Love, Sivvy: A Novel Inspired by the Life, Letters, and Diaries of Young Sylvia Plath

Toalson (The Unforgettable Leta “Lightning” Laurel) centers the formative teen and college years of poet Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) in a fictionalized telling inspired by her letters and diaries. Beginning in 1948, during her junior year of high school in Wellesley, Mass., lucid verse chronicles Plath’s increasing thirst for creative recognition and her attempts to reconcile her literary ambitions with the era’s sexism. Challenges managing episodic depression and suicidal ideation frequently complicate her educational and artistic pursuits. Though she believes that “the worst thing/ you can do for your ambitious future// is fall in love,” Plath yearns for both marriage and a career, and struggles to remain true to writing—her first love—as she navigates romantic relationships. Intimate, confessional poems make parallels between Plath’s mental health-managing efforts and her formal education at Smith College, frankly tracing financial worries and suicide attempts alongside skyrocketing recognition of her work. The novel’s hopeful tone emphasizes Plath’s determination to learn that “light is made brighter by the dark,” and an endnote provides additional context regarding Plath’s mental health and eventual death by suicide. The result is a vulnerable, ambitious, and resolute read—much like Plath herself. Resources conclude. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (Feb.)