Susie Yang
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction | Mystery
& Thrillers
368 pages
Publishing November 3, 2020 by Simon & Schuster
Today we bring you a tale
that is making waves in the book club fiction market – Susie Yang’s debut
novel, White Ivy. Chelsey and Desiree each had the chance to preview
the story. We think you’ll be intrigued
by their unique and different takes on this book. Read on for With a Book in Our Hand’s
interview with these fabulously bookish ladies!
With a Book in Our
Hand: Desiree, tell us what the story is about.
Desiree: A
multi-faceted novel, White Ivy is
partly a coming-of-age story, partly the account of an immigrant trying to
fit-in in America, partly a new-adult yarn, and a bit of a chilling, gothic
romance. Ivy, who moves to the U.S. when she is just five years old, is a girl
who ultimately is just trying to fit in.
As her parents had to start-over when arriving in Boston, Ivy’s family
doesn’t have a lot of money, but all Ivy wants is to own all the same things
her classmates do, and feel like a “real” American girl. Her crush on Gideon, a boy at school,
epitomizes her struggles and longing, as she views him and his family as if
they are gilded and golden and everything she wishes her poor immigrant family
could be.
Just when Ivy thinks she is “this close” to being “seen”
by Gideon, she suffers a humiliation that is excruciating to her teenage mind,
and then is also unexpectedly ripped from the rose-colored life in Boston that
she loves.
Fast-forward more than a decade, Ivy is reacquainted with
Gideon and his brightly-lit world. More
determined than ever to keep Gideon and his sparkling upper-class world within
her grasp, Ivy faces life-altering choices that she never expected.
With a Book in Our
Hand: What did you ladies think of the novel?
Chelsey: This
was an intriguing debut and a solid three star read for me. The novel spans most of Ivy’s adolescence and
young adult life. My interest waxed and
waned with the various parts and my disdain for Ivy grew considerably as the
story unfolded. Ivy was selfish, flaky,
and lacked empathy. Part of me loves
disliking the main character so I actually didn’t mind that I found Ivy
unappealing. Her relationships intrigued
me and Ivy was like a chameleon with who and what she was with each person.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐
Desiree: I completely
agree with you on that, Chelsey – Ivy was rather unlikeable at times. However, I really found myself loving this
novel. White Ivy is a tour de force of remarkable prose – I think I burned
out the battery on my Kindle just from highlighting memorable passages as they
poured forth from Ivy’s mind and heart.
Not to mention that Ivy’s cranky mother Nan and beloved grandmother
Meifang who have a meaningful saying of wisdom for any and every situation –
and they aren’t shy about telling Ivy what they think. I couldn’t put this one down!
Ivy kept me on my toes throughout this tale – I was never
quite sure what she was going to do next.
I was metaphorically biting my nails throughout! This book was a strong contender for five
stars, as I was enraptured from the beginning, yet there were two issues I just
couldn’t get over: 1) There was a side-story two-thirds of the way through
that, in my opinion, was left as a loose end; and 2) I just couldn’t reconcile
the ending – to put it plainly, I didn’t “get” why Ivy made the choice in the
end that she did. I felt, in regard to
Ivy, that she could be the actor in that once-famous TV commercial puzzling,
“What’s my motivation”.
That said, I will confidently say that this was a very
well-written and supremely engaging novel that is well worth reading. An impressive debut by author Susie
Yang. I’ll be very much looking forward
to what she does next!
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
With a Book in Our
Hand: Anything else that you’d like to let our subscribers know before we
wrap up?
Desiree: Yes,
both Chelsey and want to thank #Susie
Yang, #Simon & Schuster,
and #NetGalley for providing each of
us with a free Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.
White Ivy will
be available in stores on Tuesday, November 3rd, in both hardcover and audio CD
editions. Please consider purchasing
through BookShop.org –
the online bookstore that gives away 75% of its profit to support local indie
bookstores. (Note: I do receive a small
commission should you purchase through this link, however, I share this out of my
unabashed love for local, corner bookstores everywhere, rather than for any profit
potential.)
Chelsey: Drop
us a Comment below and let us know your thoughts on this review, as well as
Susie Yang’s White Ivy – we’d love to
hear from you!
