Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake: Book Review

Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake is a sweet and poignant young adult dramatic story.

Living in rural Georgia, the Aberdeen family is a lucky one; close and warm. The sisters have even helped mom with the children’s books she writes, coming up with drawings and ideas. Ivy, their middle child, feels kind of alone and invisible, now that there are new babies in the house, mom and dad are so tired, and Layla, Ivy’s older sister, has to help a lot. Not to mention the fact that Ivy has a secret, and she is afraid to tell anyone for fear of losing them. She is trying to figure it all out, and drawing is her way of processing things. She keeps drawing herself with another girl, holding hands. And it is not her best friend Taryn.

When a tornado comes and takes everything from them, the only thing Ivy has held onto is a pillow and her drawing notebook. In the school being used as a shelter, Ivy makes a new friend in June, a very talkative girl that Ivy hasn’t gotten to know. They draw whales together, and Ivy feels engaged and has fun for the first time in a long time. But when she goes back to her family, her notebook has disappeared! The notebook with her secrets in it!

No one in the family has time or energy for Ivy now. There are too many things mom and dad have to figure out. They even want Ivy to stay at Taryn’s for some time, the only member of the family separated. It feels to Ivy like they don’t even want her anymore.

Back at school, someone leaves a page from the notebook with a note in Ivy’s locker. Who has her notebook? Will they embarrass her in front of the whole school? Will she lose her family entirely when they find out what a weirdo she is? Will she ever find the girl from her pictures and figure out what holding her hand feels like?

Pros And My Favourite Parts

This book is special. Ashley Herring Black has created characters who are unique and relatable, set in a difficult but softly told story. I enjoyed these girls and understood their family members. For a middle child, this book rings very true.

My favorite parts were the experiences that helped Ivy to understand herself, like meeting an older woman with a partner, and finding out that her sister’s best friend was a lesbian. I also loved the positive reactions of all the family members and friends to the revelations that were shared over time.

Cons

I found no instances of negative or mean behavior. The close instances were misunderstandings.

The Conclusion

Ashley Herring Blake has written a story that is entertaining, easy to read, and reflects so many kids’ inner experiences. The acceptance of herself that the main character finds during this story was great to see, and I really enjoyed this well-written story.

Excerpt from Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World. By Ashley Herring Blake

“Everyone’s good at something,” Ivy said.

“Not me. I never really —” June’s face sort of crumpled, but she smoothed it out really quickly. She shook her head. A smile landed on her face and stayed put. “Maybe you could teach me!”

“Teach you … what?” Ivy asked.

“How to draw, silly.” June waved the paper at Ivy. “You’re good enough.”

“Oh. Well. I don’t think … I mean, drawing is just something I do. I never learned.”

“I know I’ll never be as good as you, but I could learn some basics, right? Like, I can’t even draw a decent cat. Stick figures all the way for me.”

Ivy thought about how she first started drawing, how the shapes and shades sort of fell out of her. Still, her mom had taught her some techniques, and they helped. Ivy got better. Plus, a minute ago, June had looked so sad that she wasn’t good at anything, and now she looked so excited about drawing that Ivy couldn’t say no.

“I guess we could try it,” Ivy said. June squealed and clapped, then smacked her hand over her mouth. She was so cute that Ivy couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, but instead of a cat, let’s do a whale!”

June said. ” A whale? “

“A blue whale.”

“I don’t have any colored pencils.”

June laughed. “No, an actual blue whale, the largest mammal on the planet.” June grabbed her phone and tapped the screen a couple of times before holding it out to Ivy.

There, a huge whale swam through deep blue water.

“Used to be,” June said, setting her phone back down, “scientists thought the aorta in their heart was big enough for a human to swim through. Now we know it’s not, and their whole heart is about the size of a golf cart. I still love the idea, though.”

“Love … what idea?”

Even in the dim light, June’s eyes sparkled. “That a heart could exist that’s big enough to fit a whole person inside. Isn’t that cool?”

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