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What Happened To Ivy (2012)

by Kathy Stinson(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1926920813 (ISBN13: 9781926920818)

languge

English

genre

Young Adult Fiction

publisher

Second Story Press

review 1: David is your average teenage boy. He has a crush on the new girl, Hannah, who has recently moved in across the street. As it turns out, their mothers are old friends. But, David is finding out how hard it will be to really get to know her because of his sister Ivy. You see, Ivy has special needs. She is severely handicap with cerebral palsy and often has seizures and has had multiple surgeries to help her. To help his parents David must spend all of his extra time looking after her. He runs errands for her medicine, takes her for walks in her wheelchair, spends time with her in the family garden, holds her when she has seizures and wipes her drool. This makes David very resentful towards Ivy, but at the same time he does love his sister. The family plans a week long geta... moreway to their cabin by the lake, Hannah is invited to join them. David feels this would be a good time to really get to know Hannah and let her know how he feels about her. The stay at the cabin proves to be a devastating experience for everyone. Ivy has a bad seizure that dampens the mood of everyone. Her constant need for attention and care puts the family on the edge and the parents argue about her. David hears his parents talking about putting Ivy in a home and how much her next surgery is going to cost them. To soften the mood, Dad takes Ivy out to the lake to splash around. She loves playing in the water. David and Hannah go to the local store to pick up some requested items from Mom. When they return an ambulance is in the driveway and on a gurney is Ivy's lifeless body. Dad later admits that he let Ivy go. David doesn't understand exactly what that means. The family is slowly falling apart since Ivy's death. The parents have put away her crib and Dad has removed her wheelchair ramp. Signs of Ivy's presence are slowly fading away. Can David forgive himself and his father for the resentment they held towards Ivy and each other? He'll have to find a way. Stinson draws readers into this soul stirring tale with her vivid imagery. Readers will connect with the characters with anger and sympathy. There is lots of suspense and proves to be a roller coaster ride of emotion. Although the content is sensitive this is a middle grade friendly read.
review 2: Fans of this title will want to read Terry Trueman's Cruise Control since it explores similar territory. Teen David Burke loves his sister Ivy, 11, but he is also embarrassed by her behavior and her disabilities. When a new neighbor, Hannah, that he's trying to impress seems to enjoy spending time with Ivy, David is delighted. But Ivy dies while the family is at its lake cottage, and David wonders about how the accident happened. When his father essentially confesses at least to not having acted in time to save Ivy, David is torn with his love for his father and for Ivy and his own guilt about the way he has treated his sister in the past. The novel raises several difficult questions and doesn't provide easy answers, especially since the ending is left open for readers' interpretation. less

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