Growing Up Ivy (ebook)

Argumento de Growing Up Ivy (ebook)

Setting in small-town Ontario during the Great Depression, Growing Up Ivy is a nice story for readers from Grade 6.

Ivy is a convincing character, strong though damaged, and depicted without sentimentality. The Depression-era setting is similarly convincing, crisp in its particulars. Ivy eventually connects with her father, and they spend the summer on the road together in a caravan, peddling shoes. The cumulative portrait of rural Ontario that emerges from this doomed enterprise feels like the real deal.

Leavey deserves congratulations for recognizing the gem of a good story when she came across it, and praise for making something of it.

Ivy is not the only wonderful character in this fine book, but this is definitely her story. The writing is commendable, the characters lively and likeable, the setting strong and the sense of community vibrant. I read late into the night wanting to know what would happen to these people that I had come to like so much. I enjoyed every page and recommend it highly. It would make a great read in an intermediate classroom and is certain to encourage discussion of the hard times that so many faced in the 1930s.

Peggy Dymond Leavey's previous books include Sky Lake Summer, The Deep End Gang, and The Path Through the Trees, all of which were nominated for the Silver Birch Award. Recently, she published Growing Up Ivy and Mary Pickford. Peggy lives in Trenton, Ontario.

Peggy Dymond Leavey has written an engaging and moving story of a likable, imaginative girl. I kept reading late into the night, empathizing with Ivy and wanting to know what happened next. The realities of the Great Depression are brought to life with authentic, well-researched details.0