Ivy Letters

by Jesse Maas, K.M. Bishop (Editor)

One hundred years in the future, everything is perfect; there is no crime, no unexpected death, and, supposedly, no fear. Vienna and Beckham, impressionable and ambitious twins, live in a utopian world where the government has discovered a way to control illness, disease, and misconduct. Yet, to stem overpopulation, much like the necessary pruning of ivy, the government of Carnot sends out letters to its citizens each month randomly selecting people to die. After their father's suspicious death, the twins start to question how random these letters truly are. A series of encounters with the so-called heir and a quest to find truth reveals that the government may control more than meets the eye. Can they bring together unlikely allies and restore Carnot?

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2022

About the author

Jesse Maas is the author of Not for the Faint of Heart, Ivy Letters and The Desiccant Keepers.

Ivy Letters is a young-adult dystopian novel that explores the futuristic world of Carnot; where there is no crime, illness or death. In order to control the population, every citizen receives a letter each month stating whether or not they will die. This fast-paced story follows Vienna and Beckham, young and impressionable twins, as they work to uncover the truth about these letters, and restore the city they love.​

The Desiccant Keepers is Jesse's debut novel. The book follows Riley Mines, a successful business man, who finds himself behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, as he tries to clear his name. When an unlikely ally provides him with a gift to temporarily escape, he uncovers more than he anticipated. He solves the crime but quickly realizes his troubles have just begun.

Jesse grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas before moving to Grand Rapids, MI for college. After graduating, she lived in Indianapolis and Myrtle Beach, SC for many years and now finds herself back in west Michigan with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a story unlike any I have ever previously read. I finished this in one day. Great work!

[Crystie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t want to put this one down! Easy read, fun twists/adventure, and loved the characters. Would love to read even more of what happens after the end of this story! Also, I appreciate how “clean” this book is for teens/young adults and will definitely be on our shelves for when my kids get older.

[K.M. Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clean, coming soft age teen dystopian with a great message about friendship, family,and doing what is right.

[Cat Atwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good and I’m super happy I stumbled upon it at the bookstore. Highly recommend if you’re into stories about dystopian futures. It almost makes you wonder if what happened in this book could/would ever happen in reality…let’s hope not though! Lol Jesse did a great job drawing her readers in and at one point (or two) I found my jaw dropping at some of the plot and the not so expected turns I was taken on.

I loved reading this book and it was a nice change of pace from the things I normally read. There are a lot of chapters, but they were on the shorter side so you will most definitely find yourself saying “okay one more chapter” 😂 I didn’t anticipate it taking me as long to read it, but again life tends to put my reading on hold.

I actually picked up this book from the Barnes and Noble in Myrtle Beach while I was on vacation and it just so happened that the author was doing a book signing event that same day I popped into B&N. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet her in person, but I did snag one of her signed copies. Fun fact: this is also my very first author signed books that will now have a forever home on my bookshelf 🥰

[Ashley Utecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great YA book! I love that I enjoyed it and could see people as young as 12/13 enjoying it as well! I loved the storyline, something I’ve never thought about but was so interesting! Great book!

[Brett Cloutier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I read it so quickly. The characters were all great and I loved how they developed throughout the book. Really interesting overall plot and enjoyed all of the twists!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the concept of the story, but the time frame made it feel rushed and took away from the message and believability. The teen characters were pretty well developed, but the mom was not really believable. Her actions didn't make sense, but I think that was mostly to do with the time frame.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good. And I was a little sad at the end because of the ending. A sweet coming of age book for sure.

[Cindy C · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75⭐s