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jaclyncrupi's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the dialogue and Ivan's voice but this never totally came together for me. The voice was a refreshing change of pace and the tone reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time but I didn't commit to the love story so missed the emotional depth other readers have felt.
emleemay's review against another edition
2.0
Update: The author of this book has repeatedly contacted a GR member, asking her to change a negative review, which he called "mean-spirited". On the exact same day that he sent his last message, this profile appeared on Goodreads. Her location is San Diego like the author, and she immediately added the author, before beginning to attack the aforementioned reviewer. She even accused the reviewer of wearing "the badge of your autistic son on your shirt like a good martyr". I don't know about you, but this is a great way to make sure I never pick up one of his books again.
Original post:
I read this book. I enjoyed this book. I thought it was much more enjoyable than [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462], which it is being compared to. But when I came to the Goodreads page to write my review, I saw this person's perspective on it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1702601711
After that, I couldn't - in good conscience - write a positive review. I'll leave my rating as is, to reflect my initial experience, but that post really made me question how I viewed the story.
Original post:
I read this book. I enjoyed this book. I thought it was much more enjoyable than [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462], which it is being compared to. But when I came to the Goodreads page to write my review, I saw this person's perspective on it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1702601711
After that, I couldn't - in good conscience - write a positive review. I'll leave my rating as is, to reflect my initial experience, but that post really made me question how I viewed the story.
zeeohee's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting premise. Feels unique but also not somehow. A teen boy has lived his whole life inside a hospital for “gravely ill children” in Belarus until one day he meets a leukemia patient and it shifts something for him. It has some controversial reviews due to the narrators explanations of other disabled children within the hospital but I didn’t find it offensive but rather the musings and thoughts of a sad 17 year old boy with limited interaction with the world and who is very depressed. That, rather than anything intentionally malicious. It was a sweet story though sad
firefly8041's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. This could be due to reading this right after a book whose quality it had no chance of reaching, but I just didn't find this very moving. I also didn't like the large numbers of info-dumps near the start.
I also wish there was a better way for footnotes to work on Kindles - namely, actually appearing on the same page, whether that's at the bottom or in parentheses.
I also wish there was a better way for footnotes to work on Kindles - namely, actually appearing on the same page, whether that's at the bottom or in parentheses.
jilly7922's review against another edition
5.0
This book is about a seventeen year old boy Ivan who has spent his life in Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. It is about him surviving living every day the same, until he meets a girl, a fellow patient Polina who unravels Ivan's daily routine.
As you can see I rated this book five stars out of five. And may I take a moment to say how absolutely amazing this book was. It is always great when a book surprises you in it being better than you ever expected. This book, at least in my opinion is similar to "The Fault in Our Stars," by John Green, except that it is better. It was a book that I never wanted to end. I can't tell you how few books that I actually laugh out loud while reading it, and this was one of those books. The sarcastic and humorous tone that this book had made it what it is. This book had many twists and turns and each page was a surprise. It was a book that while reading you felt the whole spectrum of emotions from sadness, to anger, to hopefulness and to humor.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Scott Stambach, and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Come and read my blog at http://turnthepagereviewsbyjill.blogspot.com/
As you can see I rated this book five stars out of five. And may I take a moment to say how absolutely amazing this book was. It is always great when a book surprises you in it being better than you ever expected. This book, at least in my opinion is similar to "The Fault in Our Stars," by John Green, except that it is better. It was a book that I never wanted to end. I can't tell you how few books that I actually laugh out loud while reading it, and this was one of those books. The sarcastic and humorous tone that this book had made it what it is. This book had many twists and turns and each page was a surprise. It was a book that while reading you felt the whole spectrum of emotions from sadness, to anger, to hopefulness and to humor.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Scott Stambach, and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Come and read my blog at http://turnthepagereviewsbyjill.blogspot.com/
celjla212's review against another edition
4.0
This novel, just by sheer fact of it being a young adult book with two sick teenagers falling in love, will draw comparisons to John Green's beloved The Fault in Our Stars. To be honest, yes, this was in the book's synopsis and was what got me to initially give it a try, but after getting into the meat of the story, I didn't find it all that similar--and that's a good thing.
The titular character of The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko is a 17 year old boy living in a hospital for children with severe medical conditions. The book is set in the country of Belarus, and many of the children in the hospital are unfortunate victims of the Chernobyl disaster that took place in 1986 and not only killed people, but affected pregnant women and their unborn children. Ivan is one of those children--born with one arm ending in three fingers and nubs for other limbs, he's been in the hospital for as long as he can remember. He lives day after tedious day here with a nurse as his only friend, book and his own imagination as his entertainment. Until one November day, Polina comes to the hospital.
Since Ivan was the only patient in the hospital who can actually hold a conversation, he's of course attracted to another person coming into the hospital who appears to have all her faculties. But Polina's leukemia means she has little time left. Ivan, who's used to being a sarcastic know it all, has to work hard to even get her to acknowledge him, much less become his friend.
It's the rich characterization, which brought the occupants of Mazyr Hospital to life, that kept me turning the pages--but Ivan's voice is mesmerizing. He has a completely unique outlook, and jumps from describing the world and people around him to what's going on in his own mind seamlessly. Though he's severely limited physically, socially, and in a myriad of other ways, he's intelligent and full of heart. Watching him come alive when he met Polina only to have him lose her was heartbreaking.
There was a jumble of things at the end of the novel which I felt happened a bit too hastily for my taste, and a few issues I wish had been explored in more depth. But Ivan's life, one which many might view as a throwaway or something to be pitied, is an amazing snapshot that shows how those with critical handicaps have been treated throughout history. This book will cement for you that every life matters, and everyone has a struggle, visible or invisible.
The titular character of The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko is a 17 year old boy living in a hospital for children with severe medical conditions. The book is set in the country of Belarus, and many of the children in the hospital are unfortunate victims of the Chernobyl disaster that took place in 1986 and not only killed people, but affected pregnant women and their unborn children. Ivan is one of those children--born with one arm ending in three fingers and nubs for other limbs, he's been in the hospital for as long as he can remember. He lives day after tedious day here with a nurse as his only friend, book and his own imagination as his entertainment. Until one November day, Polina comes to the hospital.
Since Ivan was the only patient in the hospital who can actually hold a conversation, he's of course attracted to another person coming into the hospital who appears to have all her faculties. But Polina's leukemia means she has little time left. Ivan, who's used to being a sarcastic know it all, has to work hard to even get her to acknowledge him, much less become his friend.
It's the rich characterization, which brought the occupants of Mazyr Hospital to life, that kept me turning the pages--but Ivan's voice is mesmerizing. He has a completely unique outlook, and jumps from describing the world and people around him to what's going on in his own mind seamlessly. Though he's severely limited physically, socially, and in a myriad of other ways, he's intelligent and full of heart. Watching him come alive when he met Polina only to have him lose her was heartbreaking.
There was a jumble of things at the end of the novel which I felt happened a bit too hastily for my taste, and a few issues I wish had been explored in more depth. But Ivan's life, one which many might view as a throwaway or something to be pitied, is an amazing snapshot that shows how those with critical handicaps have been treated throughout history. This book will cement for you that every life matters, and everyone has a struggle, visible or invisible.
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'The Invisible Life of Ivan: Isaenko: A Novel' by Scott Stambach introduces an unusual narrator and a set of unfair and tragic circumstances. I quite liked Ivan.
Ivan is 17 and lives in the Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. He is a lifelong resident of the home and a prisoner in his own deformed body. His mind is keen and he observes and catalogues the things he sees around him. From an American doctor who brings him baseballs to his fellow residents to the nurses that work at the home, both cruel and kind. He is well read and incredibly cynical. Ivan sees many other patients come and go, but one day a girl named Polina shows up.
The story feels predictable in a lot of ways, but that doesn't make it any less poignant. Ivan is likeable and mean at the same time. He suffers more than he should because of who he is and the reactions that his sharp tongue causes. Ivan and Polina seem like pretty unlikely friends at first, but their relationship feels natural enough. My favorite character is Nurse Natalya who treats Ivan like a real person, and has all the compassion to go along with it. It's not a perfect book by any means, but I enjoyed reading it.
I received a review copy of this ebook from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Ivan is 17 and lives in the Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. He is a lifelong resident of the home and a prisoner in his own deformed body. His mind is keen and he observes and catalogues the things he sees around him. From an American doctor who brings him baseballs to his fellow residents to the nurses that work at the home, both cruel and kind. He is well read and incredibly cynical. Ivan sees many other patients come and go, but one day a girl named Polina shows up.
The story feels predictable in a lot of ways, but that doesn't make it any less poignant. Ivan is likeable and mean at the same time. He suffers more than he should because of who he is and the reactions that his sharp tongue causes. Ivan and Polina seem like pretty unlikely friends at first, but their relationship feels natural enough. My favorite character is Nurse Natalya who treats Ivan like a real person, and has all the compassion to go along with it. It's not a perfect book by any means, but I enjoyed reading it.
I received a review copy of this ebook from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
kitsuneheart's review against another edition
3.0
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve read a book about teens with cancer falling in love....
Of course, a reviewer can always find something to compare a new book to an old. Ivan Isaenko is not merely Belarusian The Fault in Our Stars. For one thing, Ivan isn’t conventionally attractive and charismatic. Chernobyl’s radiation, an omnipresent threat in the story, caused Ivan to be born with one hand and no legs. Abandoned by his parents and stuck in a hospital for ill children, Ivan grows up to be...kind of an asshole. Granted, many of the nurses and infrequently present doctors at his hospital home are apathetic to their charges, but even with Nurse Natalya, who only fails in being a mother because of a lack of blood, Ivan is manipulative and angry.
Now, Ivan’s personality is not necessarily a negative element in the story. After all, anti-heroes are quite popular. A narrator who is kind of a jerk is allowable. But I do have concerns about Ivan being, like so many other jerky male protagonists, “redeemed” by a love interest.
Polina skates the line of being a “pixie dream girl.” While she has some of her own personality traits—like casual thievery, which she uses to Ivan’s benefit— most of her personality is meant to mesh to Ivan’s. They like similar books, they are similarly wry and sarcastic about the other inmates of the hospital, and they enter into their own little world of shared experiences even as Polina begins to succumb to her cancer.
Polina brings Ivan out of his routine and teaches him what love is.
But the love is really only for her. Ivan’s emotional journey progresses in no way with the other inhabitants of the hospital. And I dearly wish Ivan had begun to act like they were human, by the end of the book. But the only other patient Ivan ever shows compassion towards is a baby on the ward. Ivan spends weeks learning how to change the baby’s diaper, but his determination seems more about proving himself capable of compassion, and not about actually showing compassion. Ivan never learns more about the other patients, or changes his opinion of them. They’ve been included in the book for the sake of comedy. Stambach didn’t create residents for the hospital to explore anything like the nature of humanity or the bounds of love. He did it so we can chuckle about the kid who rocks himself so consistently that Ivan uses him as a clock or the nonverbal girls who are so unable to communicate with the outside world that they defecate in their room rather than lead a nurse to their locked bathroom door.
Stambach created tormented, often mentally trapped characters and used them for laughs.
And perhaps I wasn’t going to give this book a high rating to begin with, because Ivan’s “diary” is one of my least-favorite types of literature. Not simply epistolary, but an epistolary novel that goes to great efforts to pass itself off as true.I was duped by one of these novels when I was a teen, so on starting “The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko,” I was immediately on guard. A quick check online did confirm that the book was fiction and was published as fiction, but there are several elements in the book which attempt to convince otherwise. There is a forward from the “editors,” telling the reader about the “translation” process and explaining the use of footnotes in the book, to demarcate words and phrases which could not be adequately translated from Russian (I can find no evidence that Stambach actually speaks Russian, making this a weird Eastern European version of an American teenager throwing a “kawaii” and “baka” into their Naruto fanfic). There is also an afterword, again from the “editors,” which gives posthumous details about our narrator and characters connected to his life, including a location of burial.
While many readers won’t mind this literary conceit, it’s just in my doghouse automatically.
I think the main missing element of this book was the humanization of Ivan’s fellow inmates. Not a healing, but just Ivan recognizing them in a way which didn’t involve making them into a joke.
Of course, a reviewer can always find something to compare a new book to an old. Ivan Isaenko is not merely Belarusian The Fault in Our Stars. For one thing, Ivan isn’t conventionally attractive and charismatic. Chernobyl’s radiation, an omnipresent threat in the story, caused Ivan to be born with one hand and no legs. Abandoned by his parents and stuck in a hospital for ill children, Ivan grows up to be...kind of an asshole. Granted, many of the nurses and infrequently present doctors at his hospital home are apathetic to their charges, but even with Nurse Natalya, who only fails in being a mother because of a lack of blood, Ivan is manipulative and angry.
Now, Ivan’s personality is not necessarily a negative element in the story. After all, anti-heroes are quite popular. A narrator who is kind of a jerk is allowable. But I do have concerns about Ivan being, like so many other jerky male protagonists, “redeemed” by a love interest.
Polina skates the line of being a “pixie dream girl.” While she has some of her own personality traits—like casual thievery, which she uses to Ivan’s benefit— most of her personality is meant to mesh to Ivan’s. They like similar books, they are similarly wry and sarcastic about the other inmates of the hospital, and they enter into their own little world of shared experiences even as Polina begins to succumb to her cancer.
Polina brings Ivan out of his routine and teaches him what love is.
But the love is really only for her. Ivan’s emotional journey progresses in no way with the other inhabitants of the hospital. And I dearly wish Ivan had begun to act like they were human, by the end of the book. But the only other patient Ivan ever shows compassion towards is a baby on the ward. Ivan spends weeks learning how to change the baby’s diaper, but his determination seems more about proving himself capable of compassion, and not about actually showing compassion. Ivan never learns more about the other patients, or changes his opinion of them. They’ve been included in the book for the sake of comedy. Stambach didn’t create residents for the hospital to explore anything like the nature of humanity or the bounds of love. He did it so we can chuckle about the kid who rocks himself so consistently that Ivan uses him as a clock or the nonverbal girls who are so unable to communicate with the outside world that they defecate in their room rather than lead a nurse to their locked bathroom door.
Stambach created tormented, often mentally trapped characters and used them for laughs.
And perhaps I wasn’t going to give this book a high rating to begin with, because Ivan’s “diary” is one of my least-favorite types of literature. Not simply epistolary, but an epistolary novel that goes to great efforts to pass itself off as true.I was duped by one of these novels when I was a teen, so on starting “The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko,” I was immediately on guard. A quick check online did confirm that the book was fiction and was published as fiction, but there are several elements in the book which attempt to convince otherwise. There is a forward from the “editors,” telling the reader about the “translation” process and explaining the use of footnotes in the book, to demarcate words and phrases which could not be adequately translated from Russian (I can find no evidence that Stambach actually speaks Russian, making this a weird Eastern European version of an American teenager throwing a “kawaii” and “baka” into their Naruto fanfic). There is also an afterword, again from the “editors,” which gives posthumous details about our narrator and characters connected to his life, including a location of burial.
While many readers won’t mind this literary conceit, it’s just in my doghouse automatically.
I think the main missing element of this book was the humanization of Ivan’s fellow inmates. Not a healing, but just Ivan recognizing them in a way which didn’t involve making them into a joke.
ginny17's review against another edition
3.0
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. 3.5 stars. It's a new take on an old story, like The Fault in Our Stars and Me Before You. Ivan manages to be simultaneously likeable and unlikable. He is both cruel and kind, understandably so, due to his circumstances. A pretty satisfying, if predictable, story.
barbaraskalberg's review against another edition
3.0
This one is odd. The entire story takes place in Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. The main character is a 17 year old boy raised there, who has many physical deformaties and limitations, but a sharp mind. There were a couple of spots I felt were gratuitous, and though I didn't really like the story in the beginning, but the end I decided it was well worth the time to read.