monday minis - YA

The Book of Ivy, The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.  ~ Goodreads

Source: Purchased

My thoughts:  I haven’t read any dystopian novels in YEARS but I had heard so many great things about this one and it’s only a duology. When I saw book #1 on sale I grabbed it.

On the surface this seems to be the same old – same old dystopian YA. Oppressive government regime, underground opposition, patriarchal society…but The Book of Ivy duology narrows the focus down to our doomed couple Ivy and Bishop. Forced into an arranged marriage with the president’s son – Ivy’s one mission is to kill him to restore her family to power.

There aren't any factions, fight training montages, no band of smarter than all the adults in the room teens that save the world, no love triangles. Just a story about secrets, lies and loyalty, questions of what makes a family and finding happiness and peace in an unforgiving world.

And oh yeah – a swoony, slow build romance!  It’s YA – gotta have that! lol

I wasn’t blown away but I enjoyed the heck out the mix of action, internal conflicts, and relationship dynamics that are so rare to this genre.



Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon

Tourmaline Harris’s life hit pause at fifteen, when her mom went to prison because of Tourmaline’s unintentionally damning testimony. But at eighteen, her home life is stable, and she has a strong relationship with her father, the president of a local biker club known as the Wardens.

Virginia Campbell’s life hit fast-forward at fifteen, when her mom “sold” her into the services of a local lawyer: a man for whom the law is merely a suggestion. When Hazard sets his sights on dismantling the Wardens, he sends in Virginia, who has every intention of selling out the club—and Tourmaline. But the two girls are stronger than the circumstances that brought them together, and their resilience defines the friendship at the heart of this powerful debut novel. ~ Goodreads

Source: Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

My thoughts: DNF at 80 pages

I knew going in that I might not love this because of the biker aspect and that turned out to be the case.

I liked Tourmaline and Virginia immediately. They both have compelling and unique voices but the writing was not accessible to me. There’s an assumption that I understand the biker world and lingo but other than watching a few seasons of SoA - I don't. The rest is a personal preference. I just don't care about people having to do certain things to be accepted into gangs/groups or be otherwise shunned. It's just not my jam.

If you do like that world then it might be for you. It has numerous 5 star ratings for it’s gritty writing, fierce girls and female friendships. The publisher describes is as Thelma and Louise meets Sons of Anarchy.


What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth? ~ Goodreads

Source: ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

My thoughts: So, I picked this up for a fun, summer read. Opps! Despite that cover this is a serious novel about coping with grief and bullying and uncovering a dark secret.

The loss of Kit’s father in a car accident has left her adrift, not being able to hang with her friends like she used to. They want her to act *normal* again and she just can’t. I lost my mom in HS and I could completely relate to how Kit was feeling. 

She ends up forming a friendship and flirtation with David. He is on the autism spectrum and struggles with understanding  how to read other people’s social cues and speaks very matter of factly with Kit, even about her father’s death which feels like a huge weight lifted off of Kit. 

I really liked this story a lot. Especially how Kit and David’s friendship and David's family - especially his relationship with his sister. 

What I didn't love was how heavily What to Say Next relies on David getting bullied. Not that I don’t think that it occurs – or should never be shown – or wasn’t relevant to this story, but at times I felt it was done just in to keep moving the story along – meanwhile the author hits you with a much bigger revelation that should have been the focal point all along but gets wrapped up a tad too quickly.