Module 7: Faith, Hope, and Ivy June

Book Summary

Ivy June (a country girl) and Catherine (a city girl) participate in a school exchange program which requires them to stay at each other's home and record the experience in a journal.  The two girls try very hard to set aside prejudices and, as both face troubling circumstances, they find out that they are more similar than they thought.

APA Reference

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. (2009).  Faith, hope, and Ivy June.  New York, NY:  Delacorte.

 

Impressions

The theme of this book reminded me a little bit of Country Mouse and City Mouse.  Naylor does a good job with setting and describing the differences between Ivy June's world and Catherine's world.  I thought the characters were a little unbelievable at times; a little too much on the polite side.  I believe in reality there would be a liitle more tension than what was portrayed.  I struggled with timing at the beginning of the story - at first I was under the impression that the story was taking place sometime in the past, mostly due to my own misconceived notions that not many people in our country would be living without indoor plumbing today.  Then it is mentioned that Catherine has a cell  phone so I figured it must take place in present day.  The story is told from both girls' points of view through their journal entries which adds insight and interest.  It is definitely a book with a valuable message.

Professional Review

Ivy June worries that all Lexington girls are rich, arrogant snobs. Catherine fears that all backwoods mountain people lack intelligence, teeth and indoor plumbing. Despite their prejudices, both Kentucky girls volunteer to take part in a seventh-grade school exchange, in which each will spend two weeks as part of the other's family. Ivy June finds Catherine's life relatively easy, with few chores, her own cell phone and a loving family-though she recognizes Catherine's concern for her sick mother. Catherine appreciates the natural beauty and extended community that surround Ivy June, even as she's shocked by the family's poverty. This finely crafted novel, told mostly through Ivy June's eyes, with forays into both girls' journals, depicts a deep friendship growing slowly through understanding. As both girls wait out tragedies at the book's end, they cling to hope-and each other-in a thoroughly real and unaffected way. Naylor depicts Appalachia with sympathetic realism, showing readers the harsh, inescapable realities of coal country and the quiet courage of people doing their best. Highly recommended. (Fiction. 9-14)

Faith, hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.  [Review of the book Faith, hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor].  Kirkus Reviews.  Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/faith-hope-and-ivy-june-phyllis-reynolds-naylor/1013821158.

 

Library Uses

After reading this book, have students research a neighboring town or city and report the differences between where they live and the place they have researched.  Compare things that Catherine and Ivy June experienced in the story such as culture, festivals, standard of living, geography, etc...

Book cover image from:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/faith-hope-and-ivy-june-phyllis-reynolds-naylor/1013821158