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
Praise
“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
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“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
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"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
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"Feelings, life, and people are allowed to be complicated in beautiful ways in this page-turner."Kirkus Reviews
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"A keenly observed portrait of a girl who goes way overboard on a good thing."Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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"?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
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