Publication: November 4, 2014
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Series: The Book of Ivy Duology, Book One
Format: Paperback
Pages: 282 pages
Rating: 
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.
This year, it is my turn.
My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.
But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.
Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…
“For the first time, it sinks in that the horrors beyond the fence are the same as those inside it. People. And the brutal things we do to one another.”
Trigger warnings for mentions of rape, murder, and suicide. If this triggers you in any way, I do not recommend picking this book up. Please beware and take care of yourselves. ❤
This is one of my favorite books of all time (series too, since I read both books in a week). It certainly reminded me of what I love about dystopian novels. The questions they can bring to my mind about our society and what could cause these things to happen.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that’s made me think as much as this one did. It was such a thought provoking book, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I finished. It brought to mind questions about what is right and what is wrong. But also how life is too messy for things to be one way or the other. Sometimes there is this messy gray area that no one really wants to actually talk about. It was refreshing to have a light shown on it.
The Book of Ivy is about two teens on opposite sides of a political war. While I think that it would have been nice to get a little more world building, I think it had a fairly nice set up at the beginning of the book. There was a nuclear war that left most of the United States in ruin. A small group came together, and then there was an internal war over who would be in power over the people.
Sixteen year old Ivy, is the from the founding family. The daughter of the man who’s father founded Westfall. She’s raised into this household, made to believe that the Lattimer’s are bad and that they don’t care about the people in their community. Bishop, is the seemingly spoiled son of President Lattimer, the leader of their town. A man who believes in the rules and regulations put in place in their community. Both are not exactly who they appear to be.
The romance in this book is slow burning, and in my opinion, was perfect for this story. I absolutely loved Amy Engel’s writing, and the way that she chose to tell this story. It’s definitely more of a character driven plot, than an action driven plot. But I think that worked really well for this particular book.
Overall, I would definitely recommend picking this up. I need more books by Amy Engel now.
*The image and synopsis were both taken from Goodreads. Clicking on the “add to Goodreads” image above will take you to the Goodreads page for this book.* Advertisements Share this:
