Review: The story is believable, gritty, honest, and moving.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 16, 2012
If you've ever had a hankering to know what actually goes on during the whole Police Academy thing, this is your true-blue chance to find out.  Forget the television programs, this story is realism from start to finish.  And it is realistic because this author actually lived every minute of it.The story is rather short, but as an e-book it was a memorable reading experience.  I especially appreciated the fact that this cadet didn't try to pass herself off as a superwoman who aced every physical trial and passed each test with an A+.  Instead we follow along the road this 45 year old wife and mother chose on a whim and we watch her failures as well as her successes.  This was supposed to be a lark so she could prove to herself that she could get through the academy, a way of fending off that mid-life crisis and proving to herself that she still had value.  She had something to prove, to her friends, her family, and ultimately the instructors at the academy.  What Cadet Suzie Ivy discovered along the way was that all the hard work, aches, pains, and studying had given her a purpose she never expected.  She actually wanted to be in law enforcement.  She was also willing to look deep inside her own being to find the strength she needed to finish this task when almost nobody else took her seriously.  Ms Ivy has offered her experiences in this book so that readers can follow along that difficult journey and come out with the understanding that you must believe in yourself first.  Then you can influence how others look at you.This novel was assembled by using e-mails which Suzie sent to friends and family members during her grueling eighteen week course at a real police academy in Arizona.  The story is told almost completely in expository form so the reader doesn't have the chance to get to know many of the people involved.  There is also not much description so the places and people remain largely a blank canvas which the author has not filled in.  This book is based entirely on fact, but that doesn't mean that the incidences related couldn't have been expanded and made more colorful to excite the imagination.  I do know that there is a second book planned to continue the telling of the experiences Officer Ivy has had in her law enforcement career and I sincerely hope that book will be more detailed in the areas of dialogue and description.  I understand that these scenarios were taken from real life happenings, but adding more depth to the story will help to keep the reader fully involved in the writing and also make them want to read more.I was quite impressed with this book and it was a creative method for Ms Ivy to use in beginning to tell her story.  In fact, I honestly believe it would have made the perfect beginning of a much longer novel.I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.  The opinions expressed are my own.