Marvelous Middle Grade Monday-Ivy in the Shadows by Chris Woodworth

Morning Middle Grade Monday peeps! I hope that April is treating you all well and you've been finding some good reading in your middle grade book pile! I know I have. One of those reads is Ivy in the Shadows  by Chris Woodworth and I will begin telling you about it by saying...voice, voice, voice...voice. From page one Ivy begins telling you her story in a compelling and pull you in kind of way. You feel the quiet pain that she is carrying with her and you feel it build from being mad to being angry. She has a lot going on in her young life. Her step dad left, not that he was much of a presence in her life, he pretty much ignored her. Her best friend seems to be leaving her because is more interested in boys and makeup and hanging out at the mall and shopping. Her mother spends a whole lot of time on the phone with her best friend Maureen and when she gets a job Ivy sees less and less of her. Some might say it's a good thing because Ivy and her mom spend a lot of time fighting. But it's not a good thing. It means she has to take over the care of her little brother, along with this really weird boy named Caleb who is their new boarder. Then there are the things she has heard when her Mom is on the phone. Can you imagine all that happening to you? I'd be pulling my hair out, screaming, stomping, acting out and yet Ivy keeps it pretty cool as she tells you her story. There were points  I wanted to reach in and shake some of the people in Ivy's life. Okay, maybe even shake Ivy a little and say it's okay just let it out. Then I realized that Ivy would have to do that herself--she really is the one who needs to step out of the shadows, shake it up and speak her mind. This is an author who knows how to tell a story that the middle grader on the cusp of becoming a teen would love to read and I would say I would give this to ten and up, in fact. Even as I read I could think of a few young readers I would give this to and thank goodness Chris Woodworth has a few more titles 'cause I am sure they'd be back for more because of how well the author paints the middle grade life and how she is not afraid to show the realities Ivy's life when she is suddenly the one trying to take over the care of her little brother.

From Good Reads:

After Ivy's stepfather disappears, Ivy's mama begins waitressing at Dining Divinely to make ends meet. She also takes in a boarder—twelve-year-old Caleb, who's the same age as Ivy and is the weirdest guy she's ever met. With Mama working full-time, Ivy has to babysit her little brother, JJ. She also has to fend off the nosy Pastor Harold; stop Caleb from filling JJ's head with lies; and keep her best friend, Ellen, from knowing anything about her embarrassing situation at home. 
 
Ivy has always found out all she needs to know by lurking in the shadows (some might call it "eavesdropping"). But as things at home become more complicated, she learns to step into the light and not only listen but speak up


Enjoy the day and don't forget to head back to Shannon Messenger's for some more MMGM love!