White Ivy: A Read with Jenna Pick

White Ivy by @susieyyang is a classic coming of age in an immigrant family story. We catch up with Ivy, who recently moved from China to Boston, and was taught at a young age to shoplift and steal but her grandmother. Her father gets a good job at an elite prep school and Ivy gets to there. But she has a very difficult time fitting in. This is the basic theme of the book. Ivy’s always the one on the outside.In grade school, Ivy develops a crush on Gideon, a blond hunk whose father is a senator. She sneaks around to see him more and everntually her parents catch her. Her parents send her to her cousin’s in China and when she is away, they move the family to NJ. Ivy moves to Boston for college and stays there when she runs into Gideon’s sister and finagles her way into a party where she connects with Gideon again. The story follows the rest of Ivy’s life and her relationship with Gideon.The book starts a little slow, but I found the look into Chinese American culture fascinating. The different ways they parents their daughter and their son were really compelling to me. I found the meeting of Gideon’s parents and Ivy’s parents to be one of the highlights of the book.The genre of this character driven novel has been a little incorrectly categorized as a thriller and I would disagree. I would call this more contemporary fiction or even women’s fiction. The twist at the end sort of puts it in the thriller area, but wouldn’t call this a thriller.

I purchased this book to replace a library book that I had spilled on. I tried numerous times to read this book and just couldn't get interested in it, I read about half way.

Rather than a thriller, I would label this book a ho hummer. I almost gave up at around 70% at which point i was getting pretty tired of ivy and had pretty much abandoned any hope that anything interesting, exciting or suspenseful would ever take place. Thank goodness for the last few chapters. I didn't like any of the characters with Roux being the only possible exception.

I liked the book and it kept my interest but the main character was so very flawed. She had few redeeming qualities, if any.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in a couple of sittings. Given the overabundance of disappointing fiction out there, "White Ivy" stopped me from doing chores and truly (sadly, only for a couple of days) gave me something to look forward to with my evening treat of In the Bath with a Book.Ivy is a wonderfully flawed yet sympathetic protagonist. She makes no shortage of bad and even ultimately immoral choices, yet the reader willingly lives in her head from childhood to gawky, needy middle schooler to swanned-out beautiful adult woman, wanting to see how she's going to tackle the numerous fixes she finds herself in. The majority of these are inner-head psychological dilemmas, but as the book progresses, her dilemmas become more and more part of the physical as opposed to the metaphysical world, with potentially looming, real-time consequences.Those reviewers who have noted a similarity to Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth" are spot-on. Edith Wharton is possibly my all-time favorite author, and I've read "House of Mirth" many times. While I would not call this a modern day reimagining of that book, if you have a level of familiarity with its characters, situations and events, you will find some delicious parallels. (In my mind, I pegged Sylvia as Bertha Dorset; Gideon as Percy; Roux as Selden; with Ivy obviously as Lily Bart; among other potential comparisons.)I give four stars instead of five only because I felt Ivy's Chinese heritage could have taken more of a front seat in the trajectory of and development of her character. Instead, I felt that Ivy could have been a member of any minority group, without substantial changes to the plot. Who she is does not seem rooted in her ethnic heritage, when it could have been very interesting to see that play a larger role. At root, this story is about money and class distinction, and the desire of the have-neithers to aspire to the life of the have-boths. Which is certainly no new trope in the world of literature, but one that always grips and fascinates regardless of the time it's set in.

I'm on the fence about my rating. May contain spoilers!While it is well written and easy to read i was bored until the last half. I was actually hoping the would be a murder or Ivy burning something down. Only the last few chapters were exciting. The author did a good job keeping you hooked and setting up pathos for Ivy due to her early years, but when she reconnects with Gideon the story drags. Its another book that I didn't like any of the characters, they were all bad people out for themselves. I'm glad it was free.

I can tell this writer has talent. I love the way she phrases things. But holy hell, this book was tiresome. I’ve read other reviews that mention “twists.” There was only one thing I didn’t see coming in the middle of the book. The ending, however, was glaringly obvious. I think it was a tedious beginning with no real pull to admire any characters, an arduous middle that leads you on, thinking there might eventually be a happy ending, and then an unsettling climax you totally see coming. Some of the reviews made me think the book would be worth it in the end, but I am here to tell you IT’S NOT. Spare yourself and read something more enjoyable. I relate with Ivy a lot. My own patterns of thinking were reflected through the lens of her negative opinions. This might have influenced my disdain for this book.

Susie Yang’s debut novel WHITE IVY is a layered character study that left me with a lot to think about. Good thing it was a bookclub pick since “A young woman’s dark obsession with her privileged classmate” isn’t a premise that’ll typically catch my eye.But it was wonderful vor bookclub, the discussion centered around Ivy Lin‘s quest to assimilate and attain the unattainable an acceptance by the New England WASP‘s she had idealized since her childhood.The early chapters about Ivy’s childhood shed light on the factors that shape her, including a three-year separation from her parents, her grandmother’s influence, and a summer trip to China. In her middle school years at a private school, Ivy is exposed to wealth and privilege—a stark contrast to her poor immigrant family’s means—and meets a classmate, Gideon, whom she idealizes and sees as the epitome of success in life.But thankfully, it’s never really about Gideon. White Ivy explores appearances—the assumptions others make based on Ivy’s outward appearance, stereotypes about Asian women, the Chinese concept of “saving face“ and „toughening up“, the way Ivy values appearances over truth. Ivy’s desperation to be part of a white, privileged world exudes from every page, making the reader an intimate witness to her calculating actions, self-doubt, and loneliness. It’s frustrating to see Ivy pursue this goal for the “peace” while self-sabotaging. When she reconnects with her mother and grandmother, she gains a new understanding of who they are and the meaning of family. I wish that Ivy’s moment of realization had come sooner so that it could’ve been explored more, but this was not a tale of redemption; rather, be chilled by how harmful a misplaced striving can be.

While this novel veers closely toward soap opera, it narrowly avoids becoming trite and tawdry due to the complex character development of the titular character. Ivy’s internal and external lives are at odds because of her immigrant history and subsequent assimilation. This disparity causes her to make questionable and curious decisions, leading toward a climactic, desperate act that gives her the live she always wanted, but one she may not deserve.

WHAT?!? I am giving it one star because it is a terrible novel, but maybe I should have given it five because it so captured my attention. I have so many thoughts, some of which are controversial. So this might be a controversial post.1)First this book is filled with the "simple and cheaps." For example (and not limited to):Roux Roman is Romanian!?Gideon and Sylvia Speyer may or may not be flowers-in-the-attic-ing or Gideon and Tom have a sexual-separate-peace! (For a straight-laced dude as he is presented he sure has a lot of innuendo'd sexual kinks, but not Asian women, or maybe?)Are the Speyers poor or Protestant or both or neither?Murder in the White Mountains!Cattahasset is such a magical cape place so much so it doesn’t even exist. I can't think of any Delaware, Iroquois, or Algonquin word that is even related to this, but okay...They demolished Clarksville in the 1980's to build Quakerbridge Mall.2) For the more deeper thoughts:So as the novel progresses, Ivy "Bluest Eye's" herself, going definitely insane because of her inferiority complex to the world she aspires to be a part of...Though the boundaries of this world are really unclear... it seems she wants everything and also nothing...though she actually has a lot, and wants things that many would not find desirable... ... ...or maybe it's all just scurvy? (SERIOUSLY THIS HAPPENS)There have been a number of novels in the last few years describing the experience of Asian-American immigrants in the latter half of the 20th century. Never was one so just...wow...I am not Asian American...though I come from another Title 9 class, so I get there can in certain situations where one can feel disenfranchised in a variety of ways. I would never equate my experience though, as anything similar to any group of people systematically discriminated against or struggling against income and market inequalities.But, like, Ivy seems to think she is the latter when really her parents do fairly well by her...bringing her to the US...working hard to send her to private school...feeding and clothing her. Her education is quite enviable (allusions to some girls liberal arts college), and her career though not illustrious is sustaining (private school elementary teacher).  Anyhow they took the good-ole "New England outsider wants to become insider", but with an incredibly thin veneer of research, and wrote a salacious romance novel. I love reading it because I couldn’t tell whether the joke was on me, a lover of New England based stories, the cast (again Roux Roman is Romanian?!) or the author herself (because in no way is this a good representation of any canon or other than "Beach Reads").

You know I am not sure if I enjoyed this or not. I can't tell you too much or I will spoil it for you. I know that families that come over to another country bring their traditions with them. Heck, I am one of them; my husband and I immigrated to the U.S. in 1981. Ivy still waffles back and forth between her Asian and America roots. She gets caught up in things that just overwhelm her and she can't find her way out, or does she?

Like many other reviewers, I found Ivy hard to like, but Yang's writing style and keen insight into human nature and the nuances of communication between the characters kept my interest to the very end. I kept getting the feeling that Ivy was digging herself deeper and deeper into the proverbial hole, and I was interested to see what happened to her in the end. Roux was my favorite character as he was the most "real" of the bunch. The ending was a bit disappointing, but overall a good read.

That quiet Asian kid in class. . .whether you are a teacher or a classmate, an Asian peer or just another kid, there is a lot more going on with Ivy than you imagine.Ivy grows up exceedingly poor in an immigrant family. Her parents are strict to the point of abuse. Her grandmother is wise but street-wise as well. Ivy drifts through childhood, wanting more of something, but what? She thinks that American cosmetics, music, shoes, etc. might be the answer.She goes through a prep school experience and a summer in China. She is exposed to what "rich" really means.Her one good friend, an older boy, disappears from her life when the family relocates.Post-college. More emptiness. Too many men, and never the right one. What will Ivy do to fill her soul?Oh, my goodness. The things Ivy will do. I found her adult adventures disconcerting, hopeful, strange, and cold as well as human, heart-wrenching, and dizzying.I am keeping the plot fairly quiet here, for the plot twists are the fun of the book. I will be rereading to see how many clues I sped right past. Yang is a talented author. I hope to read a sequel, perhaps with more focus on Arthur.

I love stories about assimilation and the “American Dream,” and White Ivy is both. Ivy is an ABC (American Born Chinese) to immigrant parents who haven’t really melded to their new society. She fights tooth-and-nail to fit in and defy her roots at every turn. Her desperation is couched in a love triangle where her head and her heart are in constant battle.At its core, this is a story about the characters who are all flawed in very recognizable and human ways. Ivy is an anti-hero with a bit of Tom Ripley in her. She’s often she’s unlikable and pitiful, but I still found myself rooting for her. This character tactic is not always something I enjoy but here, Yang does it brilliantly.This is a story of dark desperation and the plot is full of thoughtful twists and artful turns.Yang provides a thorough commentary on immigration and perceptions of wealth and happiness. I was intrigued not only by the characters and the plot but by the highlighted cultural differences.I don’t always agree with Jenna’s picks, but she nailed this one! Top 10 book of 2020 for me. Highly recommend!

This book is poorly written in that it seemed the author went out of her way to write in as showy and over-the-top manner as possible - sort of like writing poetry in high school. I wish I had highlighted the more ridiculous sentences, but sadly, I did not. Being a fan of Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Sopranos, and the like, I don't need an always likable protagonist, but she was just annoying. I will say that the explanation at the end was not what I expected which made it a bit fun.

This was a good book in many respects but, for me, I just couldn't like or accept these characters.. There truly was not one character I could respect or feel much empathy for. Especially Ivy, the main character was just not someone I could feel much for. I did think the cultural aspect was well thought out and fleshed out in the characters and how they interacted. I also found that the way Ivy dealt with her difficult situation at the end, to be completely implausible and not believable.

I love this Book, but the ending is a but morbid. So well written!! This Book has haunted me, and will probably haunt me. I am so glad I read this Book, but I do believe that heroine had other answers then the one she chose, however, I still love this Book, and Author.

A young girl trapped in what she feels like is the wrong family. Well, the wrong everything. Her parents have immigrated to the U.S. from China and haven’t quite assimilated. She doesn’t feel like she fits in herself .Ivy is not cutting it in school and her parents do not hide their disappointment. She spends most of her time with her grandmother, the only one who seems to get her. One event in high school, which is probably the best and worst night of her life, leads to the future she desires. But it is a long time coming.What Ivy dreams of is being a part of not just the “in” crowd, but what she considers the cream of the crop. White, WASPy, and wealthy. Everything she is not. When she is suddenly and unexpectedly catapulted into that world, she wants something more. It’s a dangerous slope she is walking, and Ivy seems willing to take the risk.Reading WHITE IVY feels like Yang is taking her readers to an amusement park and you get to go on all of the rides – the ones that make you queasy, make you scream, make you want to stand in line and go again, and give you the biggest thrill. You think no way, that can’t happen, then, shocked, then unable to trust anyone, then a surprise is waiting around the corner, and didn’t see that coming.There is a lot to digest in WHITE IVY – Ivy’s coming of age, the immigrant experience, a love triangle, and an alarming twist. The book is some post-election exhale, can’t wait for the inauguration, end of the year can’t come soon enough, suspenseful drama in the best way wonderful.

This is one of those novels when you know that the ending is not going to be a HEA – happily ever after. There is too much angst and foreign complications. Ivy Lin, our main character, is born in China and initially raised by her grandmother, Meifeng, who, although loving, taught her to steal. Her parents, Nan and Shen, have gone to America to create a better life and finally save enough money to bring Ivy to Massachusetts. Ivy, now reunited with her parents, who she hardly knows, has a brother, Austin. No one really tells Ivy what’s really happening. Her grandmother, on a few occasions, tells Ivy about her Nan’s sad life to defend her daughter after a mean argument.Nan is not likeable. She is an overbearing, strict Asian mother who constantly erodes her daughter’s confidence and threatens she will end up alone and starving unless she works and behaves the way she orders. Beset with financial problems, there is a stream of fighting for some financial security. Ivy does not agree with her parents’ view of almost everything. However, Ivy has a few things going for her; she is pretty with beautiful eyes and is smart.Ivy reconnects with a grade school crush, Gideon Steyer, a preppy, nice guy from a wealthy family. She works hard to create a relationship with Gideon and keep up with his friends. Ivy is a teacher, with little money and debts, but she spends $575 on a plane ticket to join Gideon and newly engaged friends on a skiing trip. It is an awkward vacation, albeit Ivy does not know how to ski and she is awkward, but her plight is to win Gideon’s love. She continues to straddle her opportunism and her cover-up with a submissive and lovable nature. She is striving to climb into the American middle-class or beyond. I thought that was the theme of this debut novel, but it is more than that. There are some shocking revelations and a deep study into bizarre violence.The book becomes a dark novel, but in a good way. Desperation can produce drastic actions. Susie Yang went beyond and avoided clichés of privilege and class – the American way.

While every reviewer has an obligation to be as objective as possible, it is sometimes difficult to know if a criticism is valid or if the author is simply not the target audience for this particular book. Which is precisely why I do not review many of the books I read. I feel a sincere obligation to the author and the potential reader to only offer reviews of books I was intended to read.This book is classified on Amazon under the Asian American Literature genre. It is a genre I truly enjoy and often read, being an American who has lived in China for 11 years and is married to a Chinese woman who comes from very modest beginnings not dissimilar to those of Ivy Lin.The introduction on Amazon says that the story of Ivy Lin offers “stark insights into the immigrant experience…” And the book’s reading group guide describes it as “A coming of age story, a love triangle, an exploration of class and race and identity.” My kind of book, I thought.In the end, however, I believe this is an immigrant’s story in only the most technical sense. It is, rather, the story of a woman born in China with a very Western worldview (How it was acquired is not clear.) that follows her family to the US in search of wealth and the respectability and the happiness she believes it will provide her.While the Chinese seek wealth and respectability as well, however, Ivy’s definitions seem to come directly from the Boston Brahmin/ WASP handbook, showcased in the extreme by the New England family she wants to marry into. The Chinese define wealth and respectiblity very differently and pursue them for very different reasons. (Less material obsession, more familial piety.)Little of the book actually takes place in China, moreover, and you will learn little about Chinese culture compared to what you’ll find in books by Pearl S. Buck or Lisa See.Asian immigrants are often referred to as model immigrants but the reason for that is not just that they are hardworking and generally respectful but that they don’t define immigration in the same way most Americans do. Although I have lived and worked in China for a fairly long time, no Chinese, including my wife, thinks of me as an immigrant. In China you are either Chinese or you are a foreigner and the latter can never become the former, although I have never felt any sense of pejorative judgment about my status. I am just a foreigner. If you speak the language flawlessly you are merely a foreigner who speaks Chinese. If you have lived here a very long time, you are merely a foreigner who has lived here a long time.While I believe few things in life are binary, I do believe that the primary differences between Chinese culture and Western culture can be explained by worldview. The Chinese worldview is very inductive. Things are simply what they are. “The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white.” (The proverb that the author opens the book with.) Which is why traditional Chinese culture is full of superstition and mythology and there is an open acceptance of luck or the lack thereof.Western culture, on the other hand, is built on a more deductive foundation. We are slaves to cause and effect, to rules, and personal merit is a near-religion, which is why we put such value on the things we own and why most billionaires strive to be even richer. (It is a sign of merit, not luck.)Ivy was deductive from the moment she landed on American shores. She is always trying to understand, to scheme, to get ahead, but in the Western, not the Eastern sense. She is a thief, in other words, at many levels, as the first line of the book introduces her.The writing is professional. And the character development is complete, but largely two-dimensional. We can visualize the characters but we don’t ever really come to know them. They are very much like the pieces on a chessboard. They have purpose, but no essence. As the author notes, “All women, Ivy was beginning to understand, had a theme.” Don’t we all. But does our theme truly define us or is it just the costume we wear?Many of the female characters, including Ivy, use meaningless and frequent sex to create their themes, although it’s tame and not graphic. Still, I thought the tool was over-used and after the first third of the book thought is was more of a teenage romance novel and almost put it down. Ultimately, however, I realized that this is a novel about themes, not romance. Romantic, Ivy is not, so I began to see her promiscuity in a different light.In the end, I have to conclude, I was not the target audience for this book. But if you think you are you should read some of the other reviews.