Saint Ivy: Kind at All Costs

by Laurie Morrison

Overview

Laurie Morrison’s Saint Ivy is a thoughtful middle-grade novel about caring for others and for yourself––and what it truly means to be kind and vulnerable.

Thirteen-year-old Ivy Campbell has always been a good kid: She supports her soccer-star brother, bakes with her nana, and puts her friends’ needs before her own. So of course, Ivy is 100 percent supportive when her mom decides to be a gestational surrogate, carrying and giving birth to her friends’ baby.

But when Ivy finds out the surrogacy treatment worked and her mom is pregnant—and has been for weeks—she’s shocked that she’s jealous and worried about what others will think. And most of all, she’s ashamed that she isn’t reacting to this news in the right way. The Ivy way. Ivy is determined to prove to herself that she’s just as unselfish as she’s always believed, and she gets the chance to do that when she receives an anonymous email from someone who needs her help.

But the more Ivy dives into helping this anonymous person, the further she gets from the people she loves—and from the person who she wants to be.

“Feelings, life, and people are allowed to be complicated in beautiful ways in this page-turner.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A keenly observed portrait of a girl who goes way overboard on a good thing.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419741265
Publisher:	Amulet Paperbacks
Publication date:	05/10/2022
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Laurie Morrison taught middle school for ten years before writing Every Shiny Thing, her middle-grade debut with co-author Cordelia Jensen. She is also the author of Up for Air, Saint Ivy, and Coming Up Short. She received her MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Philadelphia.

Editorial Reviews

"A keenly observed portrait of a girl who goes way overboard on a good thing."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Morrison has crafted a beautifully triumphant story. It is layered, warm, and sweet, just like the perfectly imperfect Ivy herself."

author of Dress Coded Carrie Firestone

A truly memorable novel that makes the sometimes quiet and unasked questions of growing up and figuring yourself out feel big and bold and heart-shifting and profound. Part page-turning mystery, part emotional character study, I loved every poignant, intimate, and wise page. And I loved Ivy and her deeply relatable journey most of all.

author of Eventown and One Jar of Magic Corey Ann Haydu

I loved this wise, warm and utterly relatable story about kindness— topic that feels especially timely. Once again, Laurie Morrison has created a complex, authentic character readers will eagerly embrace.

author of Maybe He Just Likes You and My Life in t Barbara Dee

A truly memorable novel that makes the sometimes quiet and unasked questions of growing up and figuring yourself out feel big and bold and heart-shifting and profound. Part page-turning mystery, part emotional character study, I loved every poignant, intimate, and wise page. And I loved Ivy and her deeply relatable journey most of all.”—Corey Ann Haydu, author of Eventown and One Jar of Magic

“I loved this wise, warm and utterly relatable story about kindness— topic that feels especially timely. Once again, Laurie Morrison has created a complex, authentic character readers will eagerly embrace.”—Barbara Dee, author of Maybe He Just Likes You and My Life in the Fish Tank

"Morrison has crafted a beautifully triumphant story. It is layered, warm, and sweet, just like the perfectly imperfect Ivy herself."—Carrie Firestone, author of Dress Coded

"Feelings, life, and people are allowed to be complicated in beautiful ways in this page-turner." —Kirkus Reviews

"A keenly observed portrait of a girl who goes way overboard on a good thing." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Relatable realistic fiction for upper elementary and middle school readers navigating friendships, boundaries, and identity, with appeal for fans of similarly themed stories such as Varian Johnson’s Twins, Shannon Hale’s Real Friends, and Celia C. Pérez’s Strange Birds." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2021

Gr 4–6—Thirteen-year-old Ivy knows what she is good at: being kind to others. Like many middle schoolers, Ivy is grasping for an identity, and has decided that being kind is her "thing," the way sports or academics are for other kids. Ivy is not so good at being kind to herself, however, and her relationships with her family and friends suffer. Ivy is always ready to help others, but won't share or let herself be helped in turn. The lively narrative projects an authentic middle school voice and the Philadelphia setting is vivid, populated by nuanced characters and situations. Ivy's caring mother regularly asks Ivy to share her feelings, but then hides the risks of her surrogate pregnancy. One of Ivy's oldest friends, alienated by her determination not to share any vulnerabilities, decides that their friendship has run its course. Ivy is Jewish; her father has a male partner while her friend Lila has two mothers, and Ivy has Black and Latinx friends at school. The story shows the benefits of living in such a diverse community: Ivy's Nana encourages her to "embrace all the parts of herself," and Ivy embraces this in others too. When she first encounters Lila's blended family and wonders about their history, she quickly understands that she "doesn't need to understand the inner workings of Lila's family." Surrounded by all sorts of loving families and community members, it's no wonder that Ivy has found a knack for being kind. VERDICT Relatable realistic fiction for upper elementary and middle school readers navigating friendships, boundaries, and identity, with appeal for fans of similarly themed stories such as Varian Johnson's Twins, Shannon Hale's Real Friends, and Celia C. Pérez's Strange Birds.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn P.L.

School Library Journal

2021-03-16
Is there such a thing as being too kind?

Thirteen-year-old Ivy believes that being kind is what she does best—so much so that some kids have taken to calling her “Saint Ivy.” The nuanced nature of kindness comes to the fore as Ivy navigates her complicated life, which includes her parents’ divorce; her dad’s partner, Leo; her mother’s decision to become a gestational surrogate; and her own changing friendships. However, just when all of this threatens to overwhelm, Ivy receives an anonymous email from someone thanking her for making their day better. Ivy excitedly dives into corresponding with this unknown person while also trying to solve the mystery of their identity. After bending over backward to be kind to everyone who might be the anonymous emailer, Ivy realizes it is possible that there is a cost to too much kindness, including negative effects on one’s own health, development, and relationships. Readers might squirm as they watch Ivy continually sublimate her own negative, uncomfortable, sad, or angry feelings into the drive to help others, but with help from those who love her, she learns to unpack some of this as the story moves toward its conclusion and the resolution of the mystery. Ivy is White and Jewish on her mother’s side.

Feelings, life, and people are allowed to be complicated in beautiful ways in this page-turner. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews