Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp

Anyone But Ivy Pocket (Ivy Pocket, #1)

by Caleb Krisp

Ivy Pocket is a twelve-year-old maid of no importance, with a very lofty opinion of herself. Dumped in Paris by the Countess Carbunkle, who would rather run away to South America than continue in Ivy’s companionship, our young heroine (of sorts) finds herself with no money and no home to go to ... until she is summoned to the bedside of the dying Duchess of Trinity.

For the princely sum of £500 (enough to buy a carriage, and possibly a monkey), Ivy agrees to courier the Duchess’s most precious possession – the Clock Diamond – to England, and to put it around the neck of the revolting Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday. It’s not long before Ivy finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, mayhem and murder.

Illustrated in humorous gothic detail by John Kelly, Anyone But Ivy Pocket is just the beginning of one girl's deadly comic journey to discover who she really is ...

Reviewed by Kelly on

5 of 5 stars

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Once in a while a book comes along that you utterly fall head over heels in love with. Ivy Pocket, you are incredible. Ivy is a character you're never likely to forget. Only twelve, but she's full of self importance and tall tales about her life. She's brash, arrogant and quite rude... But Ivy sees her meddling and astute observations as a wonderful character trait, often baffled at the overreaction of those she's kind enough to grace her opinions with. But for all of Ivy's flaws, I found her fabulously flamboyant, dramatic and incredibly charming. In her short amount of years, Ivy has had to grow up without parents to guide her, and although she'll boast of her impeccable social skills, Ivy has never had a true friend. Until now. But Ivy is naive and although she'll tell you otherwise, she's easily manipulated and finds herself embroiled in a deceptive scheme to steal the necklace, not leaving the twelve year old knowing who to trust.

Ivy's adventure is hilarious, entertaining and wonderfully written. Too often, books intended for middle grade readers tend to force a hidden meaning, educating the reader and forgotten are the core elements of children and middle grade novels, to have fun, to delight, to charm and entertain and author Caleb Krisp has done exactly that, intelligent humour. I absolutely adored Ivy. Her sassy quips, her ability to pay backhanded compliments with so much flare and pizazz had me giggling myself silly.

Without a doubt, Anyone But Ivy Pocket is one of the most hilarious, sassy and entertaining middle grade that you'll ever have the pleasure of reading.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 May, 2015: Finished reading
  • 13 May, 2015: Reviewed