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Ivy Julie Hearn author 9780192754318 Books

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Ivy Julie Hearn author 9780192754318 Books

I absolutely loved this book!

Hearn is skilled at getting the right pitch of language, setting, and action to combine in an irresistible blend of temptation that sucks in the reader and doesn't let go. Ivy has it all. Readers and fans of the Victorian era will certainly want to read this novel. I swear Hearn channelled Charles Dickens through out the novel - it's that good!

Ivy is a poor girl living in Victorian England, has a bad day at school and runs away. She falls in with some unsavory characters that introduce her to Laudanam. Several years later, after reuniting with her family, Ivy is an addict. She falls into a modeling job for an artist. What I loved was how Hearn shows how the Victorian art world had a revival of sorts with Ophelia. A lot of paintings depicting Ophelia were made in this time period, but I loved how the author uses this knowledge, then adds a twist to help give Ivy a major realization.

Trust me - if you like the Victorian era or the themes of the time, then you should pick up this book! (The subject matter is serious, but the results are tame due to the fact that this is YA fiction).

Laudanam, Ophelia, art, petticoats, adventure - everything is in this novel.

Oh, and tea! Did I mention there is tea?!


Tags : Ivy [Julie Hearn (author)] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Book by Hearn Julie,Julie Hearn (author),Ivy,OXFORD UP CHILDREN'S,0192754319,Adventure stories,Children's Books,Fiction,Fiction dealing with social issues,Fiction dealing with specific issues,For National Curriculum Key Stage 3,Historical fiction

Ivy Julie Hearn author 9780192754318 Books Reviews

Ivy always stood out. If it wasn't her red curly hair, it was something else that put her at odds with those around her. At age 5, she lives with a family of con artists who would do anything for a meal of meat, but Ivy has an aversion to eating creatures. When she is rescued from the charity mongerers and offered an education, once again, she is the outcast. Among thieves, her moral conscience interferes with her ability to fit in with those who rescue her. What once started as a remedy for sleeplessness now dulls her spirit. Ivy develops an addiction to laudanum, the popular drug of nineteenth-century. When Ivy grabs the attention of the painter Oscar Aretino Frosdick, a member of the pre-Raphaelite school, the intrigue steps up several levels as the artist's jealous mother seeks to keep power over her son's life.

In a style similar to Charles Dickens, Julie Hearn brings the reader right into the heart of nineteenth century England. Her use of description makes the smells, taste and touch of poverty palpable for readers. At the same time, her characters have a vibrancy and spirit that sparkles off the pages. The beneficent narrator clearly has a fondness for Ivy, and so will readers. Despite the circumstances of her life, her noble heart and inner goodness stand out from the first introduction. The use of dialect in dialogue encourages a reader to hear the voices of the time period. The dialect does not detract from the ease of reading but rather adds punch, humor and social insights. Julie Hearn gives a humorous social critique to the reader's experience of the nineteenth century class system.

Julie Hearn's historical fiction takes the reader into the heart of the historical time period but at the same time, she writes a story relevant to young adults in modern times. IVY will appeal to both young adults and much older adults, like myself. She takes the best of Dickens and yet, her focus on a female protagonist expands on that beauty with her own original insight. IVY takes up a female protagonist with the same richness and depth as the nineteenth century Victorian writers gave to their heroes. Like Dickens, Julie Hearn takes the reader through all the ups and downs of fortune, but always in such a way that the reader loves and cheers for her characters. Julie Hearn's IVY is one of those classic books readers will cherish rereading.
When Ivy is born, into the poorest of poor circumstances in a 19th-century slum in London, her father predicts a life of trouble for the red-haired baby. His predictions come true after he dies and her mother leaves. Ivy must live with her aunt's shiftless, thieving family, in shabby Paradise Row.

When Ivy is five years old, her cousin Jared attempts to swindle money out of Mrs. Merrifield and Mrs. Larrington of the Ragged Children's Welfare Association. The welfare ladies not only give the family money, but they insist on placing Ivy and her cousin Orlando in a school. Ivy's aunt and uncle are quite unimpressed with the notion of an education for the two children --- until they hear there's a lunch involved.

Ivy herself does not care to go to school, but she is resigned. However, on the first day of class, the little girl not only has to stand in a corner, she ends up urinating there. But the worst part turns out to be bacon in the cabbage soup. Ivy does not, will not and cannot eat meat. She runs away from school, only to get lost on London's streets.

Ivy knows to look for a "bluebottle" (policeman) to direct her back to Paradise Row. Meanwhile, she is starving and nearly crying as she trots along. Then she notices a very tall lady staring at her. Ivy feels a kinship with the stranger since they both have red hair. When the woman, who introduces herself as Carroty Kate, offers to share her orange, Ivy not only eats the fruit but she lets Kate take the boots that the welfare ladies gave her to wear to school.

As it happens, Kate is a thief, specializing in stealing children's clothing to resell. She has no intention of helping Ivy until a passing woman holding a child's hand smiles upon them in an "I know how it is" manner. Kate realizes that she can use Ivy to scam people. She takes her home to a lodging house that is crammed full of colorful scoundrels but is also strangely cozy. Kate's feller, Fing, adds to the ambience by cooking up humble yet tasty food.

Ivy enjoys living with Kate, for the most part. But she is appalled when Kate takes her out to "earn her keep," which involves tricking a little girl out of her stylish and expensive clothes. She also hates sleeping in the cupboard, which has been painted with a creepy design that gives Ivy nightmares. To quell her night-time screams, Kate begins giving her drops of laudanum, the quite available opium syrup taken by many people for nerves and insomnia...or whatever might ail a person.

By the time Ivy returns to her aunt and uncle, she is addicted. Her laudanum dependency continues into her teen years, rendering her sluggish and sleepy. Yet she is striking, with her red hair, pale skin and hazel eyes. When artist Oscar Frosdick spies her, he persuades her to model for him. Unfortunately, this displaces his former model, his mother --- who takes murderous offense.

Julie Hearn --- author of THE MINISTER'S DAUGHTER and SIGN OF THE RAVEN --- transports readers smack-dab into the gritty world of London's 19th century slums, painting it with vibrant description, eccentric characters and much black humor. Ivy's story gripped me with its fast-paced, unpredictable plot, filled with skullduggery, mayhem and the tantalizingly remote possibility of redemption. In fact, I had a difficult time closing IVY until I reached the satisfying end.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
great
I absolutely loved this book!

Hearn is skilled at getting the right pitch of language, setting, and action to combine in an irresistible blend of temptation that sucks in the reader and doesn't let go. Ivy has it all. Readers and fans of the Victorian era will certainly want to read this novel. I swear Hearn channelled Charles Dickens through out the novel - it's that good!

Ivy is a poor girl living in Victorian England, has a bad day at school and runs away. She falls in with some unsavory characters that introduce her to Laudanam. Several years later, after reuniting with her family, Ivy is an addict. She falls into a modeling job for an artist. What I loved was how Hearn shows how the Victorian art world had a revival of sorts with Ophelia. A lot of paintings depicting Ophelia were made in this time period, but I loved how the author uses this knowledge, then adds a twist to help give Ivy a major realization.

Trust me - if you like the Victorian era or the themes of the time, then you should pick up this book! (The subject matter is serious, but the results are tame due to the fact that this is YA fiction).

Laudanam, Ophelia, art, petticoats, adventure - everything is in this novel.

Oh, and tea! Did I mention there is tea?!