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Mar 09, 2018samcmar rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
When I learned about the existence of Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World, I was intrigued. Middle grade has always been fantastic at teaching diversity, particularly it's shown vast growth on LGBTQIA+ subject matters. This novel focuses on a twelve-year-old girl whose family home is destroyed by a devastating tornado, and how she begins to find herself. A lot of this book looks at Ivy's notion of what it means to be a lesbian in a construct where children are constantly told that "girls like boys" and "boys like girls." She wants to challenge this given she has strong feelings for her friend June, and the fact that she wants to be treated normally. What I loved about this story is that we feel for Ivy and we see her ups and downs in both her feelings and understanding of the world around her. She behaves like many kids do when they feel different -- they try to combat the feelings themselves instead of reaching out, and that makes sense given she has to make herself vulnerable to people she might feel could harm her. This novel is very raw and heartbreaking. It's also super hopeful as well. Ivy's family accepts her for who she is, which is kind of wonderful and it was great to see them being present in the story, which doesn't happen enough in middle grade or YA. They love her, they try to understand what she is going through and the want to help her in any way they can. I loved that aspect in the story because we just don't see enough of it anymore. Having Ivy's narrative being the core focus, she is a character I know many readers will love and relate with. Ivy's letter to the world sort-to-speak is powerful, it's passionate, and most of all, it's authentic to her experience. We need more middle grade novels like this that can teach great lessons about hope, friendship, sexuality, and personal growth. I cannot wait to read more by Ashley Herring Blake, because she is a fantastic storyteller.