Book Review: White Ivy

WHITE IVY | Susie Yang
11.3.2020 | Simon & Schuster
Rating: 4/5 stars

Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar, but you would never know that by looking at her. She was raised outside of Boston, where she learned to pilfer items from yard sales and second-hand shops by her grandmother. Thieving is Ivy’s way to become more than her meager means and instead blend in with all the other suburban teens at her school. Ivy’s goal is the affections of the class golden boy, Gideon Speyer. Her mother isn’t blind to what’s happening and sends Ivy away to live with family in China for a time. When Ivy returns she finds her family has packed their bags and moved to a new state. Devastated over losing the boy she thought was her true love. Ivy makes it her life mission to break out of her family’s confines. Things all change for Ivy when a chance encounter brings Gideon back into her life.

WHITE IVY is a fascinating coming-of-age story about a young girl who is willing to take chances to break out from what she considers the strict life her family has created. Our main character of Ivy Lin, is someone who is hard to love. She has a lot of unlikeable qualities about her, but also this personality that makes you want to find out what she’s going to do next. Ivy is constantly scheming and seldom worried about how her actions can impact those around her. She wants what she wants at any cost.

Surrounding Ivy are a cast of equally unlikeable characters who help to shape and mold what happens in Ivy’s life. There is a great dichotomy represented by Susie Yang between characters from wealthy backgrounds and those with lower class upbringings. These interactions result in a lot of cringeworthy behavior that the reader simply cannot look away from.

WHITE IVY is a complicated and at times messy coming-of-age story that you’re not going to want to put down!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

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