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tsabine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pauladennan's review against another edition
Have you ever finished a book and been unsure whether you actually enjoyed it, but you want to talk about it anyway? That's how I feel about White Ivy by Susie Yang.
shereallyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
chroniclerofcreepy's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 easily. Maybe 5 if I wasn't having a bad day
tinybibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
My Review:⭐️⭐⭐⭐/ 5 stars
White Ivy follows the story of Ivy Lin, a young Chinese-American woman born in the Boston area in a humble, “poor” family. She was taught at an early age to be a casual thief at yard sales and second hand shops by her grandmother. All her life, Ivy aspired to appear much wealthier than she was, crushing on Gideon, son of the state senator. After sneaking out as a teen to his house party and her parents embarrassingly picking her up, she was sent back to China for the summer and she never saw Gideon again. Years later, after moving back to Boston, she stumbles into Sylvia (Gideon’s sister) who invites her to a dinner at her home to rekindle their friendship - Ivy jumps at the chance to see her childhood crush. However, as she intensifies her pursuit of Gideon, another man from her past comes back too and threatens to disrupt everything she has worked hard to achieve.
Ivy has very unlikeable qualities- dishonesty, lack of care with her family unless she needs something, a cheat, and overall inauthenticity. However, you can’t stop reading about her and somehow rooting for her nonetheless. This contemporary fiction quickly shifts into a slow burn thriller - and I am all for it. The ending was not a shock, but still you wondered if it was really going to go there -- and it did. Ivy clearly had evolved into a much worse iteration of herself and it was so subtle and perfect. Really enjoyed this read and am looking forward to reading more from Susie Yang.
White Ivy follows the story of Ivy Lin, a young Chinese-American woman born in the Boston area in a humble, “poor” family. She was taught at an early age to be a casual thief at yard sales and second hand shops by her grandmother. All her life, Ivy aspired to appear much wealthier than she was, crushing on Gideon, son of the state senator. After sneaking out as a teen to his house party and her parents embarrassingly picking her up, she was sent back to China for the summer and she never saw Gideon again. Years later, after moving back to Boston, she stumbles into Sylvia (Gideon’s sister) who invites her to a dinner at her home to rekindle their friendship - Ivy jumps at the chance to see her childhood crush. However, as she intensifies her pursuit of Gideon, another man from her past comes back too and threatens to disrupt everything she has worked hard to achieve.
Ivy has very unlikeable qualities- dishonesty, lack of care with her family unless she needs something, a cheat, and overall inauthenticity. However, you can’t stop reading about her and somehow rooting for her nonetheless. This contemporary fiction quickly shifts into a slow burn thriller - and I am all for it. The ending was not a shock, but still you wondered if it was really going to go there -- and it did. Ivy clearly had evolved into a much worse iteration of herself and it was so subtle and perfect. Really enjoyed this read and am looking forward to reading more from Susie Yang.
ruby_mae_read's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual assault
thereadingrunnner's review against another edition
3.0
Does anyone truly know the real you? Who you really are vs. how you portray yourself to others vs. who you desire to be can often be different facets of the same person - and this novel explores this very concept via a love triangle.
Ivy, who came to America from China at a young age, never really felt like she fit in as an adolescent, but she learned some ways to get by and give her the power she sought. She was secretly a "bad girl" who would steal just for the thrill and the challenge, and she kept this hidden from everyone except for Roux Roman, a boy who was in many ways just like her. They were friends until Ivy's parents decided to enroll her in a prep school, and suddenly Ivy, who craved fitting in, turned her back on Roux.
Fast forward many years, and Ivy coincidentally bumps into a woman whose brother is one that Ivy had a huge crush on as a teen and always envied their elitist family. She is set up with Gideon, her old crush, and they seemingly hit it off. In a strange turn of events, Roux then shows back up in her life. Ivy is torn between her desire to be a part of a well known family (with Gideon) and the financial comfort that offers and her true self which Roux knows every detail of. She cannot hide from Roux who has always loved her and knows her inside and out, but she can put on a good show for Gideon and his family and play the part. The novel captures her inner struggle between who she really is against who she desperately desires to be.
The concept is great and I enjoyed many aspects of the story. However there were a lot of extra details that didn't seem to fit and made for too much going on that distracted from the main story. Austin is Ivy's brother and I really think his character overall weakened the novel - he was a side story that didn't quite mesh. I also think there needed to be more on Ivy's apparent obsession with Gideon as a teen - there wasn't enough substance there to make me actually believe she had such a deep rooted crush on him that affected her whole life. There are also many references to Ivy being so smart and scholarly when she was younger, but she was definitely not portrayed that way early on in the story. I more-so got the sense that she just floated through things, so that part seemed like a major inconsistency. Overall, solid storyline that I think just needed some fine tuning to bring it up a notch.
I won this book in a giveaway in exchange for my honest review.
Ivy, who came to America from China at a young age, never really felt like she fit in as an adolescent, but she learned some ways to get by and give her the power she sought. She was secretly a "bad girl" who would steal just for the thrill and the challenge, and she kept this hidden from everyone except for Roux Roman, a boy who was in many ways just like her. They were friends until Ivy's parents decided to enroll her in a prep school, and suddenly Ivy, who craved fitting in, turned her back on Roux.
Fast forward many years, and Ivy coincidentally bumps into a woman whose brother is one that Ivy had a huge crush on as a teen and always envied their elitist family. She is set up with Gideon, her old crush, and they seemingly hit it off. In a strange turn of events, Roux then shows back up in her life. Ivy is torn between her desire to be a part of a well known family (with Gideon) and the financial comfort that offers and her true self which Roux knows every detail of. She cannot hide from Roux who has always loved her and knows her inside and out, but she can put on a good show for Gideon and his family and play the part. The novel captures her inner struggle between who she really is against who she desperately desires to be.
The concept is great and I enjoyed many aspects of the story. However there were a lot of extra details that didn't seem to fit and made for too much going on that distracted from the main story. Austin is Ivy's brother and I really think his character overall weakened the novel - he was a side story that didn't quite mesh. I also think there needed to be more on Ivy's apparent obsession with Gideon as a teen - there wasn't enough substance there to make me actually believe she had such a deep rooted crush on him that affected her whole life. There are also many references to Ivy being so smart and scholarly when she was younger, but she was definitely not portrayed that way early on in the story. I more-so got the sense that she just floated through things, so that part seemed like a major inconsistency. Overall, solid storyline that I think just needed some fine tuning to bring it up a notch.
I won this book in a giveaway in exchange for my honest review.
macyelsmith's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
smolswol's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0