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Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst
Feb. 16th, 2011 11:13 pmA fair ways into this book, there’s a story about Lily, a young woman who shares a hereditary mental illness with her mother (Yes, it’s a “magical illness” that…well, I thought it was handled well? But it’s still a “real life illness is caused by magic and makes you special” thing.) who has all sorts of fun adventures as part of an epic scavenger hunt-style quest and has fun with talking gargoyles, boys who turn into tigers, and sorta-morally-lost knights.
Before that, though, there’s…a whole lot of Durst indulging in nostalgia for Princeton, and Ivy League schools in general, that probably works better if you, too, have nostalgia for Ivy League schools, or at least have some sort of fascination with them. If you don’t it’s kind of “yes, Sarah Beth Durst, you really really like Princeton. I get it. On with the plot?”
The actual plot, once it gets going, is…pretty much spoilery in any discussion, outside of the simple elements, though a lot of it can be guessed fairly early on, but it’s suitably interesting and complex, and has good characters. I loved Durst’s Ice both as its own story and for what it did with “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I didn’t like Enchanted Ivy as much, but it was still a pretty enjoyable book in its own right.
Before that, though, there’s…a whole lot of Durst indulging in nostalgia for Princeton, and Ivy League schools in general, that probably works better if you, too, have nostalgia for Ivy League schools, or at least have some sort of fascination with them. If you don’t it’s kind of “yes, Sarah Beth Durst, you really really like Princeton. I get it. On with the plot?”
The actual plot, once it gets going, is…pretty much spoilery in any discussion, outside of the simple elements, though a lot of it can be guessed fairly early on, but it’s suitably interesting and complex, and has good characters. I loved Durst’s Ice both as its own story and for what it did with “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I didn’t like Enchanted Ivy as much, but it was still a pretty enjoyable book in its own right.