The Book of Ivy
By Amy Engel
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction/ Dystopian
Personal Rating: 10/10

After a series of wars and nuclear bombs, the United States was left crumbled. Only a small group of people survived and struggled to reform the country. But after the war, democracy died out, leaving a single family to rule. Now the country is divided into two groups: the people who stood with the monarchy and won, and those who voted for democracy and lost. To keep the two groups happy and civil, every year the daughters of the loosing side marry the sons of the winners. An arranged marriage system meant to instill peace.But not everyone wants peace. When it's Ivy's year to marry, she is paired with the President's son. And she swears to kill him.

On the surface there isn't anything incredibly unique about the story line of this book--nothing I haven't seen in other dystopian novels--but I absolutely loved it! This book was all about character development which I think I usually prefer over a dramatic plot--although the plot was still plenty dramatic. The characters were real and dynamic, the writing style clean and moving. This wasn't a book I was expecting to love but I was pleasantly surprised, and I cannot wait for the sequel.