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A review by thespinystacks
White Ivy by Susie Yang
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow, what a story. To say it’s a coming of age story would be an injustice, to say it was simply an immigrant story would be an injustice. Don’t get me wrong, it is both of these things but it is so much more.
Ivy Lin is a cunning Chinese woman who we first meet as a young child living in China. She is summoned by her parents who are living in USA and must adjust to a new life with them. We follow her through her teenage years with a crush on the rich boy in class, through her desire to assimilate but never quite achieving it, into young adulthood and her late 20s where she knows who she is - but are we supposed to like who she’s become?
Ivy manipulates the people around her using whatever she can. Whenever I thought I understood her motivation - she turned a different way and revealed another unknown facet to her personality and mind. I loved that about Ivy, even though I didn’t love Ivy herself.
Ivy is a largely unlikely lead, but you still feel for her when she missteps. I loved the journey I went on with Ivy and she kept me on the edge of my seat for much of this book. I’ll remember her always, but not always kindly.
Ivy Lin is a cunning Chinese woman who we first meet as a young child living in China. She is summoned by her parents who are living in USA and must adjust to a new life with them. We follow her through her teenage years with a crush on the rich boy in class, through her desire to assimilate but never quite achieving it, into young adulthood and her late 20s where she knows who she is - but are we supposed to like who she’s become?
Ivy manipulates the people around her using whatever she can. Whenever I thought I understood her motivation - she turned a different way and revealed another unknown facet to her personality and mind. I loved that about Ivy, even though I didn’t love Ivy herself.
Ivy is a largely unlikely lead, but you still feel for her when she missteps. I loved the journey I went on with Ivy and she kept me on the edge of my seat for much of this book. I’ll remember her always, but not always kindly.
Content Warnings
Minor: Eating disorder