White Ivy by Susie Yang is a complex coming of age story. It started off a bit slow for my liking. The story covered an array of topics including immigration, classism, and racism. The first half of the book read differently than the second half- with the first half being literary fiction and the second half reading slightly like a thriller. The story is dark and twisty and I found Ivy to be destructive and frustrating. This is definitely a character study and Yang poured a lot of time into Ivy. Sadly, I did not enjoy this story as much as I had hoped. I also need to point out the repeated use of the “r” word. The ableism displayed in this book was incredibly troublesome and for that reason alone, I can not recommend this book.

White Ivy is the story of Ivy Lin, who can only be defined as a thief, a liar, and manipulative. Ever since her family immigrated to the United States from China, she has been hyperaware of the differences between the white, upper class people she is surround by and herself. She longs for what they have: the perfect, wealthy, all-American WASP life. And upon growing up and running into Gideon Speyer, her old childhood crush, she sees a way of getting it. I honestly have no idea what genre to place this book in. NetGalley listed it at literary fiction and mystery/thriller. The description promises a thriller--something with twists and turns and characters with secret dark sides. The book itself is more character-driven than plot-driven, which is a feature of literary fiction. But ultimately, I don't think it has enough elements of either to be placed firmly in these genres. It's more just general fiction, which is fine. But it's not what I expected upon picking up this book.

I've seen many reviews praising Yang for her portrayal of the Chinese immigrant experience. I can't speak to how accurate it is since I'm neither Chinese nor an immigrant, but I definitely considered this the most interesting part of the book. Ivy's mother, Nan, and her grandmother, Meifeng, were easily my favorite characters. I liked seeing their processing of adapting to a new country, the ways in which they navigated and manipulated the language barrier, and their interactions with various other characters. Meifeng in particular is a great character. I also found Ivy's feeling of displacement fascinating. No matter where she is, Ivy always feels out of place. She doesn't fit in with the rich, white kids at her New England private school, but she also doesn't feel like she belongs when visiting relatives in China. The only person she ever seems truly comfortable with is Roux, a Romanian immigrant who lives in her neighborhood when they're children. Because she feels so displaced, Ivy grasps at anything she can to try to fit in. As a kid, she steals make-up and clothes so she can look like her classmates. As an adult, she hides behind a carefully cultivated image so she can snare Gideon.

Unfortunately, other than these few features, I found it difficult to connect with most of the characters, which is odd because it is a character-driven book. Gideon remains distant and unknowable from the time we meet him until the very end. This makes sense to a certain extent since everything is filtered through Ivy's perspective and that's how she feels about him. But I felt the same way about other characters, including Roux and even Ivy herself. I knew all her vices and insecurities, yet I never felt close to her or invested in her story. It wasn't an issue of her being unlikeable; I love unlikeable characters and actually found myself wishing she was more unlikeable. The description makes her sound like a truly conniving, horrible person; it refers to her "sinking her claws" into Gideon. She's a bit manipulative and she lies a lot, but she's fairly mild other than that. It was kind of disappointing.

My biggest issue with this book is that it is all build-up with no pay-off. The most exciting event happens at the 90% point and is never truly dealt with. This event felt like it should have happened at the halfway point with the rest of the book dealing with the aftermath. Yet it ends up being brushed away with just a few paragraphs. There are so many places where Yang builds tension and hints at dark secrets, but almost none of it comes to anything. This was especially disappointing because the only reason I kept reading was to find out these secrets. There is a "big reveal" about a character at the very end, but I felt it was poorly handled and even verged on a bit offensive. It should have been given far more time than it was, and honestly, Yang could have taken it into so many more interesting directions.

Overall, I went into this book expecting a literary fiction/thriller mix with great twists and a conniving female anti-hero and came out feeling extremely underwhelmed. While Yang is a talented writer and has some great concepts, she couldn't get me invested in the characters or provide an adequate pay-off for everything she built up.

A dark and twisty mesmerizing tale! White Ivy starts out as a coming-of-age story about a young Chinese girl whose childhood is spent being passed between her loving but somewhat immoral grandmother in China and her hardworking, stern parents in Massachusetts. You can imagine what kind of problems this causes in Ivy's personality and moral compass, but just when her life starts to take a dark turn, the story skips ahead to Ivy's working life after college, as she reconnects with a crush from school and his wealthy and politically influential family, as well as other darker influences. Not that anything in this story is black and white, the nuances and subtle flaws of all the character are what makes this book so suspenseful.

I loved this story, it kind of reminded me of the Goldfinch in the way different peoples lives and fates intertwine throughout the years and the dark and light sides of their personalities are revealed. The end was compelling and yet left me wanting to read more. I can't wait to see what Susie Yang will write next!

Well, I DIDN’T see all that coming when I started reading the book about a Chinese immigrant family who moved to Massachusetts. I thought it was going to be a coming of age story, but it’s a lot more than that. Ivy is a very original character. Growing up she learned to steal from her maternal grandmother who started the family career of selling used items on the internet. Ivy does not fit the mold of disciplined, polite Chinese child. She is angry most of the time. She’s extremely unlikable, which made it hard for me to believe that she was accepted as the future member of a WASP family when she married the son. And yet, Yang can pull me into believing the story. She had no moral compass in most of her decisions. And yet, at the end, Yang again gets me to believe that Ivy finally sees the importance of family. Soooo….my next question is what Ivy and Gideon’s future will hold. I learned from all the twists and turns in this story, that what I anticipated was not what I got. I didn’t think I’d like this book, but I was compelled to stay up late to finish reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read the debut novel by Susie Yang - 4 stars for a very intriguing book. I'll be looking for more from this author in the future!

Ivy was raised by her grandmother in China when she was very young while her parents immigrated to the US to start their new life. The grandmother introduced Ivy to stealing to get the things that you want or deserve. When they moved to Boston to reunite with their parents, Ivy continued her habit. Her parents had high expectations and Ivy was able to attend an exclusive high school because her dad worked there. There she was introduced to the way the rich people lived and became obsessed with golden boy, Gideon. However, after an indiscretion with an old friend, Ivy's parents sent her to China for the summer and moved the family to NJ while she was gone. Years later, Ivy meets up with Gideon again and it seems that fate is finally shining on Ivy and she will get what she wants. Or will she?

This is a somewhat dark coming of age story as we see the expectations put on Ivy from her family and culture and how she will stop at nothing to get what she thinks she wants. Ivy presents one image to the world - they all see her as a good girl - but her inside turmoil is quite different and dark. The book was wonderfully written - you feel all the circulating emotions in Ivy from a young age and how they have formed who she is, even while she struggles to figure that out herself. The ending was inevitable but still quite surprising.

A very strong debut novel that deserves the buzz it's gathering!

While White Ivy started out as a three star read for me, it ended at a four star. The main reason for this is because Part 1 really dragged on for me. It was hard for me to fully understand where the story was going at first but once Part 1 laid the foundation, I was much more onboard with the story. Parts 2 and 3 also read much faster, making the story more enjoyable for me.

Ivy is a thief. See steals little things, but nonethless she’s a thief. She’s also the dauagther of two Chinese immigrants and caught between her parents conservatism and wanting to fit in at her private middle school. The actions that take place during her middle school years are ultimately what this book is built one.

Growing up Ivy’s family struggled to make ends meet but it’s at Grove Academy, where her parents send her to school, an exclusive school that Ivy gets a taste of what wealth brings. The passion for wealth and being surrounded by it is what drives her, and really doesn’t it drive most of us? But for Ivy, just how far will she go to get what she wants?

There is quite of moral and ethical questions that Yang illustrates in her writing. While Ivy on the outside is exactly what people expect, her inner thoughts tend to be more dark in nature. I really loved the complex personality that Ivy has and while there are plenty of other characters in this story, she’s the one that really sticks with you. I found myself days later wondering about her choices and if there were other motives to her actions. She’s a master manipulator and I’m not sure if I love her character or hate her.

While this is most certainly a slow burn, it’s remarkably well written especially for a DEBUT! Yang really captured so many themes in this story and packed them into a nice and compact story.

If you enjoyed The Last Story of Mina Lee, I think you will really enjoy this story. White Ivy releases this coming Tuesday November 3, 2020.

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on White Ivy If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books. Huge thank you to Simon & Schuster!

Ivy Lin is obsessed. At the age of fourteen she is certain that Gideon Steyer is the perfect match for her. Yet Ivy seems to be the only one who realizes this. How does a girl from a Chinese immigrant family worm her way in to a family with old money? Ivy's own family seems to be a millstone around her neck, but is she seeing them clearly? Will her former love, Roux, be a distraction or an ally -- or something else entirely? What does it mean to be loved? To feel loved? What is happiness? Filled with complicated relationship dynamics and interpersonal conflict, this debut novel is a bit like Ivy herself. You are blinded by the girl with the deceptively agreeable demeanor and then that ending hits you like a sucker punch.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

The description and cover caught my eye, but I honestly had no idea what I was in for. While I'm generally not a fan of character-driven novels, this one held my attention. It was outside of my usual reading preferences.

I loved that it didn't shy away from really complex issues faced by immigrant families, class, discrimination, the difficult relationships between mothers and daughters, mental illness, and complicated relationships. All of the characters are wonderfully flawed, and it made them feel so realistic. Ivy, especially, is an incredibly morally gray character. While I struggled with a lot of aspects of her character, I could identify with being an adult and still not knowing what to do with your life. However, it felt like Ivy's main goal in life centered around landing Gideon Speyer, but not around any other goals. She was absolutely single-minded in this goal, and was willing to sacrifice nearly anything in her pursuit of Gideon.

Since the story started with Ivy's early years and upbringing, it provided some insight into the forces that shaped Ivy's personality and motivated her actions later in life. It didn't make her actions more forgivable, in my eyes. I didn't necessarily like Ivy as a person, and I didn't respect her choices. This doesn't mean that I respected the choices that the people around her made either, however. She seemed to gravitate towards people who were just as shallow and conniving as she was, whether it was intentional or not.

Overall, despite my lack of respect for Ivy and her chosen circle of people, I respect the author and her ability to weave together an intriguing and well-written story. The characters were drawn extremely well, and Susie Yang subtly incorporated cultural norms into the story quite naturally. When Ivy went to a sleepover at a friend's house, the first thing she did upon going into the house was to take off her shoes, which her friend told her she didn't have to do, which highlights the cultural differences between Ivy and her other friends. The socioeconomic differences were even more marked, and it was done incredibly insightfully. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Susie Yang brings to the table in the future.

Ivy Lin grows up with her grandmother as a Chinese thief stealing incidentals from others lives. Her parents Nan and Shen have moved to the United States to start a life there and had to leave Ivy with Nan’s mother till they get settled which takes a few years. When she is finally called to come to the US she is different than everyone else and so wants to fit; her father Shen gets a job in a private school so Ivy has an even higher mark to meet which she tries to do by stealing small items to fit the suburban girl image. Ivy adores Gideon the golden boy of the school and he is happy to make friends but it’s bad boy Roux that stirs Ivy and all goes well until Ivy’s parents send her to China for the summer and then move to NJ. It’s not until Sybil, Gideon’s sister comes back into the picture that things change.
Ivy was so manipulative in her relationship to Gideon and to Roux. Only reading the book do you find what she will do to be the person she thinks they want. The culture, the desires, the life stories were so interesting and made the book.
Thank you Simon &Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
#Netgalley #SimonandSchuster #WhiteIvy

Thank you Simon and Schuster

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this advanced reader copy of White Ivy by Susie Yang.
White Ivy a adult fiction novel about a Chinese-American twenty-something woman with a foot in both worlds. On one hand is her practical Chinese upbringing that values family, sacrifice, education, marriage and success. And on the other hand she wants what she perceives her American white peers to have— effortless style and beauty, money and above all love and belonging. When a chance encounter puts her back in the orbit of Gideon, a wealthy former classmate, the novel reveals everything Ivy will sacrifice to make sure her American Dream comes true.
I loved this novel that reveals the dark heart of a young woman on the edge. Ivy somehow manages to be both a passive participant in her own life and yet completely controlling the outcome. Her description of her summer in China and her family’s past is a fascinating glimpse of a country and culture that I know little about. There is a cynicism that runs through this novel that not every reader will appreciate (but I do). Ivy is completely unlikable as most of her actions are motivated by personal gratification but the reader also has a lot of empathy for her because everything about both her Chinese upbringing and her American one encourages this “get what you want at all costs” attitude. She is the result of the clash of two cultures bringing out the worst in a young woman that doesn’t believe she has any other options.
I highly recommend this taut and beautifully written novel for readers who enjoy dark and gritty contemporary stories.

This book builds slowly, and I was never quite sure where it was headed until fairly close to the end. But I enjoyed the journey very much, and found the ending very satisfying. Ivy and her family are interesting characters. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC for review.

First off, I appreciate this book on such a multifaceted and complex young Chinese American woman. I appreciate that Ivy dispels the Model Minority myth and is pursuing her own desires, regardless of how misguided her motives may be. Secondly, I love that Yang tackles the cost of assimilation for second generation immigrants. I am a second generation Chinese immigrant (aka my parents immigrated her and I am the first generation to be born on American soil) and familiar with familial pressures to "succeed" in this new home and to also become a full-fledged American, whatever that may look like. I think Yang captures the struggle very well.

I've read other Bookstagrammers' reviews of White Ivy and while most praise the book, I had some hesitations and could not verbalize what was it that felt off for me (hence it has taken me two months to write this review). I had a hard time with Ivy and the rest of the cast because I couldn't find someone I liked -- everyone seemed evil, conniving, shallow, and it was a little dark for my liking. One Bookstagrammer said she appreciated how the depictions of women in the book veered away from the helpless and family-driven tropes and I wonder if that's why I was so uncomfortable with the female characters; the fact that all the women seem to have selfish motives to get what they wanted exactly how they wanted without a care to who got in the way.

I couldn’t sleep after reading this because I kept running the whole novel through in my head looking for a good character, someone to like, but I think Yang purposefully wrote the novel within the “everyone’s character is flawed and there is no redemption” framework. Everyone in the book has their own unsolved issues and their own self-serving motives; Yang does a great job making you feel like Ivy does: it’s the whole damn world versus you. It's usually not super important for me to find a character to like but I guess I wanted some sort of redeeming point to the book because I didn't vibe with the ending or the lack of character development from Ivy.

Overall, the books moves fast and I would categorize this under drama, thriller (sorta?), coming-of-age mixed with mental health awareness and a whole lot of ethnic reconciliation (err, or lack thereof, I guess).

"She had long ago realized that the truth wasn't important, it was the appearance of things that would serve her. Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear."

This dark coming-of-age novel traces the story of Ivy Lin, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child and never felt like she could find a place where she fit in so she lies, steals and cons her way into the life she wants.

Being different from her white, privileged classmates creates a desperate yearning in Ivy for the finer things including her golden boy classmate, Gideon Speyer. But her teenage crush on him ends in a terrible humiliation so she hooks up with another misfit named Roux before moving away.

Fast forward a decade. Ivy and Gideon meet again as adults and this time she's determined he and the rarified world he represents will be hers. Ivy's scheming is thoroughly entertaining and kept me wondering when the other shoe would drop. An intriguing love-triangle develops (I guess it's a love cube at one point!) and I was never sure who Ivy would choose - Gideon, the boy she's dreamt of since middle school but who only knows the facade of Ivy she allows him to see, or Roux, the dangerous man who may be the only person who truly understands her yet loves her anyway. As you read, you know that whatever happens, it won't be without carnage but like a bad accident on the side of the highway, you still can't turn away.

Susie Yang's writing is funny and sharp and she manages to make a completely unlikeable character somewhat sympathetic. Despite how horrible she is, I wanted Ivy to find happiness and realize that what she'd been striving for all her life wasn't what she really needed. I found the details about the Lins' experiences as immigrants as well as their life before in China compelling and wish there had been more of the family's story. I also thought the resolution of the book felt a bit rushed (I wanted more of a reason for Ivy to make the choices she did) but overall, this was a stunning debut that I won't soon forget. Like the plant she's named for, Ivy crawls into your consciousness and takes over.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and the author for an advanced ecopy to review.

Absolutely loved this debut novel by Susie Yang! It was not what I expected, in a good way. It was dark, intriguing, exciting, and an addictive coming of age story. Thank you, NetGalley for the early copy!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for an advanced copy of White Ivy. This was a fabulous debut by @susieyang and I enjoyed this coming of age novel.

White Ivy was an interesting look at class and race through the eyes of Ivy. Born in China, Ivy moved to the Boston area as a young child after being raised by her grandma. Her grandma taught her how to be invisible and steal items from local yard sales and stores. She is able to go to an elite private school when her father starts working there and she does everything a teenage girl can do to try to "fit in" and catch the eye of Gideon, a cute boy who is the son of a wealthy politician. After some missteps Ivy is sent to China for the summer to see her family and when she returns her parents have moved to New Jersey=. Years later she is living in Boston and teaching when she reconnects with Gideon and thinks she's found her happy ever after.

I don't normally like character based books that much but this kept my interest. There was something about the writing and themes of family, being an immigrant, class, wealth and the little white lies we tell.

Wow! What a debut! To me this book was part literary fiction and part thriller. It's about family, their ghosts in the closet, love/hate relationships and what some will do to get what they want. Each character is written about so beautifully that I found myself feeling sorry for them one minute and the next minute being shocked by how they could behave. I truly enjoyed sitting back and enjoying the ride of this story and will be watching for more great books from this author! Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to review this book, I will be telling others to read it and enjoy! At first I thought about 4 stars, but since I'm still thinking about Ivy and her family days after the book is finished, I'm rating it 5 stars.

Wow. This is an amazing debut that holds big surprises. Ivy Lin, the child of immigrants from China, learns early from her grandmother how to steal small things. She learns other things from her mother, who is often abusive. As a teen, she falls in love with Gideon, the golden boy of their private school outside Boston, which she is able to attend because her father works on IT there, while at the same time maintaining a relationship with Roux, a wild Romanian boy. When her parents discover she's attended a sleepover at Gideon's house, they send her to China for the summer- while they move to New Jersey. Years later, Ivy reconnects with Gideon via his sister Sylvia- and thus she picks up her ride into the WASP world. A week at Gideon's family home brings many surprises and is the turning point for Ivy. To say that it's hard to review this without spoilers is an understatement. It's a compelling character study, a story of immigration, a thriller, a romance, and so many other things. You will feel a sense of unease about two of the characters. One of them has a secret which you might not guess but once revealed, you will wonder why, in 2020, it must be concealed. The other, well, that leafs to the biggest surprise I've seen in a novel in a long time. This has a plot which deserves attention- there are little things that will echo later. The characters are terrific as is the storytelling. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is an accomplished debut - I'm very much looking forward to more from Yang. Highly recommend.

My kind of book - I will recommend it for readers of "My Dark Vanessa" or anybody that appreciates really good writing. Ivy will stay with me for a long time.

This book is compulsively readable, and the setup was exquisite. I wasn't totally thrilled by the payoff, but I still wholeheartedly recommend it.

This isn't a love story, it's the story of an immigrant. It's the story of the love of family. It's an identity story.

Honestly - who even cares about the Speyer family. Give me more Ivy and her grandmother. This is women who struggle, fight, starve and bleed for what they want. This is also an excellent inside look at race and how Asian women are treated and viewed by so many. It's an accessory, it's a fetish, it's degrading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful story.