The Book of Ivy

I've had this on my TBR list for a while and as this week I've resolved to get some of my backlog of YA titles read, I chose this as one of them. How awesome is that cover? From the summary, I thought I was getting a taut, dystopian telling of an imbeded assassin (Ivy's married into the Lattimer family thorough Bishop) but that's not really what happened. It's my own fault for having the expectation and for thinking that the sameness that seem to plague so many YA books I've read in the last few years would rear it's persistent head here. But it did. Ivy's been set to the task of murdering her mark, new husband Bishop. She's sixteen and he eighteen. In the "nation" they reside (somewhere near what used to be the Ozarks in the world we show more know) they are opposite sides of the winners & losers. Ivy on the losing side & Bishop on the winning. To keep the peace, the Westfall daughters marry the Lattimer sons. Founder Westfall, Ivy's father wishes to usurp the power from president Lattimer and Ivy's assassination of Bishop is the initiating domino. I was so excited to see what unfolded.

What was to come for the main of the story was fairly well telegraphed to me when in the early chapters Ivy found about 5 words to describe and further refine Bishop's eye color. Oh hell. Here we go. I knew then, there was going to be no assassination and not even a proper attempt, for you see, Ivy was falling in love. Bishop is tooth achingly perfect to the point that he's devoid of an actual personality. Because of this, I didn't like or dislike him, he registered as a null. His reason to be is for Ivy to fall in love with him and cause her family loyalty angst. He doesn't need to be a real sort of person, so I accepted his bland presence and moved along. I didn't cheer or pine for their love because he wasn't well defined as his own person so... meh on the mance. And so the main of the book is taken up with he in turn falling for her and a lot of her whinging about what she's been tasked to do for her family's shot at primacy and "blah, blah, blah" (that's a direct quote from the book, btw, on how these people got here & that takes me into my other problem with the story, the lack of world-building.

I'm a science fiction fan who loves to know the "how" and "why" of whatever world the characters I'm watching move about in. There's virtually nothing to really explain in linear detail why the people of Westfall have chosen this way of life they have. There was a nuclear war, the survivors dwindled by radiation effects and killing off one another and then voila, the Lattimers beat the Westfalls and so women gave up their autonomy and concentrate on marrying, childbearing & tending (if they're lucky) & the rest of the sad unmatched women wend their days away in nursing, midwifery or whatever other jobs the men deem good enough. Miraculously, there seem to be no persons of color in this nation (based on all the people Ivy's described in the book) save one. Perhaps they're all the anonymous people she sees in passing. There apparently are no LGBT people either and no mention about what happens to them when they obviously exist in any given population. This nation has been rolling along for three generations so I'm fairly sure there've been some instance so I wanted to know how they fare here in this place where these people are so hell bent on marrying off boys to girls. I'm just hoping they aren't the designated "tossed outside the gates" group.

So. I had a few problems with the story but then something awesome happened, the final quarter of the book. Ivy's growth arc while painfully dull at times to watch was made up for in how she came out on the other side. She dragged me along through all the romance angst to finally give me something to cheer for her. I was pulling for her when she made her choice and even empathised with her sadness at her decision. She took a bad situation and made it so that all parties were left unscathed (mortally anyway) and she bore all the consequences. That certain parties were all to easily adept at throwing her out for good an all was a good direction as well. Ivy displayed loyalty when she is shown none and it was a great moment showing her true character. That last quarter basically saved the entire book for me. It was good. So good that I want to read the next book. show less

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

It’s the year 2075, fifty years after a nuclear war has destroyed the United States. A small group of 10,000 survivors band together and live within the gates. No one has ventured beyond them for fear of what they may encounter.

Sixteen year old Ivy Westfall is the granddaughter of the founder of Westfall, this is the first year that the founder and president’s family will be united. But Ivy has been trained for two years for another mission; to kill her husband, the future president, Bishop Lattimer. But the line becomes fuzzy when after spending time with him she learns he’s different. When the truth come out her mother’s death, realization hits home that show more nothing may be what it seems. Will Ivy have the heart to murder the man she’s falling for? Could this sweet young man be the tyrant her father says he will become?

This book was extremely plausible, as many dystopian novels are. You can understand the need for arranged marriages with the hopes of increasing the population. In the same way, however, you can understand the people’s need for the freedom of choice. I enjoyed the way we got to watch Ivy mature before our eyes and slowly watch her fall in love with Bishop. From what I can see, I think Bishop has always loved her. I honestly can’t wait for book two, to find out if he goes after her or if he falls for Callie’s advances. This was a fantastic dystopian novel, very engrossing and one that was very hard to put down. A must read if you enjoy a dystopian novel with a sweet romance mixed in. show less

"I think that sometimes things aren't as simple as our fathers want us to believe."

So this one was iffy at first for me. The world building made me a little unsure at first. But what the story lacks in world building, it definitely more than makes up for characters. I thought Bishop and Ivy were an interesting set. Add into it the neighbors, other married couples, both fathers, both mothers and Callie and you have a great set to fill a stage. I liked the warring ideas and the idea that there was a gray area - neither right nor wrong but only what you felt was okay for the moment.

Because right and wrong isn't super black and white - and there is a whole spectrum that fits both categories at one time!

I think the end definitely set up show more your need to find book 2 and devour it. I will definitely be reading it soon! show less

Westfalls & Lattimers - 4.5 stars...

The Book of Ivy is the story of two warring families, the Westfalls and the Lattimers and the daughter, Ivy Westfall, who's been chosen by her family to kill her newlywed husband in order to restore the Westfall legacy. But as Ivy starts realizing that her husband and her family's motives aren't exactly what she was lead to believe, she starts questioning the mission she was set out to complete.
 
Ivy, Ivy, Ivy- sometimes I wanted to just shake some sense into her and ask her how can she be so naive and stupid. Then just as soon as I thought, hey she heard me and is learning after all, she'd turn around and do something else entirely stupid. I've always thought though that a good book can bring out show more the best and worst emotions in you and this one did just that - all the way up to the very end! So if that's any indicator, this was a damn good book! Not quite 5 stars though because there was some repetition in the writing that I thought was unnecessary. If you like audio books, I would recommend giving the audio a try because the narrator was pretty good and made the story even better.
 
*Thanks for the recommendation Marylou (As the Page Turns)!
 
 
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4 stars because this book was really good.

The male love interest was actually lovable, the kind of love interest I would actually like. I usually dislike the romance and love interests in stories (Four, Peeta and Gale, pretty much everything ever), especially in dystopian novels. But this worked for the book,and introduced a side to many characters that complement Ivy's outlook through the book and her confusion.

The dystopian elements weren't that great, which feels unfair to say, but they definitely took a backseat to the romance excluding the assassination plot , her turmoil over which was believable and felt solid. The system is actually smart, and kind of believable (unlike the hunger games for me - it would be believable if that show more system was in the first years and not in the 75th). People wouldn't rise up if their children were going to be hurt, and that bit of hope is enough to keep them going. A desperate person who has nothing to lose will do anything, and this book knows that. The author knew the system was flawed, and supported that by saying this wasn't a long-standing system and was really a short-term fix.

Finally, the way Ivy's character changes, and her perception of the other characters change, is solid. It works for the book, and gave me a romance I actually rooted for, that wasn't fully saccharine sweet or just full of lust/hotness. Certainly it had its moments of both, but I wasn't turned off the book by them.

Also I could find all of the characters to be rounded and believable in their motives and drives. A great debut novel. show less

Kitabı okurken neredeyse kendimden geçtim, lütfen MISSION FAILED olsun diyerek bir yerleri yumrukluyordum. Beklediğim gibi de oldu ama okurken aşırı derecede gerildim. Sanırım Bishop'a tutuldum, başından beri o kadar naifti ki okurken neredeyse gözlerimden kalpler çıkacaktı.

Yazarın yarattığı karakterler çok iyiydi. Kendi zihninde inşaa ettiği distopik dünyada ise daha farklı ufak dokunuşlar olabilirdi.

Çeviriyi pek beğenmedim, ufak hamleler, daha zarif kelimeler kullanarak kitabı az da olsa bir tık yukarı itebilirdi bu durum.

Eğer kitabı almayı düşünüyorsanız düşünmeyi kesin. Kitabı alın ve bu iktidar stratejileriyle kalbinin sahibi arasında kalan genç kızın distopik hikayesini okuyun.

Premessa: la Newton deve davvero rivedere la sua idea di titoli e copertine. Non so chi se ne occupi e sono convinta che ci sia una politica aziendale dietro per cui devono seguire determinate regole, ma seriamente... un libro non si giudica mai dalla copertina, e io non sto giudicando la grafica (io manco sono capace di fare certe cose con Photoshop), ma il tema... vabbè, ve ne parlerò meglio in un "How it was". Passiamo alle cose serie...

Per questo libro avevo aspettative altissime, e sì lo so che mi direte "Ecco, ti dai la zappa sui piedi", ma una ragazza deve pur sognare, no?
Di storie come questa avevo avuto un assaggio con "Bellezza Crudele" e diciamo che niente può essere peggio di quello, ma Forever sa rendersi difficile in show more quasi egual modo.
Innanzi tutto la protagonista Ivy è insopportabile, un lombrico ha più spina dorsale di lei. Dall'inizio alla fine del libro è tutta un "Vorrei, ma non posso", ed è una cosa che odio in una protagonista. Io capisco l'attaccamento alla famiglia, l'essere cresciuta con determinati principi, ma due domande non te le fai? Come puoi non avere una tua opinione quando ti viene chiesto/imposto di uccidere qualcuno? Come puoi non mettere in discussione nemmeno una volta che forse tuo padre non è il re Mida e tutto quello che tocca non si tramuta in oro?
Restando nella famiglia Westfall il padre di Ivy e sua sorella sono più difficili da digerire della protagonista, ma almeno quello è il ruolo che gli è stato dato.
L'unico personaggio che salvo a pieni voti è Bishop che, pur essendo la vittima sacrificale, è di una dolcezza infinita: i suoi sentimenti per Ivy sono chiari e genuini fin dall'inizio e prendono un peso maggiore quando lui le rivela quando si è innamorato di lei... continua a leggere su http://theinkspell.blogspot.it/2016/04/recensione-forever-di-amy-engel.html show less