This was my first book from Rachel Fordham and it won’t be my last! Beyond Ivy Walls is a stunning, poignant novel threaded with themes of grade and redemption (and a little sprinkle of Beauty and the Beast).

Ratings for Beyond Ivy Walls

Story: 5/5
Worldview: 5/5

Story

The story absolutely blew me away, 5/5. This is one of my new favorite books. I read it in literally one night, it just took me a while to get around to writing the review. The beginning had me hooked. Not only was it an interesting premise, what with Sadie West struggling with homelessness while taking care of her family and Otis Taylor trying to sneak in and out of his hometown before anyone notices he’s here, but it was the storytelling. Fordham is a master of throwing us directly into the characters’ worlds and conflicts without including big exposition dumps or explanatory scenes. The thoughtful/reflective nature of the first few chapters, paired with the tension, was phenomenal and it really set the tone for something special.

Sadie West was a great protagonist. She’s human and makes mistakes, but she stands by her principles, and she’s honest. I loved that she made sacrifices to take care of her family. Meanwhile, Otis Taylor was a grump but, as Sadie put it, complicated—and he really earned that adjective for sure. He had so many layers to his personality and his motives for doing what he does.

Also, did I mention this had elements of beauty and the beast? I know it’s in the synopsis, but it had been such a long time since I requested the book that I totally forgot. By the time I figured it out (about 50% of the way through the book), I was in love. All the side characters were great additions and I love that they were flawed as well as kind. 🙂

Worldview

Worldview is 5/5. Even though we don’t get an explicit thread of salvation or faith, there are some mentions of God. Sadie learns about what it really means to love, but Otis was so much more interesting (which is to be expected). He struggled with understanding what family and acceptance. He had to trust God and learn how to trust people again.

There was a miscommunication issue, but it was handled really well. The character really owned up to their actions, and admitted they had acted in a self-righteous attitude. They had made the wrong decision, but there was humility and reconciliation.

Overall thoughts

Overall, I loved this book by Rachel Fordham and I’m going to be checking out her other books too! Random note: this book made me laugh so hard. There was a section of the book that I was in tears, and I love that the jokes weren’t at the expense of other people but situational instead.

If you’re interested in reading some other uplifting historical fiction, check out the Wings of Poppy Pendleton!