Jaded

Read the most powerful, thought-provoking debut novel of 2024

'JADED is a thoughtful, hard-hitting exploration of race, identity, and the rippling effects of sexual assault. Ela Lee writes with an urgency and clarity that will have you hooked until the last page.' Cecile Pin, author of Wandering Souls

Jade has become everything she ever wanted to be. Successful lawyer.

Dutiful daughter. Beloved girlfriend. Loyal friend.

Until Jade wakes up the morning after a work event, naked and alone, with no idea how she got home. Caught between her parents who can't understand, her boyfriend who feels betrayed, and her job that expects silence, the world Jade has constructed starts to crumble. Jade thought she was everything she ever wanted to be.

But now she feels like nothing at all.

For fans of The List, Queenie and I May Destroy You, this razor sharp debut novel will capture your heart, make you laugh and sob, and will leave you asking yourself: what would you have done in Jade's situation?

'Ela Lee is an electrifying new voice, and this is an ambitious gut-punch of a novel. Like I May Destroy You meets Industry, it's a witty, nuanced and thought-provoking interrogation of attitudes towards race, power and consent' - Bobby Palmer, author of ISAAC AND THE EGG