Book Review – ‘The Revolution of Ivy’ by Amy Engel

A dystopian that packs a punch…

Genre: Y/A, Dystopian, Science Fiction

No. of pages: 290

From Goodreads:

Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty–forced marriages and murder plots–for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall’s borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy’s life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she’s fought for.

An amazing follow up to ‘The Book of Ivy.’

Amy Engel is not afraid to go where she needs to go – to face an ugly reality and do what must be done – that is what wraps this duology up in a nut shell. It is beautiful and terrifying in all its hues, just like life.

Amy has a way of telling a story and developing a character that is ferociously organic. I revelled in our protagonist, Ivy’s growth as a person, her experiences, her feelings… all of it had motive and direction. There is little I can fault in this novel.

Bishop too has his own journey – and he really shines here as a character – there was not a lot of change in the first novel, but in this finale he had no option, but to either put up or shut up. The dystopian world is almost colonial, reminding me of the wild west without the cowboy hats and spurs.

Amy throws ethical dilemmas at the couple, both on a small and large scale. I really love the way her brain works, how Ivy and Bishop learn to adapt to survive in this new world. To help it grow with them and leave behind trappings and prejudices of old.

The introduction of Caleb and Ash give this novel a much needed softer side – that of family, loyalty and security. Even though they have that hard edge essential to survive in this hostile landscape, the couple are everything that is needed to nurture stability and sanity. Forming their own family… it reminded me of something from a GLBT novel (and even RuPaul has been quoted as saying) where they get to choose their family. I really liked that aspect to this novel. How nomads flock together to form communities to benefit the whole. To survive.

The love story aspect of ‘The Revolution of Ivy’ develops further, and I have all the praise in the world to how it is handled. Responsibly, practically, realistically. It’s one of the best romantic story lines I’ve read in a long while.

All of my expectations were met. With that statement, I’d have to say it was fairly predictable, but it was one hell of a journey! So it won’t take a genius to guess the ending.

The pacing is pretty fast, though I think the debut was a little quicker, but there is always something happening, the plot is driven forward with every paragraph. I spread it out over two days. I’ve read many dystopian novels, many of the popular ones in this genre, and I have to say, the Ivy duology has knocked them off their pedestal, it has cemented itself in my top five favourites for this genre.

Highly recommend you give these books a go – it’s a fantastic adventure that really makes you think!

Overall feeling: Took me by surprise!

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