White Ivy

Character. The ingredients of Susie Yang’s debut novel titled, White Ivy, combine to offer readers a tasty reading experience. We find a mix of class, race, culture, expectations, thievery, and desire. Protagonist Ivy is trained as a thief by her Chinese grandmother, fails to meet her immigrant parents’ expectations, and finds herself in a relationship with “that” boy, Gideon, desired by many in the mainstream culture. We find love, deception, yearning, privilege, and insights into family. We keep trying to figure out Ivy and see what she really wants out of life. We gawk at Ivy’s obsession and struggle to watch her separate shallowness from depth and to see the difference between wanting and having. This character study finally clicks when we realize it is always all about Ivy. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase White Ivy from amazon.com.