An engrossing tale of obsession, vanity, and desperation. The main character, Ivy, is a Chinese American girl who is driven entirely by selfish desires. From a very young age, she wants nothing more than to move up in society. She views herself as lowly, ugly, and worthless, while she views her rich, white classmates as the embodiment of success, wealth, and beauty. Through discreet acts of deception and manipulation, Ivy inserts herself into the life of her childhood crush and proves she is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect her newfound place in life as the girlfriend of a successful white male. The author did an absolutely phenomenal job writing and developing Ivy’s character. I found myself empathizing with her and rooting for her despite her selfish nature and her many despicable decisions. White Ivy is an incredibly well-written and thought-provoking book that is full of tension and really gets under your skin. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book prior to its publication.

What a wonderful debut novel this is! Ivy Lin is five when she re-unites with her parents who are chasing the American Dream. Ivy yearns to dissociate from her family who she regards as unworldly and uneducated. Ivy herself can't seem to find a career path that will yield the life she is exposed to, and desires, at her private school.
The characters are well drawn and interesting but the book does have an overall sad feel to it. There are a few 'twists' that I saw coming but in no way diminished enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC to read and review.

I read this in one sitting. Susie Yang's characters come alive off the page in ways that will both enrage and utterly compel you because they're so devastatingly human. Showcases human weakness, shared but hidden family trauma, and the struggle for identity in such a beautiful way, and begs the question—if all you did for your whole life was struggle to survive and fit in in a world that was built to box you out, can you ever reach a point where you can thrive? I have to admire Ivy's doggedness to take ownership and reach that conclusion for herself.

I had mixed feelings about this book simply because the characters are so unlovable. Yet the story is intriguing and following Ivy as she grows and watching how she responds to life makes for an engaging read. The characters with their many blemishes, do ring true, so kudos to the author for that. All in all, I think it is a welcome and refreshing addition to the genre of Asians in America and it avoids many of the usual stereotypes we encounter. I'd look forward to seeing what the author will come up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Decent read. Not one of the great ones but nevertheless well written and interesting. Not just another poor girl looks to meet rich guy kind of a book. Much better than that.

Thank you Simon and Schuster for this wonderful advance readers copy! This story had so many twists and turns and the protagonist was always a mystery. The book was well written and I could not put the book down. Loved it!

I was pleased to receive an eARC of White Ivy after reading the intriguing synopsis. The cover is quite captivating, and I love a good love triangle, so I was all in.

Ivy Lin is a Chinese immigrant. She spends the first few years of her life being raised by her grandmother until her parents save enough to bring her to a small town in Massachusetts. There, she quickly realizes how different she is from her classmates and develops a preoccupation with gaining their approval. She strikes up an oil-and-water friendship with Roux based on their mutual pastime (stealing) but when her parents find out she lies about going to a party, they send Ivy to China for the summer and move the family to New Jersey. Years later, a chance encounter causes her to cross paths with her childhood crush's sister, and the two are reunited, kindling a romance that is everything Ivy's always dreamed of. From there, things steamroll, until a week getaway aligns a different set of stars, entangling her once again with Roux.

I stewed on this review for a few days because I wanted to figure out my thoughts. First, I was expecting this read to be much more nefarious than it was. There's a lot of exposition and storytelling, and I appreciated the depth that Yang brought to Ivy's character. Her troubles go beyond insecurities. Ivy is deeply troubled and fixates on the construct of white beauty. She emulates her classmates behaviors, models her appearance after the "popular" girls, and goes to drastic lengths to achieve her preconceived idea of happiness. There's an edge to Ivy that often crosses the border to disturbing, but she never really manifests as a creepy individual. More than anything, Ivy's story feels tragic, and the love triangle that unravels feels poetic, Shakespearean to some extent. Yang's prose is literary and elegant with a dose of solid unease underlining her words.

Roux and Gideon are two interesting fellows, let me tell you. Complex in their flaws, yet polarized as two prime "objects of affection," Yang expertly weaves the love triangle to have you rooting for one or the other. I'm not sure I was ever really rooting for Ivy to end up with either, but my penchant for triangles is more in the execution than the result. I wanted Ivy to acknowledge her own extremes, and in a way, she does, with the quiet yet loaded conclusion.

But. I wanted more. I wanted more suspense, I wanted more of a sinister nature to emerge in Ivy's desperation to please her parents, herself, her fiance, her fiance's parents. I wanted to be glued to my seat as she encounters an ultimatum, but ultimately, I wasn't surprised by Ivy's actions. While there's more at work here in a literary sense, I was hoping for one super unnerving scene that would leave an impact and was instead given a mildly-climatic scene.

In terms of its place in the current market, I think White Ivy is layered and full of things to unpack. Identity, particularly as its concerned with immigrants. Beauty standards and how they differ depending on region. Where is the line drawn between determined and problematic? How much do ours pathologies dictate the course of our lives? Yang's prose is wrought with social commentary and insightful critique of how we approach the concept of the Other. I particularly appreciated the micro-moments where we're acutely aware of how much Ivy has been affected by her own obsession with acceptance. The cat in the beach house, the wardrobe, the daily beauty regimens. This made me reflect on my own internal gaze-markers and re-examine the assumptions I make about beauty and identity.

Overall, this is a dense read that covers relevant issues through Ivy's interactions with the people in her life, but I wanted more in terms of suspense. I'd recommend this to anyone who's looking for an issues-heavy fiction with beautiful language. Strange and slightly disturbing, White Ivy will be a good addition to your TBRs.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Starting in middle school Ivy has dreamed of a life lived among the waspy swells that she sees personified in the form of her childhood hero, and aptly named, Gideon. Fast forward to post college and he, by some serendipity, appears back in her life. Ivy’s story is a bit of a Scarlett O’Hara tale in that as, a reader, you want to direct her away from foolish choices but what is it they say about “the heart wants what the heart wants”. I loved the book! Thank you Netgalley and Simon Schuster. I cannot wait for everyone to read it so that I can discuss the book and it’s leading lady from beginning to end.

White Ivy by Susie Yang
(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
This book follows the story of Ivy a young Asian American who steals and swindled deals for her grandmother. Her dealings lead her to be obsessed with a young man, son of a politician, who allows her a taste of the privileged life. Once her mom finds out about her thievery Ivy is sent back to China. Years later Ivy returns she finds a connection to Gideon through his sister and soon swindled her way back into his life as she pretends to be more than what she is.
This novel has many twists and turns as the author provides a character driven mystery. As I read this story I found it difficult to like any of the characters as Ivy seems more of an antagonist than the protagonist of her story. This is Susie Yang’s debut novel which you would never guess as she has a mystical way with words as she captivated me from pages one. I look forward to reading more from her in the future and hope that she continues to write about the integration efforts of Asian American families. *

Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for this ARC. *

I could not put this book down! Literally read in 2 days! To say that this book was not what I expected would be an understatement. The author did a great job of making me both root for, and abhor the main character at the same time. The circle of relationships in this book was well written and the characters (while at times deplorable) were descriptive. The best parts about this book are the twists it takes along the way. Thank you so much for the advance copy, I will be reading more from this author!

I had a lot of trouble getting I to this book. I could not connect with the storyline or the characters. I tried and tried not just could not speak any interest in this.

“White Ivy” is Susie Yang’s debut novel, and what a debut it is!

Tantalizing and anguishing, sometimes I almost couldn’t finish this book — but Ivy’s story is one that begs to be told and to miss that last page, that less sentence, would be an utter disgrace.

At times it seemed impossible to love or even tolerate the protagonist — who seemed to be more of an antagonist— while other times her own thoughts and actions lead to a false desire to pity her.

Ms. Yang has wonderfully written the characters of Ivy Lin and her family with such devotion and love, this book was quite a delight to read! I can not wait to see what else the author has to offer!

(Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing a free ebook arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review)