Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

by Ashley Herring Blake

Paperback, 2019

Status

Checked out

Due 6/22/2021

Call number

PZ7.1 .B58 Iv 2018

Genres

LGBTQ+

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

LGBTQ Iowa Archives & LIbrary

Publication

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2019), Edition: Reprint, 336 pages

Description

Twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed in a tornado, and in the aftermath of the storm, she begins to develop feelings for another girl at school.

User reviews

LibraryThing member eduscapes

IVY ABERDEEN’S LETTER TO THE WORLD by Ashley Herring Blake is a powerful work of contemporary realistic fiction for the middle grades.

When twelve-year-old Ivy’s house is destroyed by a tornado, her notebook is lost. As drawings from her notebook begin to reappear, she wonders whether she’s

strong enough to reveal her secret crush. Blake’s portrayal of the preteen experience is authentic and readers are likely to sympathize with her dilemma and choices.

Librarians will find this book to be a strong addition to the collection. The contemporary setting and realistic LGBT theme will be a draw of middle grade readers. This tender story is a good choice for all children, but particularly those dealing with the challenges of first love.

Published on March 6, 2018 by Little, Brown for Young Readers, an imprint of Hachette. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

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7 more

LibraryThing member AMQS

Ivy Aberdeen is going through a lot. Her close-knit family is in survival mode after the birth of twin brothers. Her once-close relationship with her older sister Layla is strained after Ivy overhears a conversation between Layla and her best friend. Her notebook is her refuge: in it she explores

and processes her feelings in lush and detailed drawings, many of which lately are of girls holding hands. On top of this tumult comes devastation: a tornado rips through town and the Aberdeen house is completely destroyed. The rebuilding process is slow and painful and confusing. Someone found Ivy's notebook and is returning drawings one at a time to her with notes urging her to talk about her feelings and not to be ashamed of who she is, and Ivy is experiencing a first crush, with all of the pangs, heart-racing, fear, and uncertainty that comes with it. This sounds like a lot to pack into one middle-grade novel, and it is, but it works. This is a lovely and poignant story for any middle grade reader, and an important contribution to LGBTQ fiction for this age group.

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LibraryThing member acargile

This novel is on the 2019 Lone Star list; it is realistic fiction.

Ivy’s world is ripped apart when a tornado completely destroys her family’s home. Imagine life without your possessions. You house, your room, your clothes, ALL of your things are gone! Ivy’s family are first in a shelter and

then quickly move to one room in a lady’s home. That’s one room for Ivy, her mom, her dad, and her twin baby brothers. They are babies--very small, very loud, and very demanding of everyone’s time and attention. It’s crowded and loud. Mom and Dad are busy with the babies and trying to figure out what to do. They have to meet with insurance and salvage what they can. It’s a stressful life, but they are good parents and love their kids.

Ivy feels isolated from her family because they are so busy and she’s got some personal issues bothering her. She enjoys the routine of school because she gets away from the hardships and stress of home, but she’s getting anonymous letters on her locker. When the family went to the shelter, Ivy lost her art journal. Ivy has drawings that she isn’t sure she’s ready to share, but the anonymous letter writer is either threatening her or encouraging her to be honest and open. In addition, Ivy wants to show the pictures to her sister and talk about them, but she previously overheard her sister have an argument with her best friend, so Ivy doesn’t think her sister will be nice about her revelations. Now her parents want her to stay with Ivy’s best friend, so Ivy feels like her family doesn’t want her.

Of course, everything works out in the end, but the story is about Ivy discovering herself. She has learned that she is not like the other girls and has a crush on a girl. The realization of her preferences is handled very well and is very appropriate for this age group. This is not a romance novel in any way. It’s a novel about a middle schooler--like all kids--who is finding out who she is as a person. The book is also about relationships and just being honest and kind to one another and aware of others’ feelings despite the stresses life can offer. It’s a solid middle grades novel.

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LibraryThing member electrascaife

12-year-old Ivy Aberdeen's world is turned upside down when a tornado completely destroys her family's home, all while a different kind of storm is raging inside her heart and mind. She likes girls but is terrified to talk to anyone about it, especially now that it feels like her family is pulling

away from her, all too preoccupied with putting their lives back together in a way that seems not to need her, and her best friend can't seem to talk about anything but the boy she has a crush on. But then Ivy meets June and the butterflies in her stomach tell her that she has a crush of her own. She works to find a way to tell the world who she really is, and works to figure that out for herself as well.
What a lovely story. A fantastic way to show kiddos who may be going through the same things that they're not alone, and to show everyone else a glimpse into what those kiddos are dealing with. This one definitely goes on my What Should Be Required Reading in All Schools list.

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

Ivy feels like she just doesn't fit and there is a tornado inside her as she tries to figure it out. She has a notebook full of stormy picture of her in a treehouse with another girl. When her house is destroyed by an actual tornado, it sends her family into a year of stress. With new twins, Ivy

feels neglected by her mother and forgotten by her family.
A lovely touching story about friendship, a first crush, and embracing oneself, the conversations Ivy has with her friends and family are deep. A sage owner of the inn serves as a fairy godmother of sorts to Ivy.

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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg

Twelve year old Ivy Aberdeen's life turned upside down when her house was destroyed by a tornado. At the elementary school gym, which was being used as a shelter, she meets June, the daughter of their family doctor. As the two develop a friendship, Ivy thinks she wants something more but is too

afraid to broach the subject.

She's even too afraid to tell her big sister, Layla, about it because Layla and her best friend Gigi had an argument when Gigi came out to Layla.

When Ivy can't find her notebook in the school gym, her notebook with all her drawings showing her and an unknown girl, Ivy panics. When pages of the notebook appear in her locker, she is even more upset and afraid.

the interesting thing about Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World is the author Ashley Herring Blake describes how Ivy would paint a scene, describing the colors and the components of the picture.

The books tackles friendship and sexuality in a very realistic way. It's a good book for middle graders who are grappling with who they like vs who they are supposed to like.

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LibraryThing member reader1009

children's middlegrade fiction-queer/questioning at 12 years old.
Have tissues handy! This is gentle yet devastating, bittersweet yet beautiful.

LibraryThing member jennybeast

So developmentally tween appropriate, it almost distracts from the book -- textbook wanting independence and fearing it; needing allies outside of parents; feeling invisible and overwhelmed with new social/hormonal developments.

However, it's also a strong story, with a host of appealing

characters, and an absolutely fabulous book for the questioning/queer kid.

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