David’s younger sister Ivy, born with multiple disabilities, needs constant attention. She may be eleven years old, but in many ways she’s still a baby. She embarrasses him in public. She takes all of their parents’ focus, to the point where David wonders if they see him as anything more than a helper for Ivy. But despite it all, he loves her. The summer days are following their usual pattern of taking care of his sister, doing chores, and trips to the cottage. The one exception is Hannah, the new girl across the street. Hannah makes David feel anything but routine. He wants to be around her all the time. And, amazingly, she seems to be into him as well. Everything changes when Ivy has an accident while being looked after by her dad. As David wrestles with what happened to Ivy, he is forced to confront his own feelings of guilt, the meaning of mercy, and what can be forgiven.

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### Review

"The story flows seamlessly which enables readers to grapple with controversial ideas alongside David. *What Happened to Ivy* is a valuable contribution to the growing realm of extreme 'problem novels' in today's young adult literature." (*CM Magazine* 2012-11-23)

[Starred review] "Stinson imbues David and the book's other characters with a level of depth that gives the story a documentary feel...The conflicted emotions are portrayed with a rawness that forces the reader to think, 'What if?' The novel also succeeds in presenting the situation in a judgement-free manner. There is no editorializing on Stinson's part, and the story's conclusion is left up in the air, allowing readers to form their own opinions of what should happen next. In a YA landscape littered with dystopia, urban fantasy, and romantic fiction, Stinson offers an important wake-up call to young readers that there is more to life, and that it's not always easy." (*Quill & Quire* 2012-12-01)

"The novel is brilliant, causing the reader to really think about what it must be like to be an intelligence locked in a body with no controllable outward responses." (*Resource Links* 2012-12-01)

### Book Description

Everything David held to be true comes into question when his sister dies.