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About The Book

A girl grappling with Panic Disorder finds comfort—and love—with a boy who is hiding a terrible secret in this poignant and romantic novel from Printz Honor medal winner and National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti.

Jade DeLuna is too young to die. She knows this, and yet she can’t quite believe it, especially when the terrifying thoughts, loss of breath, and dizzy feelings come. Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, she’s trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That’s why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and that’s where she first sees the boy in the red jacket. A boy who stops to watch the elephants. A boy carrying a baby.

His name is Sebastian, and he is raising his son alone. Jade is drawn into Sebastian’s cozy life with his son and his activist grandmother on their Seattle houseboat, and before she knows it, she’s in love.

Jade knows the situation is beyond complicated, but she hasn’t felt this safe in a long time. And she owes it to Sebastian, her boy with the great heart. Her boy who is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right…

About The Author

Photograph © Susan Doupé

Deb Caletti is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of over sixteen books for adults and young adults, including Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, a finalist for the National Book Award; A Heart in a Body in the World, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; Girl, Unframed; and One Great Lie. Her books have also won the Josette Frank Award for Fiction, the Washington State Book Award, and numerous other state awards and honors, and she was a finalist for the PEN USA Award. She lives with her family in Seattle.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (June 22, 2010)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781442419858
  • Grades: 7 and up
  • Ages: 12 - 99

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Awards and Honors

  • South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominee
  • Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee (AZ)
  • Texas Tayshas High School Reading List
  • NYPL Best Books for Teens
  • Florida Teens Read Master List
  • TAYSHAS Reading List (TX)

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More books from this author: Deb Caletti