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.

Hard to believe this is a debut! So well done!! Being an immigrant from China, Ivy desperately wants to fit in. When her parents send her to a prep school she is drawn in by the kind of life her peers are living and sets out to someday have that kind of life. Ivy is an enigma and unlikable at times, but vulnerable at others. Later as a first grade teacher, she runs into an acquaintance from her youth, the sister of the boy she was in love with in school. As her dreams start to come true, she makes an error in judgement and now she will stop at nothing to attain the life she has always dreamed of, but will she get her happily ever after? Looking forward to more from Susie Yang!!

Ivy immigrated from China to Massachusetts as a young girl but never felt she fit in. She never looked right, dressed right, talked right. As an adult, Ivy reconnects with the golden boy, Gideon, who she had a crush on as a kid. Amazingly, he seems quite smitten with her and Ivy may just be able to have the life she always dreamed of.

This was such a sad tale about such an unhappy person--hard to read but at the same time I couldn't stop reading.

This suspense novel begins as a coming-of-age story about Ivy Lin, a Chinese immigrant whose parents maintain high aspirations. In sixth grade, Ivy transfers to an elite school where she meets the enigmatic Gideon Speyer. She becomes obsessed, trailing him around school. He is a far cry from Roux, her rough-around-the-edges neighbor. Ivy aspires to greatness but can’t seem to shake her penchant for pilfering items at stores as her grandmother taught her to do. Years later, Ivy reunites with Gideon and is steadfastly focused on becoming part of the Speyer family legacy, but Gideon is not the only man who is back from her past. This book was a refreshingly unconventional thriller – the way time moves felt unique and natural to this particular story where so much of Ivy’s persona is informed by her early years and the ways in which she’s caught between two cultures. While none of the characters in the novel are wholly likable, this didn’t make it any less readable. The novel weaves in discussion of race, class and immigration and even though I anticipated the big reveal at the end, it was still a captivating read. Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Ivy Lin is complex. Raised by her immigrant family and their rules, her life is tragic in her own eyes.

As a teen Ivy is drawn to Gideon Speyer. Wealthy, attractive and completely outside of the rules her parents have in place. Once her mother realizes what Ivy has been up to, she is sent to China and she returns to a new home - far from Gideon and the few friends she once had. She's also had a glimpse into the life that she wants to live.

But as an adult, Ivy runs into Gideon again and isn't about to let go. She knows what she wants and is not about to let anything (or anyone) come in between her dreams and reality.

When I went into White Ivy, I was expecting a very dark Talented Mr. Ripley situation. Ivy was born in China and felt like her family was second-class compared to those of her private school classmates. When she reconnects with one of those classmates, she seizes the opportunity to gain access to his world, but eschews her own past and family in the process. While this didn't exactly turn out to be the twisted thriller I thought and was a little uneven at times, I really enjoyed Ivy's story and the exploration of what a marriage and family means, and what is worth sacrificing to get it.