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A review by paragraphsandpages
The Love Song of Ivy K. Harlowe by Hannah Moskowitz
4.0
This book took me entirely by surprise. I was a bit wary going into this, because I was worried that jealousy would take over too much of the book, and at first, that's where it seemed like the book was going. Andie was focused entirely on Ivy, her best friend, and was constantly jealous (and sometimes quite petty) to the people Ivy slept with. But slowly, it became clear that the narrative wasn't going to be about Andie winning Ivy necessarily, but about Andie starting to live for herself, and move on.
As soon as I started seeing these threads of the story come through, the book became more bearable, and I find myself getting more and more tangled up in the web of relationships and friendships Andie's found herself in. I was invested in seeing where Ivy and Dot's relationship would go, despite the sometimes negative lens we see the relationship through. I was even invested in Andie's relationship with Elizabeth, even though it was clear that it wasn't always a two-sided relationship. This book was overall full of drama, but in a good and realistic way, that aligned with the main character being in a relationship while also being unable to get over her best friend.
This book takes a turn for heartbreak somewhere at the end, with all these plot points seeming to come to a peak at the same time. There's suddenly so much going on with everyone, but I thought it was overall really well done, with no particular story taking over. This is where the title of the book really starts to make sense, and I like how the book chooses to close Ivy's love story while keeping Andie's door open for the future. Some of these final chapters were absolutely heart-wrenching, and it's hard to go into details without spoiling, but it's both really hard to read at points while still being beautiful in it depiction of certain events.
The characters in this book are all a bit of a mess in their own ways, but I loved that we got to see the full spectrum of queer emotion in this book, from joy to pain to heartbreak. There's such a diversity in the depictions of love and sex and romance in this book, and it was honestly great to see. There is also a lot of drinking and partying, with some drugs here and there, but the book isn't blind to it nor does it reward this risk-taking, without labelling the entire partying scene as 'bad'. It creates a clear divide between dancing and enjoyment when hanging out with friends and riskier activities that often come along with it, and even after bad things happen, there is still joy to be found in the music and dancing with each other. I also really like how all the characters seemed to grow as the story went on, learning to live with their own choices and the consequences of them as well as just the growth that happens when you're young (since everyone was around 17-21).
Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book (if enjoyment is even the right word... this book broke my heart), and I think it's great to see more books about all-queer casts where not everyone has to be perfect and wonderful. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for other books by this author!
As soon as I started seeing these threads of the story come through, the book became more bearable, and I find myself getting more and more tangled up in the web of relationships and friendships Andie's found herself in. I was invested in seeing where Ivy and Dot's relationship would go, despite the sometimes negative lens we see the relationship through. I was even invested in Andie's relationship with Elizabeth, even though it was clear that it wasn't always a two-sided relationship. This book was overall full of drama, but in a good and realistic way, that aligned with the main character being in a relationship while also being unable to get over her best friend.
This book takes a turn for heartbreak somewhere at the end, with all these plot points seeming to come to a peak at the same time. There's suddenly so much going on with everyone, but I thought it was overall really well done, with no particular story taking over. This is where the title of the book really starts to make sense, and I like how the book chooses to close Ivy's love story while keeping Andie's door open for the future. Some of these final chapters were absolutely heart-wrenching, and it's hard to go into details without spoiling, but it's both really hard to read at points while still being beautiful in it depiction of certain events.
The characters in this book are all a bit of a mess in their own ways, but I loved that we got to see the full spectrum of queer emotion in this book, from joy to pain to heartbreak. There's such a diversity in the depictions of love and sex and romance in this book, and it was honestly great to see. There is also a lot of drinking and partying, with some drugs here and there, but the book isn't blind to it nor does it reward this risk-taking, without labelling the entire partying scene as 'bad'. It creates a clear divide between dancing and enjoyment when hanging out with friends and riskier activities that often come along with it, and even after bad things happen, there is still joy to be found in the music and dancing with each other. I also really like how all the characters seemed to grow as the story went on, learning to live with their own choices and the consequences of them as well as just the growth that happens when you're young (since everyone was around 17-21).
Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book (if enjoyment is even the right word... this book broke my heart), and I think it's great to see more books about all-queer casts where not everyone has to be perfect and wonderful. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for other books by this author!