Jade and Emerald

Jade and Emerald is a wonderful escape into the late 90s, a mood-lifter packed with cultural insights, which will induce binge-reading.

Nadia Heisler, Bookseller + Publisher

Perfect for fans of Alice Pung, Jade and Emerald introduces readers to an insightful new voice in Australian fiction.

Ben Hunter, Booktopia, Ben's Pick of the Week

Jade and Emerald gives insight to the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, influenced by culture, sexuality and the universal desire to belong. Michelle See-Tho is an exciting arrival to Australia's literary landscape, and this book proves her prodigious talent as a storyteller.

Zoya Patel

Michelle See-Tho has achieved that near-impossible feat: a story that is both original and timeless. Here is a book that delights in contrasts, whether it be Gigi’s Chanel Number 5 perfume contrasted with the chicken stock smell of Lei Ling’s mother, or an indulgent afternoon tea at Melbourne’s finest hotel contrasted with the experience of wolfing down leftovers in a school toilet cubicle. I read the book greedily, eager to find out what happens next, while also keen to savour each delicious description. See-Tho tackles the big themes of family and sexuality and identity head on, without fear or hesitation, but at its heart, Jade and Emerald is a book about love – the love of a mother for a daughter, a daughter for a mother, and the love between great, if unlikely, friends. This is a remarkable debut from a highly skilled and wonderful Australian writer.

Melanie Cheng

A universal story of growing up, and gives voice to the deep desire to be elsewhere – and perhaps to be someone else entirely – that accompanies many (perhaps almost all?) journeys through adolescence. I was struck particularly by the way See‑Tho carefully uncovers the story of Lei Ling’s mother, and this thoughtful and well-paced aspect of the narrative is a reminder that it takes most children many years to realise that their parents have identities unrelated to them, and lived a whole life before they came along which makes them who they are. Jade and Emerald is a warm and generously told story, and a fresh take on culture, class, identity, and belonging.

Alison Huber, Readings online

It explores class dynamics, queerness, the model minority myth, and Asian Australian girlhood with so much heart. This book takes you to that feeling of awakening you have in your late teens when you realise that your parents are actually people not just your parents (and also made me want to call my mum and remind her I love her, because god everyone's been through it, haven't they). The characters' decisions had me binge-reading because it very much felt like a car wreck waiting to happen and I loved every minute of it.

Marina, Amplify Bookstore

This book has what I had wanted when I was a teenager, and still want today.

Yen-Rong Wong, Kill Your Darlings

A stunning portrait of an unlikely, intergenerational friendship.

Melanie Cheng, The Age, Best Books of 2024