Ivy

by Sarah Oleksyk

Ivy, a teenager from a small town, longs to leave and pursue her dream of becoming a painter. But life isn't easy when you never know the right thing to say. After beginning a long-distance relationship with a kindred spirit, Ivy gets a glimpse of freedom too good to pass up. Only while trying to escape her troubles does she start to understand that while she can leave home, she can't run away from herself.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Graphic Novels Comics

224 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2011

Reviews

[chan ☆]

oof. i was gonna try and push through this but ivy was so unlikable that i couldn't make myself. i also skipped to the end and it doesn't look like her personality improves. yikes.

dnf.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminded me of Anya's Ghost, so if you liked that book, or in turn didn't like that book, then Ivy might/might not be for you. It had the same sort of angst-filled angry at the world I hate my friends and every person who has ever been nice to me feel that Anya had as well, though there is nothing paranormal about Ivy.

The artwork is nice, just like with Anya, but I didn't like the story or any of the characters. There's lots of domestic violence, mean girl antics, dumb guys who can only think with their penises, smoking pot, sex, and omgIhatehighschoolandthistownsomuchIcan'twaittogetoutofhere. I didn't feel that way about high school or the town I grew up in, I didn't hate my friends and teachers and mother and have massive mood swings for no reason, and I got a full-ride to a school and wanted to pursue art just like Ivy but I certainly didn't hide this from my mom and she certainly didn't slap me for wanting to go to that specific university. Ivy has ONE SEMESTER of high school left. How can you go to school for 13+ years and then decide, "Oh, I think I'll screw up my whole life and not graduate because I can't keep it together for a handful of months."

I didn't get this, is what I'm saying. This just isn't a world I was ever a part of and so I couldn't relate and didn't like anything that Ivy did or said. Others definitely might feel differently though.

[Miriam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh man, I didn't like this one. Ivy is a one-dimensional high schooler...who hates everything and everyone. And I mean EVERYTHING. There are one or two moments when something good happens to her and brief glimmer of joy crosses her face...but just wait a frame or two, because she'll figure out a way to hate it. She doesn't really grow or change over the course of the book, and there's no real ending.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this book for so long it almost felt like I actually had. But now it's nominated for 2 Eisners and I had no excuse. What I really liked is that it was so different from your typical high school/coming of age story. Ivy is real. She is insecure, angry, defensive, she fights with her mom. Her dreams are in conflict with her mother's which puts the two of them in conflict. She is no cheerleader, rather an almost androgenous outcast with whom even her closest friends can no longer relate. Then she meets HIM. He's handsome, talented, romantic, and digs HER. But the reality of people is rarely the image that they project. She realizes she fell in love with the projection and she needs to get her life back on track. She eats a little humble pie, but learns when you face your life with honesty, wonderful things can happen. It was a good time in my life to read this book, as I continually learn that I need to take my destiny into my own hands, let go of bad memories and grudges and grow up.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A graphic novel about an almost-eighteen year old named Ivy, in her last year of high school, a time of transitions and uncertainty. She wants to go to art school, her mom wants her to go to a regular college and major in business. The story covers a downward spiral of feeling left out, being angry, hating school, and focusing on escape via a long-distance love connection.

I didn't connect with the main character, because of the amount of outward anger she has toward everything in her life. Her actions were alienating to the other characters in the novel, and also to me. The author does a good job portraying the shortsightedness of being this age, where every little thing that goes wrong feels like it will WRECK EVERYTHING FOREVER, but still. Self-absorbed alienation in a protagonist is difficult to like.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author does a good job telling a story, but the characters are predominantly coarse, violent and unlikeable. I didn’t enjoy this.

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh meh. Mediocre early morning airplane reading. Yes, teenagers lives are complicated and not cookie-cutter, but at the same time you really have to make the characters less flat. Her mom's character didn't make sense, the motivation to run was almost but not quite there, the intangible rage of just Being A Teenager which can make you pretty unpleasant, I got that. But making stupid stupid choices because of it that she took a long time to realize were so stupid (when she was clearly a smart girl), nah I didn't buy it. And the illustration was pretty good, but didn't mix it up, and got monotonous as a result.

Oh well! Teens!

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being so removed from teen-ness and unable to relate to a tumultuous teenhood are the main reasons why I couldn't give this more stars. The drawings are nicely done, but I wished there was more character development, especially among Ivy's mom and Ivy's friends. As the story wasn't told from Ivy's perspective, there's no reason why we shouldn't be privy to more information about those characters (even if she doesn't see/know some things).

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the drawing style of it but the plot seemed rather off. I also did not really believe the romantic attraction between her and her various love interests.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This definitely captures the confusion and angst of adolescence - but I'm not sure it goes any deeper.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art on this one is cute, and I liked some of the side characters.

Ivy is just kind of a dick, though.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome graphic novel about adolescence and being on the verge of adulthood. Treat yourself to some everyday bravery and courage by reading this one.

[N.T. Embeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good.

To read more of my thoughts, click here.

[Rain Misoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good graphic novel with life lessons anyone can learn from.

To read my full review, click here.

[Maddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much but I didn’t. This came off to me like Ladybird did and I didn’t like that movie either, so I guess that shouldn’t really surprise anyone.

Ivy is a teenager who dreams of art school but her mom thinks it’s a bad idea. I ran into this too as a college student; I almost majored in art but I was swayed out of it for reasons of practicality. So I could sympathize with both Ivy and her mom on this topic because art school is fucking expensive. They fight over whether or not Ivy can even go since her mother is a single mother and school is ridiculously expensive.

The rest of the story, however, I didn’t understand or really sympathize with Ivy or any of the terrible choices she made. Her boyfriend Josh was full of red flags and clearly needed help. He was abused and seemed to be suffering from some kind of mental illness. Ivy, of course, is taken in by his overly charming almost manic charisma. The reader can see that her romance with Josh is doomed for trouble because he turns her unto pot and convinces her to run away from home.

I kind of hate the romanticized trope of “let’s runaway from home” for teen lit because it’s so dangerous in reality and really shouldn’t be encouraged by adults. Ivy’s life wasn’t nearly bad enough for her running away to be an improvement in any sense of the word. Her mom clearly cared about her and she was just trying to get back at her for not letting her go to art school. She ends up in an abandoned house in Georgia where her druggie boyfriend cheats on her with two criminals who live on the streets and are on the run.

The worst part of this is that Ivy’s choice to go off the rails is literally the very end of senior year, right before she goes off to college. There’s no real consequence for any of her acting out through out the graphic novel. She still gets to go to the art college of her dreams without any further trouble because she receives a full ride scholarship, somehow (this isn’t really realistic either, but I guess the author wanted something nice for Ivy after she put herself through Josh’s bullshit and made everyone worry about her).

I gave this two stars! I didn’t like Ivy’s character and I couldn’t really sympathize with any of the choices she made. Yes, they were her own bad choices and readers more or less witness this girl almost throw her life away to spite her teachers, friends, and mother. The romance between her and Josh is pretty toxic and riddled with red flags that the reader can easily spot from a distance (among them he chews off her nail- that’s not only weird but gross). The two stars were for the art alone, since it was one of the best parts of the graphic novel. I wouldn’t suggest this book for story content but art-wise, I liked the artist’s style.

Triggers/Content warning: Abuse (physical, emotional, verbal), drug issues, mismanaged mental illness, and sexual images (nudity and sex).

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah Oleksyk captures the pitfalls of teenage life in her graphic tale Ivy. Trapped in a small town with only her enjoyment of art as an outlet, Ivy is disillusioned with the world in general. Feeling like an outcast - even among her small group of friends - her life seems to pick up after a school trip to showcase portfolios. One school offers Ivy a brochure for consideration, and she makes a connection with cute art student Josh. Their letters and phone calls are the sole joy in her life, as Ivy's intense anger and rebellious nature towards her single mother continue to cause grief. A verbal and physical fight with her mother causes Ivy to elect to run away with Josh. They hitchhike south, coming to rest in an abandon home. The joy soon fades as Josh returns one day with two fellow runaways, and begins to show his true colors. Finally heading back home, Ivy reconnects with her mother and begins to turn the page onto a new chapter in her life. Oleksyk's tale is full of teenage angst, uncertainty, restlessness, and ennui. As such, it does encapsulate the full drama of surviving the awkward stage of growing up. Younger readers should assuredly find a connection with Ivy herself, but older readers will encounter a disconnect in the portrayal of the adult characters. Ivy should grow on teenage fans of graphic novels, looking for ways to escape into a bugger and better world.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sure, I'm just gonna spend the night reading decent but not life changing high school graphic novels about growing up.

Again, 3.5, nothing off the walls, but a solid story about navigating life, high school, relationship strife, and parental disconnections. Extra points, as always, for graphic novels written by women about women.

[Karah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black and white illustrations dominate this book. A barrel of unpleasantness, Ivy antagonizes nearly everyone. Still, not every woman radiates sunshine and rose petals. If I meet someone who demands a story with an unlikeable female protagonist, then Ivy by Sarah Oleksyk needs to be their next read.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think stories of kids in high school and at the crossroads of college/career/etc are really important and this one was one of a young woman basically making ALL the wrong ones...I wanted more for her but it was not to be. And I guess those stories are important too.

[Hannah Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shy away from YA but this was recommended and the recommender was correct, I loooooved it! So funny, so real, just a totally perfectly executed book.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting. Art was good.

[Lexi Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oleksyk captures the rage and powerlessness of being young, female and on the precipice of Real Life like I’ve never seen in comic form.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read the original zine mini-comic of issue #3. I quite liked it, the art was fantastic. I'm interested to read more, and thus am glad there is a collected edition.

[Lindsay Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ivy is such an unlikable character, as is Josh... actually, not a single character is likable.

[Emerald Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

[kalakakku · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just teenage angst and anger. Not much substance.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5)

[Robyn Rosencutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I just imagined all the best parts of you. Wish I could do that for myself."

[Zoe Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's the existential dread for the future for me

[Chloé Camille Wittenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. Ivy was the worst main character I’ve ever read.