Jandy Nelson (2014)
Genre
Young Adult / Romance
Reading Time
742 min
Key Themes
See below
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Tragedy separates artistic twins Noah and Jude. They must uncover past truths to heal their fractured relationship and find their way back to each other.
The story begins from Noah's perspective at age thirteen, detailing his strong, almost psychic bond with his twin sister, Jude. They live in Redwood, a small coastal town, with their free-spirited artist mother, Dianna, and their more traditional father, Benjamin. Noah is an introverted artist, always drawing his inner world and the people around him, especially Jude and their neighbor, Brian. Jude is outgoing and adventurous, often acting as Noah's protector. Their mother encourages their art, particularly Noah's, and tells them stories of 'spirits' in their surroundings. Noah is secretly in love with Brian and finds comfort and inspiration in his presence, even as he grapples with his developing sexuality and his mother's increasing focus on his art over Jude's.
As Noah and Jude turn fourteen, Noah's crush on Brian grows. They share intimate moments, including their first kiss on a cliff, which Noah cherishes and draws. Meanwhile, Jude, feeling overshadowed by Noah's artistic talent and her mother's admiration, becomes more rebellious, doing daredevil stunts and seeking attention. She also starts to like Brian, unaware of Noah's feelings. This unspoken rivalry, combined with Dianna's favoritism towards Noah's art and her pushing him towards a prestigious art school, creates a rift between the twins, straining their once strong bond and setting the stage for future conflict.
During a violent storm, the family huddles together, and Dianna tells the twins a story about making a wish to the storm. Later, Jude, feeling jealous and resentful of Noah's relationship with Brian and her mother's attention, wishes for Noah to lose his artistic talent and for Brian to love her. Unknown to Jude, Noah, feeling isolated, also makes a wish, though its nature remains secret. This scene shows the growing animosity and desperate desires within the twins, laying the groundwork for the accident that will follow and the years of silence and blame that define their later lives.
The family is in a severe car accident, and their mother, Dianna, dies. Both Noah and Jude survive, but the incident leaves them traumatized. The direct cause of the accident is unclear, adding to the mystery and guilt that affects the twins. This event marks a turning point, shattering their close bond and sending them down separate, isolated paths. Noah blames himself, believing his wish for Jude to disappear contributed to their mother's death. Jude harbors her own secret guilt and resentment, further solidifying the wall of silence between them. Their father, Benjamin, struggles with his grief and the fractured family dynamics.
Three years after the accident, the story shifts to Jude's perspective at sixteen. She attends the California School of the Arts, but her once vibrant spirit has been replaced by superstition and social awkwardness. She believes she is cursed and follows rituals to ward off bad luck, especially in her art. Her relationship with Noah is almost nonexistent, marked by bitter silence and unspoken blame. She is haunted by the past and her mother's death, and struggles with an artistic block, unable to sculpt anything meaningful despite her talent. Her isolation is clear, and she longs for connection, even as she pushes people away.
Driven by a need for a mentor and to overcome her artistic block, Jude seeks out the reclusive sculptor, Guillermo Garcia. He is hesitant but eventually takes her on, offering cryptic advice and tough love. Guillermo challenges Jude to confront her fears and express herself through her art. At the same time, Jude meets Oscar Ralph, a charming British art student who is also Guillermo's apprentice. Jude feels a powerful connection to Oscar. Their growing romance offers hope and a distraction from her internal turmoil, but it also threatens to uncover more secrets from her past.
The story periodically returns to Noah's present perspective, showing his change. He has lost his artistic talent — his once vivid drawings are now dull and lifeless, a direct result of his wish. He lives in self-imposed isolation, withdrawn from the world and consumed by guilt over his mother's death and his role in the accident. He often sees visions of his mother, who appears judgmental, reinforcing his feelings of inadequacy and blame. His once vibrant inner world is now dark, and he longs for the connection he once shared with Jude, even as he pushes her away.
As Jude works with Guillermo, she notices similarities between his sculptures and her mother's artistic style. Through subtle clues and Guillermo's admissions, Jude learns the truth: Guillermo was her mother, Dianna's, first love and mentor. They had a passionate, tumultuous relationship that ended painfully, but Guillermo remained affected by Dianna throughout his life. This revelation sheds new light on her mother's artistic journey and her own family history, giving Jude a deeper understanding of her mother's complexities and her own artistic lineage, while also creating a stronger, more personal bond between Jude and Guillermo.
Through painful discoveries, including finding Noah's old drawings and confronting him, Jude uncovers the full extent of Noah's secret relationship with Brian. This revelation, combined with the knowledge that Brian is now dating Jude's former best friend, further shatters her trust in Noah and deepens her sense of betrayal. Simultaneously, Jude learns the truth about her mother's affair with Guillermo, which began before her parents were married. This complex web of secrets and past betrayals — both within her family and between the twins — crashes down on Jude, forcing her to confront her family's history and her own role in the twins' fractured relationship.
Driven by guilt and a need for forgiveness, Noah finally confesses his role in the accident to Jude. He reveals that their mother was having an affair with Guillermo and was leaving their father for him, and that the car crash occurred during an argument about this. Noah also admits that he sabotaged Jude's college application and that his wish was for Brian to fall in love with him. In a parallel development, Brian, now single, returns to Redwood, seeking out Noah. Their reunion is emotional, but they reconnect, rekindling their past love. This confession and reunion are steps towards healing for Noah, opening the door for reconciliation with Jude.
After Noah's confession, Jude is devastated but eventually forgives him, recognizing the immense pain and guilt he has carried. This act of forgiveness, coupled with the understanding of her mother's past, finally breaks Jude's artistic block. Inspired by their shared history and lives, Jude creates a powerful sculpture that combines elements of both her and Noah's artistic styles. The sculpture, a symbol of their intertwined destinies, becomes a symbol of healing, reconciliation, and the enduring power of their sibling bond, even after all the pain and separation.
With the truth revealed and forgiveness extended, Noah and Jude begin to rebuild their relationship. They acknowledge the pain they caused each other, but also the enduring love that binds them. Noah's art begins to return, and Jude's sculpture is a success. They both come to terms with their mother's complexities and her impact on their lives. The story ends with hope and renewed connection, as the twins, now more mature and understanding, face the future together, having finally pieced together their story and found their way back to one another. Their journey is not over, but they are now equipped to navigate it as a united front.
The Protagonist
Jude transforms from a carefree, confident girl into a guilt-ridden, superstitious young woman, eventually finding forgiveness and her artistic voice through confronting her past and reconciling with her brother.
The Protagonist
Noah descends into guilt and artistic paralysis, eventually finding the courage to confess his secrets, reconcile with Brian, and begin to reclaim his artistic talent and relationship with Jude.
The Supporting/Mentioned
Her character is revealed posthumously, as the twins uncover the complexities and contradictions of her life, leading to a more nuanced understanding of their mother.
The Supporting
He remains largely static, a figure attempting to hold his family together in the face of insurmountable tragedy and secrets.
The Supporting
He serves as a catalyst for Jude's growth, revealing his past to help her understand her mother and herself.
The Supporting
He is a catalyst for Noah's emotional journey, eventually reuniting with him to provide comfort and love.
The Supporting
Oscar helps Jude to open up and experience new love, serving as a supportive presence in her journey of self-discovery.
Secrets, both personal and familial, drive the novel's plot and shape the characters' lives. Dianna's affair with Guillermo, Noah's hidden love for Brian, Jude's wish against Noah, and the true circumstances of their mother's death all create a deep chasm between the twins. The weight of these unspoken truths creates guilt, resentment, and isolation. Only when these secrets are revealed can the characters begin to heal and rebuild their relationships, showing how honesty, however painful, is essential for true connection. For example, Noah's confession about his wish and the accident details is the turning point for his and Jude's reconciliation.
“What if you could hear the past? What if you could hear the future? What if you could hear the secrets of the dead?”
Art is a vital form of expression and therapy for Noah, Jude, and Dianna. Noah's early drawings are a window into his soul, his love for Brian, and his perceptions. When he loses his ability to draw, it symbolizes his emotional trauma and loss of self. Jude's struggles with her sculptures mirror her internal blockages and her inability to process grief and guilt. Guillermo's sculptures, imbued with his own history and love for Dianna, help Jude understand her mother. Ultimately, both twins find their way back to themselves and each other through art, using it to confront their past, express pain, and create a shared narrative for their future, as seen in Jude's final sculpture.
“I used to think that to make something happen, you had to want it to happen. But it turns out, just because you want something doesn't mean it'll happen. And just because you don't want something doesn't mean it won't.”
The dynamic between Jude and Noah shows the dual nature of sibling relationships: intense rivalry intertwined with an unbreakable bond of love. Initially inseparable, their connection is strained by Dianna's favoritism towards Noah's art, Jude's jealousy, and their mutual crushes on Brian. Their wishes against each other, born from youthful insecurity, have devastating consequences. Despite years of silence and blame, a deep love and need for each other persist. The novel explores how even profound betrayal and pain cannot fully sever the unique connection between twins, showing that forgiveness and understanding can lead to a powerful reconciliation. Their journey is about finding their way back to that fundamental, unconditional love.
“Sometimes you can't see what you're looking for, even if it's right in front of you.”
The aftermath of Dianna's death affects the entire novel, showing as deep grief and consuming guilt for both twins. Noah blames himself for his mother's death, believing his wish for Jude's disappearance contributed to the accident, and his artistic block results from this guilt. Jude also carries the weight of her own destructive wishes and the unspoken truths surrounding the accident. Their inability to process grief and guilt openly leads to their estrangement. The journey towards healing involves confronting these painful emotions, understanding their mother's complexities, and extending forgiveness — both to each other and to themselves — allowing them to move forward. This is evident in Noah's confession and Jude's subsequent forgiveness.
“Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.”
Both Jude and Noah struggle with their identities, especially after their mother's death and their artistic challenges. Noah, initially defined by his art and his love for Brian, loses his sense of self when his talent vanishes. He must rediscover who he is beyond his artistic abilities. Jude, who once defined herself through her adventurous spirit and her role as Noah's protector, becomes superstitious and withdrawn, struggling to find her own artistic voice. Their individual journeys of self-discovery are intertwined with understanding their family history, confronting their past selves, and accepting the complex individuals they have become. Their reconciliation helps them to integrate these different parts of their identities.
“We were all heading for each other on a collision course, no matter what.”
Alternating viewpoints and timelines slowly reveal the full story.
The novel is told through alternating first-person perspectives: Noah's chapters detail the past (ages 13-14), and Jude's chapters cover the present (age 16). This non-linear structure, coupled with the dual viewpoints, serves to slowly unravel the mysteries surrounding the twins' estrangement and their mother's death. Each twin holds only half the story, and their individual biases and limited knowledge create suspense and force the reader to piece together the truth alongside them. This device effectively highlights their fractured relationship and the importance of understanding multiple perspectives to grasp the whole picture.
Jude's superstitions and Noah's visions infuse the narrative with a mystical quality.
Jude's elaborate superstitions – avoiding cracks, believing in hexes, and performing rituals – are a coping mechanism for her grief and guilt, reflecting her belief that she can control fate. Noah's visions of his mother's ghost, particularly after her death, blend reality with the supernatural, representing his internal guilt and his struggle to process his loss. These elements of magical realism, often rooted in their mother Dianna's storytelling about 'spirits' and wishes, add a unique layer to the narrative, emphasizing the characters' internal worlds and the powerful, almost fated, nature of their experiences. They also serve as symbolic representations of their psychological states.
Artistic expression is central to character development and reveals hidden truths.
Art, particularly drawing and sculpting, is a pervasive metaphor and a crucial plot device. For Noah, his art is his voice, his identity, and his connection to the world; its loss signifies his profound trauma. For Jude, her struggle with sculpture mirrors her emotional block. The art created by Dianna and Guillermo provides clues to their past relationship and the secrets of the Sweetwine family. The act of creating art becomes a means for the characters to process grief, express unspoken emotions, and ultimately, to heal and communicate when words fail. Jude's final sculpture, for instance, is a physical manifestation of her and Noah's reconciled story.
Wishes made by the twins inadvertently lead to tragic consequences.
The concept of making wishes, particularly during a storm, is introduced early by Dianna and becomes a powerful, almost literal, plot device. Both Noah and Jude make selfish, angry wishes – Jude wishes for Noah to lose his talent and for Brian to love her, while Noah wishes for Jude to disappear. The perceived fulfillment of these wishes, followed by their mother's death and the subsequent personal tragedies, imbues them with a sense of cosmic responsibility and guilt. This motif highlights the dangerous power of unchecked desires and the ripple effects of seemingly innocent thoughts, driving much of the twins' internal conflict and their belief in a 'curse'.
“I can't tell you how many times I've been in love. And I can't tell you how many times I've been heartbroken. But I can tell you that I've never regretted a single one of them.”
— Noah reflects on his past relationships and experiences with love and heartbreak.
“Meeting your soul mate is like walking into a house you've been in before - you will recognize the furniture, the pictures on the wall, the books on the shelf, the even the view from the window. You may have been in a hundred other houses, but this is the one that feels like home.”
— Noah describes the feeling of finding a soul mate.
“Maybe I'm a little bit in love with you, and maybe you're a little bit in love with me, and maybe we're just both a little bit in love with the idea of being in love.”
— Jude expresses her complicated feelings towards a boy she's interested in.
“The world is full of people, and there are so many different ways to love them.”
— Grandma Sweetwine offers wisdom about the diversity of love.
“I wonder if that's how it is with love. If, when you discover it, you have to cross a void to get to it. And then, once you're there, you have to stay there. Because you've already crossed the void.”
— Jude ponders the nature and commitment of love.
“Someone once told me that the most important thing in life is to love and be loved. I think they were right.”
— A character reflects on the core importance of love.
“We were all born with a certain amount of magic. It's up to us to decide how we use it.”
— A thought on individuality and personal power.
“Sometimes you have to be a little bit crazy to be in love.”
— A character comments on the often irrational nature of love.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”
— Noah reflects on the transformative power of art.
“You can't just turn off feelings. You can't just turn off the past.”
— Jude struggles with lingering emotions and memories.
“I wish I could bottle this feeling, this moment. I wish I could keep it forever.”
— A character experiences a moment of profound happiness or connection.
“Maybe we're all just searching for someone to see us, really see us, for who we are.”
— A character ponders the universal desire for understanding and acceptance.
“It's funny how the people you think you know best are sometimes the ones you know the least.”
— A character realizes a misunderstanding about someone close to them.
“Sometimes you have to break something to make something new.”
— A character contemplates the necessity of destruction for creation or change.
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