Review: The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

(WARNING: spoilers for The Book of Ivy.) 

See the review for The Book of Ivy here. 

Banished to the wilderness outside the fence after taking ownership for a crime she did not commit, Ivy must learn to survive the harsh reality of the landscape outside of the city where she has spent her whole life. Alone and unprepared, she must battle against the elements, predators, and old enemies in order to survive, and to face her hardest challenge: learning to let herself love again. 

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did the first in the series. There were some good points that followed through from the first installment; for instance, the landscape and setting were believable and well-developed, and the writing style, though easy to read, is not boring or bland. 

Ivy’s character stays true to herself, and she continues her journey of discovering who she is without letting others define her, an element from the first book that I particularly liked. I admire how she remains tough and strong, and how much of a survivor she is despite the odds and what everybody else is telling her. With all this, she is also still human and believable and has many struggles, making her a relatable and realistic character. I also liked the other characters that were brought in in this installment — such as Caleb and Ash, who added relief to the romantic tension in some parts of the book. Ivy and Bishop’s relationship also still felt natural and well-developed, instead of forced. 

Probably best of all, the ending of the book felt satisfying and like a good fit for the duology as a whole. 

However, there were some elements that I found a little less enjoyable. The plot doesn’t hold suspense as well as the first book did; it almost feels as though there are several smaller storylines in the book, rather than one overarching whole, which doesn’t mesh together too well or give the satisfying sense of an overall narrative.

It starts off well with momentum and excitement, but it feels as if it loses this partway through. The plot feels as if it changes direction several times, and though these transitions aren’t jarring and they do make sense, something just feels lacking.

In addition, something about the characters didn’t feel as well fleshed out as in the first book (at least to me).

Without giving any spoilers, another of the elements that didn’t sit so well was that there are some decisions that Ivy makes near the end of the book that don’t feel consistent with her character development and with her in general, and which seemed unnecessary and counter-intuitive.

This book was also a little darker than the first, with a bit more blood and gore (though still not super graphic), disturbing scenes, deaths, and questionable moral decisions and developments. There were also some sex scenes, though these were minimal in their description, and not graphic. 

Overall, I recommend this book to those who enjoyed the first in the duology, as I found it a satisfying conclusion. 

As with the first installment, I would recommend this book to fans of dystopian YA fiction in general, and books like the Divergent and Matched series.