Scott Stambach's The Invisible Life Of Ivan Isaenko

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The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Stambach is a young adult novel portraying the relationship between Ivan and Polina. Ivan is a deformed teenager who has lived his entire life in a monotonous hospital. Ivan lives his repetitive days in isolation, until Polina arrives. Polina changes his entire routine and Ivan is finally able to speak and socialize with another human. Everyday as Ivan and Polina become closer, Polina’s health quickly deteriorates. Ivan’s carefully laid out plans and expectations are turned upside down and he is forced to come to terms with the truth. Throughout his relationship with Polina, Ivan creates ideal dreams for his life, but the harsh reality of his surrounding world causes Ivan to reconsider his thoughts and changes his personality.
Ivan’s dreams of his perfect mother are ruined when he learns the true identity of his actual mother. Throughout his entire life, Ivan has been told that he is an orphan and no one has any knowledge about his parents’ identity. Driven by his need of …show more content…

When Ivan learns Polina will die in a few months, he creates an elaborate list of everything he plans to do with Polina before her death. Ivan’s list includes unfeasible adventures, such as “surfing waves in the Maldives, climbing mountains in Central Africa” (Stambach 155). Ivan imagines perfect adventures that he can enjoy with Polina to escape their otherwise dull situation. However, Polina’s health quickly worsens, so Ivan decides “to abandon this particular list and start smaller” (Stambach 157). Polina forces Ivan to desert his plans and reconsider his choices. Eventually, he settles for a game night and star gazing with Polina. Ivan realizes although he will never accomplish his previous goals, at least he is able to spend time with Polina. The reality of Polina's health causes Ivan to adjust his plans and learn to be appreciative of the opportunities he is

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