Review Time: Ivy

I'm not a prude. That said, having to preface a review with "I'm not a prude" is never a good sign. I think I've sighed at least six times since sitting down to write this review. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We aren't here to talk about my prudish or un-prudish leanings but about Ivy by Sarah Oleksyk.

Ivy is a teenaged girl living in a little town in Maine with her mother. She hates school, fights with her friends and her teachers, and has no interest in applying to the colleges her mother is pushing for next year. The only thing she actually likes is painting. On a visit to an art school, Ivy meets Josh, a photographer from another school, and they begin writing to each other and talking on the phone. But as Ivy's relationship with Josh progresses, her relationships with everyone else in her life--from her mother to her math teacher--fall to bits. One night, after a fight with her mother, Ivy runs away and takes a bus to Josh. The two proceed to hitchhike down the coast to Georgia, where they squat in a condemned house and fall in with a dangerous crowd.

Sounds like a simple enough storyline. All the key elements are there--art, angst, teen rebellion, misunderstanding, and sex. Lots and lots of sex. Gratuitous sex. This is why I feel I must qualify my comments with reassurances that I am not a prude. I know kids are having sex, I just don't want to have to see it. I get that Ivy's sexual awakening is a crucial part of her development as an adult and important in the progression of her art career. Fine. I'm an old fashioned gal but I can get over that.

What was more unnecessary than the sex was the constant nudity. It is very possible to portray sex without nudity. If anything, the suggestion of sex is sexier than the graphic portrayal of it and I would have been much quicker to pardon Ivy's sexual themes if most of the nudity had been left out. For example, there is one panel in which Ivy is taking a bath and her breasts are floating above the surface of the water, drawn in vivid detail. The panel is completely unessential to the story and even if Oleksyk decided it was necessary to show how Ivy spent her days, it would have been just as easy to draw the panel with Ivy's bubbies concealed beneath the water rather than prominently displayed.

I feel like Ivy had so much potential to be a great story. The main character is one most teens would identify with--confused, angry, and selfish but somehow understandable. The story could have a good deal to say. Unfortunately, it seems like this may be one of those books that included sensational content for the extra attention that controversy brings. This had so much potential to be one of those books I would recommend to the same hurting teens I automatically hand John Green and Laurie Halse Anderson. Prude or no, though, this one isn't for me.

Final Grade: C-
Okay concept, but poor execution.