This book is a prime example as to why I am trying to be less giving of five stars, because I want everyone to know that when I do I mean it.

I am basically senseless right now. As I read this I felt so many different ways. The one thing that was consistent in those feeling was the state of suspense I was in the entire time because anything was possible as I turned the pages.

The fact that this was a DEBUT novel astounds me, really it does. The writing was smart, eloquent, witty and yet at times morbid, and methodical. I mean this was just off the charts. The authenticity of the main character’s Chinese heritage and the descriptions used along with the comparisons between the experiences in China and from the life of immigrating to the United States was phenomenal.

I’m honestly unsure of what to really tell you because this book read like a true thriller to me. And thrillers I do believe are best with you going in mostly blind. It is a coming of age along with a love triangle that I can attest to, although it is a dark. However, it was truly always about Ivy. The narration was truly just the best part to me, like the icing that lifted this to another dimension. Ivy is cold and calculating. She’s premeditates and is manipulative. She truly is obsessive in her quest for what she wants regardless of whatever deceit she may have to craft. (Some things run in the family.) Her take on how she feels emotions just blew me away every time. I had to catch myself from highlighting almost the entire thing.

The author was able to have so many things deposited throughout the story, but was able to have you second guess yourself about what you thought was important was even remotely as significant as you first believed. I pride myself on being a book detective and phew I had some good theories but I couldn’t be myself to commit to any because, “what if I’m wrong?!”

I really want to add quotes and more context but I have to wait until the books is out which I will preorder because this book needs to be on my shelves.
Just *chefs kiss*

TL;DR: if you like morally ambiguous characters, journeys of finding yourself, generational ties, or even film noir, then yes this is for you.

Honestly just add this to your TBR LIST. PLEASE.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Publishing via NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review

White Ivy - what isn't there to say about this book? Its almost like I've been looking for something that echoed Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep for years, and stumbled upon this gem in my never-ending quest.
Everybody loves a story about an outsider dying to get in.

From the start, Ivy Lin paints herself as a woman to be reckoned with and not to be discounted at any turn. She's a social climber, a thief, and a phenomenal liar, who can get put on a facade like any other con artist, only she isn't in it for a score, she's in it for her childhood crush she happens to stumble upon a decade later. Throw into the mix a bad boy from her past to shake up her house of cards she's carefully built and you've got a hard drama with an air of sexual tension.

Just when you think you have Ivy pegged, she flips to prove you wrong, almost as if to say you don't know me, you haven't even brushed the surface.

If you're looking for a book with wit, heartache, mystery, and a touch of darkness this book is for you.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I couldn't put it down.

I started this book and thought “eh”. The first Part of the book read strangely to me. Ir seemed that the narrator was telling a story from a distance and I couldn’t really understand Ivy’s cold character. She seemed relentlessly insecure and evil. I couldn’t understand her disdain for her life, family, and Roux.
But I’m glad I stayed with the book. After Roux shows up in Ivy’s adult life, this book became SO GOOD. I became so invested in Roux and Ivy’s relationship, I almost cried on the last day of his ultimatum. I know what Ivy was going to do; I knew she would act just like her mother had with her first love.
This is not a happy book and I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a beach read. I’d recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt like the grass might be greener with more status or wealth.
#whiteivy #netgalley

Draft review. (Final should run in the September issue of BookPage)

Ivy Lin is no monster. But sometimes, when sufficiently motivated, she does monstrous things. Ivy Lin doesn’t just covet what others have. Ivy Lin is consumed by her cravings for what she doesn’t have: wealth, status, a nice house, and all-American (in her mind this means White American) good looks quite unlike her own Chinese American features.

In Susie Yang’s debut novel White Ivy (Simon & Schuster, $26, 9781982100599), Ivy grows from a fretful child to a moody, self-loathing grifter of an adolescent, who hates herself and her family even more, and then ultimately becomes a much smoother, more sophisticated, but still desperately manipulative, adult. Eventually, she starts to get what she always wanted— popularity, a stable job, and, most of all, a relationship with Gideon, her childhood crush and the beautiful, good and noble adult son from an old-line New England family. But this is a thriller, and we know from the start that for someone like Ivy there is unequivocal no happy ending:

<blockquote> And so Ivy grew like a wayward branch. Planted to the same root as her family but reaching for something beyond their grasp. Years of reconciling her grandmother’s teachings with her American values had somehow culminated in a confused but firm belief that in order to become the “good,” ting hua girl everyone asked of her, she had to use “smart” methods. But she never admitted how much she enjoyed these methods. </blockquote>

The funny thing about Ivy is that about a half to two-thirds of the way in, it’s clear that Ivy is about to get just about everything she’s ever wanted. Almost. And yet it’s not enough. She has a boyfriend who’s serious about her, but he’s not quite attentive or passionate and she hoped. She has a job, but it’s not quite the shiny status object that she’d expected. Her family is finally prospering financially at least, and her parents both approve of her fiancé. But her brother is a mess.

On one level, that's life. What’s left for Ivy to aspire to, what is still just out of reach, ultimately amounts to very little. Or at least it terms of the tangible stuff. And so when the signs start to accumulate that something very, very bad is about to happen, an act of dramatic, long lasting violence, it all seems a little out of place with things going so well. Except things aren’t quite as perfect as they seem. Scratch beneath the surface and you realize that this is a psychological thriller about the most normal, banal conflicts of everyday life— the tiny slights and subtle hits. Ivy experiences small acts of violence throughout the book. Her family is loving but they damage her, repeatedly.

So it’s not quite right to say that things are mostly normal and peaceful until the end. The dread mounts and you hope against hope and genre convention that the worst can be avoided. You realize that rather than failing to build the stakes, the dividing line between the ordinary/banal and the casual acts of evil are razor thin. And that is perhaps the most frightening conclusion of all.

We’ve seen desperate, liminal characters like this before. White Ivy is a psychological thriller in the vein of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mister Ripley. Fans of that book should find a lot that works for them in White Ivy. But because this is a story about an immigrant family in America, there’s the danger of generalizing. Hopefully no one should mistake this story as representing or really indicating anything the whole. It’s very specifically and intentionally focuses on someone who stands apart. And that’s not solely because she’s an outsider because of being an immigrant. She also stands outside of her own family and culture. Alienation is her natural state. At the same time, the feelings of displacement and longing that dog Ivy throughout her life are relatable. All in all, a very commanding and original debut.

Ivy was born in China and moves to the US where life isn't quite as "perfect" as she'd hoped. Her family is poor and she is very focused on the material things of life. They're important to her and her family can't provide them. She deals with this the best way she knows how - she steals.

As Ivy enters her teen years, her mother realizes Ivy hasn't been obeying her as she'd thought. Ivy even went to a sleepover party at a boy's house, Gideon. Her mom sends Ivy to family in China. When Ivy returns home, her parents have moved and Ivy has to make all new friends.

Ivy continues to grow and goes off to college and wants nothing to do with her family. She has a random chance meeting with Gideon's sister who connect Ivy with Gideon again. Life moves on as Ivy tries to have the life she's always wanted - one with lots of money.

So, I didn't love this book. The writing was well done, the plot was intriguing, but Ivy was very annoying. She was selfish and cruel to her family. Also, I didn't like the ending. The story was fun though, so I did like it. I give this book 3 stars.

This is one book that everyone will love but get something totally different from. It combines the story of Chinese immigrants trying to live the American dream without really knowing what that dream is with the everyday story of teenagers trying to fit in and belong to the cool crowd.

The beginning of the story introduces us to Ivy. A young child whose grandmother will teach her how to lie and take what she wants to get ahead in life. Ivy's mother is determined her daughter will become American. As she ages, Ivy will turn these lessons into guidelines that keep her part of the in crowd. When Ivy's crimes are discovered, she is sent to China, far from the friends and life she feels she deserves.

When Ivy returns to America, her determination to succeed has not changed. A chance meeting will bring her back into the circle of friends she had. As she thinks she has finally reached her goals, you guessed it....both sides of her life will collide leaving her with few choices and no way out.

This is a really great book. A story that starts out a little slow as Susie Yang builds the characters and background that ultimately explode into one of the best books I've read in awhile. It's going to be interesting to see what her next book will be.

5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 24 September 2020


Ivy Lin is 100% an American teenager. She longs for the same things all American teenagers do - the cool crowd, the handsome boyfriend, the right clothes. But Ivy is not 100% American. Ivy was born in Chongqing China, raised by her grandmother Meifeng until her parents, Nan and Chen could afford to bring her to America. By the time Ivy leaves China, Nan and Chen have another child, Austin, and are living in Massachusetts.

Ivy’s transition from Chinese toddler and child to American teenager is born out of necessity to try to fit in and not anger her mother, Nan. Nan is disciplined and harsh toward Ivy. So Ivy seeks out acceptance where she can. She also begins a life of petty crime to be able to be more like an American teen, stealing makeup and clothing from her local KMart. She befriends a Romanian boy named Roux, who is also a bit of a thief and junior criminal.

When Ivy’s father, Chen begins working for an elite private school, Ivy is transferred there to complete her schooling. This is when Ivy is confronted with wealth and beauty and privilege. Privilege she may never know as a Chinese immigrant. This is when Ivy truly becomes an American teenager. She longs for this life.

Yang has written an epic novel about this young girl, Ivy, and her life trying to achieve the American dream. What sacrifices she will make, her parents make, and how she assimilates herself into society regardless of the cost. I was utterly mesmerized by Yang’s writing and this amazing woman she created. How much it showed what cost come with immigration to this country and the effect that being excluded from privilege can have on one’s self-esteem.

An incredible read and highly recommended.

An interesting immigrant story. Ivy was brought up by her Chinese immigrant grandmother. Her grandmother teaches her to steal and when her mother discovers this, Ivy is sent to China to live with relatives. Some years later she returns to Boston. She had been obsessed with a schoolmate who was from a wealthy family. He lived the life Ivy aspires to.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ivy spent her childhood as a thief. Having spent the first few years of her life being raised by her Grandmother in China, when Ivy finally gets reunited with her family in the United States she feels like an outsider. As she grows into her teen years, she has her sights set on Gideon Speyer, the IT boy, until her family up and moves them away. It’s not years later and Ivy runs into Gideons sister. Can Ivy worm her way back into Gideons life, and gain the family she always wanted.

Ya know those books that you are like “yea, I think I might like this one.” Then it turns out you really love it? That was this book for me. From the very beginning Ivy had me hooked through her early years in China, through her move to the US, and back to visit family in two vastly different socioeconomic situations. I found the look at the different sides of her family tree to be fascinating and really enjoyed learning more about the culture throughout this one. Ivy was so manipulative, and her relationship with Gideon was just so odd, meanwhile her relationship with Roux was the opposite in every way. Ivy was somehow lovable while being completely unlikable at the same time, which is a hard character to write. This one is out September 8th and you don’t want to miss out!

When you try to be someone you aren’t, instead of who you actually are, you make life abundantly more difficult for yourself. Ivy is a selfish social climber who at times seems to know what she wants, but without knowing who she really is, her life is full of tragedy and second-guessing and self-sabotage. The plot is emotionally charged; a bumpy terrain of Ivy’s pitfalls that more than once made me say ugh! want to shake her and tell her to knock it off!
A look into the Chinese culture intertwining with the American Bostonians gives the book some color and depth, and the desire to find the way to the top from outside sources is nearly laughable by the end. If only she followed her heart instead of her head, things would have turned out much better for her, but everyone eventually gets what’s coming to them.

White Ivy was an interesting read. I was really drawn in to Ivy's experiences and perspective from the start. The middle did feel as if it dragged a bit, and I lost some interest as the book went on, but the unexpected ending was enough for me to bump it back up to 4 stars. Ivy makes for a pretty compelling antihero and I'd be interested in reading more from Yang.

Raised in a Chinese immigrant family and struggling to find her place among wealthier, white peers, Ivy becomes a thief, shoplifting but hidden by her nondescript looks and childish features. As she matures, Ivy continues to strive for material wealth and place getting ahead over morals, but maintains a facade of kindness and compliance. As she becomes involved into romantic relationships - one dull, but that promises her dream life, and one passionate but increasingly toxic, her true nature is tested. This book is a mix of tense psychological thriller and literary coming of age novel, in a good way. It starts slow, but becomes more and more compelling. Well-crafted, intriguing, stays with you.

White Ivy was certainly an interesting read, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

It tells the story of Ivy, a Chinese immigrant who has always felt separated from her more privileged, white peers. She falls for Gideon, the main "golden boy" at school, but her chance of being with him is ruined by her family, until many years later. She then starts to worm her way into his family and his heart, when a person who knows her unsavoury past shows up, bringing the threat of the destruction of everything she worked so hard for.

While the beginning of the story was fairly slow in my opinion, as soon as the plot started picking up, I was comepletely immersed. And though I don't agree with many of Ivy's actions, the author did a good job of showing why she did what she thought she had to, and giving more insight on Ivy's character; what made her who she was and why she behaved the way she did. The characters were realistic and intriguing, just as the plot was.

The ending felt a bit rushed and confusing, although the open-endedness of it seemed intentional.

And yes, White Ivy has a love triangle, but surprisingly, I didn't hate it. Despite everything, this story is a coming of age novel, and I would recommend it to any who are interesting by the above, with a touch of thriller, and the lure of an in-depth analysis of a girl who yearns for the privilege that comes with race and beauty in today's society.

(And to think that this is Susie Yang's debut... wow!)

Loved this book. I was hooked from the first page. Kept me intrigued. Did not see the ending coming at all.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley and author Susie Yang for providing me with an ARC of White Ivy. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

This was a page gripping story that contained more depth than I initially thought. Ivy Lin moves to the US at the age of five, with parents who are focused on achieving the American Dream. They believe through hard work, education and sheer determination success is possible. To Ivy, thieving and trickery will get her what she desires. Always on the outside, Ivy imagines what life could be like. When opportunity knocks, Ivy is quick to shed her former life and reinvent herself but you can never really escape the past or who you truly are,

This was a promising debut and I’m curious to see what Susie Yang writes next.

Ivy prided herself on being a thief and a first-rate liar. She knew those were the qualities that would help her achieve what she wanted most. She thought she wanted to fit in with the rich American kids that dominated her daily life. She wanted privilege. “ Just what was the cloak called privilege and how did it protect you?” Her most coveted desire was Gideon Speyer. She longed to view the world through his “altered lens.” Throughout her young life, Ivy was relentless in her pursuit of happiness, or at least the facade.
A spectacular debut by Susie Yang, White Ivy explores the craving of acceptance, wealth, power and privilege through the eyes of an obsessed young woman seeking approval and love. I look forward to reading future books by this author. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy wants nothing more than to live the American dream, but what exactly does that mean? For Ivy, it means stealing and clawing her way to what she wants most.

This is a well written story of an ambitious girl. I did not like the character of Ivy very well so I never engaged with her However the plot is cleverly crafted and kept me interested.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I found this book to be pretty boring, except for some of the stuff about Chinese culture, nothing happened for pages and pages and pages, there was no mystery, no character development and barely any plot. I hate to be so negative but i only read it to honor my commitment to review it, would have stopped after the first chapter.

After I finished this book, I had to take some time to reflect. The ending and the book as a whole had me feeling conflicted. The story is a well written one. Some parts that had me shaking my head and I think it had to do more with the characters actions rather than the story. The story was really good! I loved reading about how Ivy grew up, her experiences and how they shaped her into the person she ended up becoming. On the other hand, I didn’t agree with a lot of the choices she made and cringed at most of them and I think that’s what had me conflicted. All that being said, this is a great story. The author has a great storytelling style and I think the story challenges us in a way. I highly enjoyed it. I look forward to what Miss Yang comes out with next. I give this 4 stars.