work when haphazardly lumped together. This is a 2.5-star book, but I rounded it to 3-stars because (1) it was an easy read and (2) the editorial errors weren’t bad (I assume they’ll be corrected prior to publication) and (3) it can be read as a standalone, even though it ends on a mild cliffhanger. I won’t be reading any more books in the series.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was...well...different. Like one of those where I think I liked it, but I'm not really sure.

Finding Jade takes place in the not so distant future. The world as we know it has succumbed to major climate change making most of the world unlivable. Jasmine and her mother live in Toronto, one of the only major cities to be habitable. But aside from the ever changing climate, Jasmine is also still coming to terms with her twin sisters disappearance. Then Jasmine starts a new school, one where she knows no one, and suddenly weird things start to happen - like boarding a subway in 2030 Toronto and traveling to World War 2 London.

This book focuses on the importance of twins and Seers. There's a way coming and the Seers will be the ones to save everyone. Problem is, Jasmine doesn't know she's a seer and doesn't take that information easily. But then she finds out her sister is alive and being kept from her in the In-Between, of sorts. Armed with another set of twins and mysterious boy, Jasmine ventures into the Place In-Between to rescue her sister, no matter the cost.

I liked what the author was going for. It's a bunch of tropes that have been used, but not quite in this way. Payne was trying something new. But somewhere along the way, it just became a little too much. There was just too much going on with so much information being thrown at us. I didn't really get a chance to connect with the characters the way that I wanted. Based on the way it ended, I assume it's going to be a series and I would be interested in seeing where the author takes it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun YA fantasy about twins with powers called Seers. It's a short book so some things resolve pretty quickly/conveniently. (e.g. Jasmine doesn't know she's a Seer, is sent to fight demons without any prior training, and somehow is able to defeat one at the first try. Because powers.) The mythology around Seers/Protectors/demons is kept pretty simple, which I liked. I'm not super clear on exactly what the demons want and I'm a bit muddled on the powers Seers have (e.g. Raphael says they're stronger and faster than average but Jasmine seems pretty average physically) but I figure the next books will cover that.

Finally, the climate change thing, especially vis a vis terrorrism and refugees and borders, is interesting because it's relevant, but doesn't seem to fit in at all with the whole Seer/demon/Place-in-Between aspect that actually drove the plot. Will the Seers develop the power to reverse climate change? Will it be revealed that those who want to enforce borders at the expense of refugee lives are actually possessed by demons? Or is the climate change bit just a part of their reality and has nothing to do with Seer powers? That's how it seems in this book, so we'll have to wait for future titles. There's a time traveling element to the place-in-between, so if the climate change in Jasmine's real world was the main focus, it would have made sense for the problems she encounters in the in-between to be related to environmental issues (so both plot threads are connected), but the connection if any was just a bit too subtle.

Still, a quick and fun read. I'd recommend for younger readers / pre-teens.

[Stephanie]

*** This book was provided for an ARC from Netgalley ***
Let me start off by saying that sci-fi is not my favorite genre of book to read. I however choose this book for the story line rather than the setting of the time. I found the author did a great job filling in the back story of the book, telling you what had happened both in the setting and story line. The character are well devolped and very well thought out.
Losing her sister, her twin sister was not something Jasmine thought would ever happen to her. Its been 4 years now since she lost her sister and her mother is dying. Her life is in constant turmoil and now on top of everything else she has to attend a new school. What she doesn't know at the time is that this new school will help her bring her sister back and save her mom. I loved the story both because it ends on a happy note and the bad guys are defeated but also its left open for more books. The author does such a wonderful job describing what is happening you can imagine everything as its taking place. I look forward to more from this author.!

[Alycia Canfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I got this book for a review I loved it. It brings you to the year 2030. Things are pretty like they are now. however they wear a mask because of the weather change or climate. Lots of kids die in this book because the weather. Shes goes to some kind of magical school. Although this is a YA book Adults can enjoy this well written book too!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

I'm torn between giving this 4 or 5 stars because it was SO good! (Goodreads seriously needs to allow us to chose half star ratings!) I got book 2 through Netgalley and thought it would be ok on its own but after reading a few pages I knew that I was going to like it so I went and brought this one. Turns out that it was on my 'hell yes' book list to read, and it definitely did not disappoint! I was captured with the story the whole way through. It's the year 2030. Two twin girls are seperated when they were pre-teens. Jade was captured by a demon while Jasmine ran away looking for help. Jade was never seen again. Until 4 years later, she is discovered in the most unlikely place of all, in a type of Limbo world called 'The-in-between' a place where the people are already dead and demons walk the streets. The story goes into how the two girls get reunited and what happens along the way. We also learn that the girls are special, they are Seers. A unique female twin type of power to see things in people's minds and to see demons. This is an excellent time traveling story. I am definitely gonna be adding this to my re-read shelf. Off to read book 2 now!

[Amy Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars may be too generous, I don't know.
I wouldn't call this book trash... but it was pretty bad. It didn't make very much sense in any regard, let alone its actual writing. I wasn't a big fan of the plot or the characters, and it was honestly extremely forgettable.
I would say the most interesting part of this book is just its setting/world. It reminded me of the "my morning routine in 2050" youtube video and I found the climate discussion very intriguing. But it didn't make up for the rest of the book, and it wasn't really all that relevant to the story. I'm definitely not continuing in the series, and I'll probably forget it within a month.

[Bookish Voodoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
I received this book years ago on NetGalley. A little late getting to it... my bad. I found this book to be a fun fast read. The story follows Jasmine on her discovery of who she is and what happened to her sister years ago. Along with explaining what happened to their world and why everything is falling apart even more than it already was.
The dystopian-ish world building between 2030 and the place in-between was good. I was able to visualize the scenes and follow along with Jasmine's struggles and missions. I'm excited to see where the story goes and I really want Raphael and Jazz to get together - just saying it better happen!

[CR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little story was very fast paced. I do wished that the snarkyness of the title was a little less than what it was but it was still a great story. The writing itself was fairly simple and the story was pretty straight forward. This dystopian story with elements of science fiction and fantasy was one combo I won't soon forget. The characters were all wonderful and I am so glad that I have the other two books!

[Olivia Bériault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering the length of this book (215 pages) I find it hard to believe that the author didn’t add more details. Whether that was for some characters or plots. The story just felt incomplete and yes, this is the first book of a series but I still think there were alot of unanswered questions that would’ve made sense to talk / figure out in this book. Not to mention, the story was definitely not what I thought it was going to be. However, I was entertained for the most part.

[Aurora Batty · Rating 3 out of 5]

In short if was good but it wasn't without its issues. You might find yourself hating the main character but loving the storyline itself, that's how I felt more than half the time I was reading this.
You can find a full review on my blog here:

https://aurorabattysbooks.wordpress.c...

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book (personally) was very confusing and her other books are much better

[Alain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story and also I felt like a mix of some other books: Neverwhere, Twilight, Divergent, The time machine and others!

[Melissa Menten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story-the idea of a lost twin and a sister bent on finding her is interesting and so is the idea that climate change might have such a dire effect on the world. The plot was just so-so (certain female twins have magic/psychic power to fight demons, who for some reason are finding ways to break into our world), and the climate change element was a little heavy-handed. Jasmine and her missing twin possess special power because they are descendants of Lilith, the "other" wife of Adam, who (at least in this version) was a much maligned strong female that men couldn't handle, hence they lied about her true nature. Of course at the beginning, Jasmine thinks she's just an ordinary girl and has no clue about these powers. While she questions and is skeptical of the people trying to help her, I think she comes to accept the revelations too quickly and it seems very premature to be sent on a mission to rescue her sister when she knows almost nothing about how to use her powers or what's really going on. Combine that with the fact that Jasmine's being helped by an angel (who, of course, seems to fall for her), and her sister is trapped in limbo with demons, and it just didn't feel original enough to work for me.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Dundurn publishing and author Mary Jennifer Payne for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review

The year is 2030. Climate change has changed the world to be a very challenging place to live. Many people have not survived these changes and those that have, have to wear masks in order to survive.

Our main character Jasmine goes to school one day like normal but is refuse entry. Jasmine cannot work out why. But is sent to a new school. A school for seers people who can see into the future, and people with other super human ablities. So basically a school of magic.

Jasmine doesn't know why she is there until she discovers she too has the ability to see into the future. She too is a seer and a mighty good one.

This book is filled with monsters, demons, magic, love, friendship, mystery.

This is a wonderful addition to the dystopian fantasy genre.

One thing I liked most about this is that figures from the bible and history are in this book like Adam and Eve and Raphael. I also really liked the fact that films such as Edward Scissorhands is still being watched and spoken about Islam 2030. I love that movie.

Looking forward to the next instalment of this series.

Happy reading everyone

[Fatinamudz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received for review from NetGalley.

The story is set in 2030, a girl name, Jasmine Guzman live there with her twin sister, Jade and her mother. But when they were 10 years old, Jade has been abducted and was nowhere to be found. No trace to detect her. Because of that her mother has fallen to ill, she been battling with Lupus. Few years later, when Jasmine has grown up and going to attend high school, only then she found out, she is a Seer. She knew about that right after, she been pull into a place-in-between and in coincidentally met her twin sister but during that time she could not bring her sister back. She has to undergo a mission to rescue her twin sister and during the mission, she found out things she has never knew before.

Overall, The author has written the story very well. Very smooth, wasn't a dragging kind of story. Totally love it. Even the characters in the story make quite a good impression, each of them were not overshadow on each other. Its definitely a worth reading story!

[Jacinta Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding Jade has the potential to be a great YA novel, but it's trying to do the work of a whole series in under 300 pages. It combines thriller elements with the supernatural with the mythology of angels and demons with teen angst with political commentary with futuristic dystopia. Unfortunately, trying to fit all of this into one book leaves too many underdeveloped plot lines. The most important part of the novel (a teenage girl discovering she has supernatural abilities that can help her find her kidnapped twin sister) is fairly well-written, but tends to get bogged down under all of the other story lines piling in on top of it. If this book was spread out over a few more books, each plot line could be more fully explored, making the story more readable.

[LaviniaAlexandra P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I might've skim-read most of the book, but that made the reading experience much better. It's my first and currently book read in one sitting.
Yes, it was unpredictable despite using tropes. Twins. Instalove. Typical mean girl. A zero becomes a hero. I did it to save my [insert special person here]. Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera. To her credit, the author combined all those tropes into an action-packed, fluid, fast read full of twists and unpredictable courses of events.
Thanks, Netgalley, for offering me the chance to read this book.
So when's the sequel coming out? There has to be one! I need my half-Angel, half-Seer babies!! :))

[Chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book through a Goodreads Giveaway, and I read it because I felt I needed to, and owed a review to the author. I found it really hard to get through. I really liked the concept of the book, but the way it was written, I don't know really. It just dragged on.
And I feel that you find things out way too quickly, there is no build up. I mean, yeah there are plot twists, but totally obvious ones.
It wasn't a BAD book, but it also wasn't my favorite.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspect the YA audience will enjoy this more than I did. It's well written and plotted but a bit disjointed for me. I was also distracted by the fact that it takes place in 2030, which is not that far from now. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Margaret Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your average dystopia!

[Tricia G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read, which is unfortunate. I felt the characters needed more development. The storyline was entertaining. I'm not usually one for Sci. First but. This kept my attention without being too Sci fi. Would love a series based around this premise with the Seers and the In Between.