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Ivy's Turn
It is 1993 and Zak Walker, newly arrived at Carver Central High School from his native Vermont, finds himself in the same homeroom with a pretty young woman named Ivy Whitman. Zak's parents have recently separated, as his mother has returned to school, and as he tries to make friends and navigate his way in the large, diverse, urban high school, he finds himself increasing drawn to the smart, ambitious young African American woman who sometimes sits across from him. In time, Ivy, the of a career Army Colonel and a kind, loving mother from North Carolina, comes to notice this shy, quiet boy, and as they become friends she weighs her gathering affections for Zak against the gathering resistance of her best friend, Yvonne, and the absorbed wisdom of her family, to dating a "White Boy." Thirty years after the civil rights movement, she discovers, the taboos against interracial relationships are still alive and well in America, and Ivy must decide with whom her true loyalties should lie: her friends, her family, or herself.
140 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2006
6 people want to read
About the author
David Updike
22 books2 followersThe son of esteemed American writer John Updike, David was born in 1959 in Massachusetts.
He studied Art History at Harvard, and received his M.A.T. from Columbia University.
He has written a collection of short stories, Out on the Marsh, (Godine) as well as six books for children. His book, A Helpful Alphabet of Cheerful Objects, features his own photographs.
His published work includes an illustrated series for young readers that includes A Winter Journey (1985), An Autumn Tale (1988), A Spring Story (1989), and The Sounds of Summer (1993). The stories chronicle the seasonal adventures of a boy named Homer and his beloved dog Sophocles.
His novel, Ivy's Turn, is set in 1993 that, though 30 years after the civil rights movement, still has taboos against interracial relationships.
His essays and short stories have been published in The New Yorker, Harpers, Doubletake, Newsweek, and the New York Times Magazine.
He lives in Cambridge Massachusetts with his wife, Wambui, and his son, Wesley.
David Updike has taught English and Creative Writing at MIT and is Professor of English at Roxbury Community College in Boston, Massachusetts.
He studied Art History at Harvard, and received his M.A.T. from Columbia University.
He has written a collection of short stories, Out on the Marsh, (Godine) as well as six books for children. His book, A Helpful Alphabet of Cheerful Objects, features his own photographs.
His published work includes an illustrated series for young readers that includes A Winter Journey (1985), An Autumn Tale (1988), A Spring Story (1989), and The Sounds of Summer (1993). The stories chronicle the seasonal adventures of a boy named Homer and his beloved dog Sophocles.
His novel, Ivy's Turn, is set in 1993 that, though 30 years after the civil rights movement, still has taboos against interracial relationships.
His essays and short stories have been published in The New Yorker, Harpers, Doubletake, Newsweek, and the New York Times Magazine.
He lives in Cambridge Massachusetts with his wife, Wambui, and his son, Wesley.
David Updike has taught English and Creative Writing at MIT and is Professor of English at Roxbury Community College in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 10, 2011
At first, i just read the book because it was on a banned book lisgt. But then when I actually read the book, i thought it was reallyt good and made you think. The book is about interracial relationships during the 90s. Thus, being not a long time after the civil rights movement, friendships and races are still segregated and tested.Thisleading up to the book begining.
The book talks abo a boy named Zack who moves with his mother to a new school and area. Zack talks about his past life as a country boy now moving to a big city. He meets a few friends along the way and with those friends, Zack falls in love with one of them. Her name is Ivy. Ivy is friends with the wrong crowd but somehow still makes time to hang out with Zack. They become very close and soon almost everyone notices it also. This causes trouble at school for Zack and Ivy. In the book, friendship is tested and it's kind of like a coming of age book. Because, in the end, you get a new sense of the characters that you have read from the last page of the book!
The book talks abo a boy named Zack who moves with his mother to a new school and area. Zack talks about his past life as a country boy now moving to a big city. He meets a few friends along the way and with those friends, Zack falls in love with one of them. Her name is Ivy. Ivy is friends with the wrong crowd but somehow still makes time to hang out with Zack. They become very close and soon almost everyone notices it also. This causes trouble at school for Zack and Ivy. In the book, friendship is tested and it's kind of like a coming of age book. Because, in the end, you get a new sense of the characters that you have read from the last page of the book!
Displaying 1 of 1 review