White Ivy A Novel

4.5

T & CW: Abuse (physical & emotional), emotional manipulation, smoking, infidelity, LGBT+ characters This is more of a character study about Ivy, a Chinese-American woman who wants to achieve the "American Dream" but more importantly peace, joy, and security, than a thriller or mystery. Susie Yang gives a subtle nod towards the way White men are idolized and seen as the "right type" by Asian women through Ivy's admiration and continuous schemes to be Gideon Speyer's "best woman." She's unlikable which, I guess, is fine, since I know not all protagonists have to be, but I'm over characters cheating on their partners because of poor communication. I wished Ivy expressed her frustrations to Gideon instead of bottling it up, but that's probably my personality talking instead of focusing on why that was needed to develop Susie's plot. I'd like to think most women around my age don't follow this old Hollywood trope 🙄 but Ivy does. THE LACK OF CLEAR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HER AND GIDEON IS ANNOYING! If they - especially Ivy, since this story is told through her point of view - had CLEARLY talked about their concerns I would've had MORE respect for Ivy! If Susie let them talk it out but have Ivy's concerns dismissed, ignored, or partially addressed by Gideon, leading Ivy towards her self-destructive behaviors seen throughout this story, THEN I *would've; maybe* considered this story to be more insightful, but it wasn't 😡 The cheating trope is SO overdone! I really can't tale a woman around my age doing that seriously - and Ivy HAS gone through serious stuff such as parental abuse and emotional manipulation for her story to be taken seriously! Most, if not everyone, in this story are superficial. It's not clear whether Gideon and Tom are actually gay but I've tagged this as LGBT characters just in case. Also, there's a scene where Ivy, who's acted straight this whole time, starts dancing sexually with a woman at a party while tipsy, so that's why I have this tagged as Queerbait too. But I do enjoy Ivy's character study (minus the dumb parts) about the Chinese-American experience, what it's like to straddle both cultures, parental expectations (which can be impossible at times), cross-culture relationships - specifically appeasing Whites because of social and class morals as a racial minority, and love (although that one was muddy). There's no real moral of this story but a conglomeration of topics delved into 1st gen Chinese-Americans experience, which makes me confused as to what Susie wanted to talk about. But DO NOT think this is a thriller or mystery! I don't know who or why this book was marketed as that. This would've been 5 stars if the dumb parts were taken out, but because of them I'm giving this 3 stars.

Such a good read…I’m not sure how I feel about the ending but I loved this book

A slow start to this novel but things really do pick up. Not many likeable characters in this anti romantic romance book but I liked it regardless. 3.5 stars.

second read: june 15, 2021 this book really lives on my mind rent free and i can never escape it i fear….. first read: march 5, 2021 ivy lin i will follow in your footsteps.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Ivy is a Chinese-born immigrant. She is also a thief and a liar, and someone searching for love, power, and the glamorous American life. I loved this book. No one was really likable, and the entire book was like watching a train wreck unfold. But there were themes of class, racism, power, and what someone will do for security and money that I liked. And I didn't see the ending coming!

4.5 what the fuck.

we love some psychotic women, amirite

The issue with this book is that for a plot that often reads like the Americanized version of a Turkish drama - poor girl wants to be rich, does everything to be rich, can't decide between true comfort and the (white) spaces she desires, then gets cold feet by the end - everyone was taking themselves too seriously. Especially Ivy. I could easily guess how this poor character would end up, and alas, it happened exactly like I thought it would. As a result I was laughing far more than I should have. But it's fine otherwise. That final plot twist... just... oh my god hahahahaha

What a book! I have to say, this took me a few false starts before I could not put it down. I do not know if it was Ivy’s general unlikableness, the fact that I had first heard this book was a thriller (it is really, really not) or the pacing decisions. This book felt very modern and yet very timeless to me. This book tells us the story of Ivy Lin, and her obsession with Gideon Speyer that starts when she is a teen and resumes after a chance meeting with his sister. Ivy is willing to stop at nothing to be part of the beauty and privilege she sees in Gideon’s life, even when another figure from her childhood threatens that. I enjoyed reading about Ivy’s social-climbing and her rejection of her family. She reminded me of a lot of coming-of-age stories in that way. Ivy’s thieving is the most literal version of taking what she feels is owed to her. She is so selfish and ruthless, but her blind spots are so amateurish. I enjoyed reading Ivy’s brutal thoughts about her family, friends, and romantic partners, even as I was curious about how much she missed by being so set in her views. Ivy’s relationship with her parents contrasted with the dynamic she had with her grandmother was flawless. As far as going after what she wants, Ivy is unrivaled, but her methods are what really had me flying through the story. Usually for me, I best enjoy manipulative scammer types when they are committing big, showy crimes, and Ivy’s actions are much stealthier than that. In the book, there is a great line about how we hold the people we value in such esteem because we still view them with childhood eyes, and Ivy’s fixation on Gideon and his family and her determination to be worthy of him felt like a suspended goal in a lot of ways. This book had a lot of thriller-like tendencies, but the writing was perfectly literary. The reflections on privilege and the desperation to obtain it make this book a must-read for me. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

first thought as I finished the book: I took a deep breath and said “wtf did I just read?” interesting story of a Chinese immigrant girl willing to do anything to fit into rich white society. Characters are purposely unlikeable and it was like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from. I finished this book in a day because i NEEDED to know where it was going. I might’ve enjoyed this more if I hadn’t gone into it thinking I was getting a thriller when it’s more dark literary fiction with a *hint* of thriller..

I have no fucking idea. Beginning: somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. I hated Ivy already from the beginning but I could kind of relate to her growing up in the US and the way her family treated her. It was somewhat an amped-up reflection of what I experienced as an immigrant (but with just added shoplifting and more toxic personalities). Middle: 2 stars. I was so bored. I hated her relationship development with Gideon, it was so devoid of any emotion of love. After Roux was re-introduced: 3-4 stars because he made things interesting Big Twist #1: 1 star, I almost DNFed it right there because I fucking hated Ivy so much. Big twist #2: 3-4 stars... I hated it still but it was way more interesting. Lots of toxic shit happened in terms of Ivy's relationship with Roux. I enjoyed learned about her family again. End: 1 star. What the fuck was that ending? What does that make this book??? Idk. This was probably the most frustrating book I've ever read in my life. There are aspects of it I admire but I just literally hated every single fucking character. Full review later when I gather my thoughts.

Borrowed this book because of the bright pink cover, realized how much I love Ivy Lin as a character, and really appreciated the story arc. Also that first paragraph really draws you in. 10/10, will read again!

I really enjoyed this book, most times it was unputdownable, and that's rare for me. I feel like the novel I thought I picked up and the novel I read were two different books. It's a novel on identity, family, greed, secrets, and in the tail end, a bit of a thriller. So good, highly recommend!

White Ivy begins, “Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar…” and in that vein, I have seen many reviews that refer to her as “unlikeable.” Now, I am a strong proponent that we need more “unlikeable” female characters in books, movies, TV shows and anywhere else characters are created because usually the term “unlikeable” - when applied to a female character - translates to complex, messy or flawed. Traits we’ve never had trouble accepting in male characters. Ivy Lin is certainly all those things, but so is every other character that populates this stunning debut novel. This is a book about complex people making messy choices to serve their flawed perceptions of success. And it is fascinating. The fact is “unlikeable” people can be the most fun to read about. This book is an impressive debut that elegantly walks the line between twisty thriller and beautiful literary fiction. And an excellent argument for why we need more unlikeable women in our fiction.

There was a LOT going on in White Ivy but it was done in a really well-done way. The writing was incredible, the story was unlike any that I’ve ever read, and I have been left thinking about this book for quite some time. Quick Summary: White Ivy follows Ivy Lin, a Chinese immigrant in a fascinating coming of age story. Throughout her adolescence, Ivy is a dedicated shoplifter and friend to the hometown “bad boy” Roux. In middle school, Ivy is kind of an outcast that is interested in the popular boy, Gideon. Her family moves and years later she crosses paths with both Roux and Gideon again. The book definitely started off slow for me – I would say the first 1/3 dragged a bit but it set up the scene for the last 2/3 to be epic. A large part of this book revolves around wealth, consumerism, and “The American Dream” which I found to be really interesting. Growing up, Ivy’s family lived along the poverty line, while she attended a private school and was surrounded by immense wealth. Ivy’s fascination with wealth follows her along into her adulthood, where one of her end goals is to marry rich. I absolutely loved the complexity and development of the characters, from Ivy (an unlikeable character that I actually really liked), to her grandma, Roux, Gideon, and everyone in between. Yang does an incredible job of developing these characters, and leaving you with a twist that you don’t see coming! Along with the book’s complexity comes even the complexity of the genre/classification– it’s considered a “contemporary fiction” book while others classify it as a thriller. I would say it leans more literary fiction, as a character-driven, coming-of-age tale.

Maybe I’m not the target audience? I expected something more insightful.