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A review by thereadingrunnner
White Ivy by Susie Yang
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.