White Ivy: A Novel
Written by Susie Yang
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
4/5
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About this audiobook
Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar—but you’d never know it by looking at her.
Raised outside of Boston, Ivy’s immigrant grandmother relies on Ivy’s mild appearance for cover as she teaches her granddaughter how to pilfer items from yard sales and second-hand shops. Thieving allows Ivy to accumulate the trappings of a suburban teen—and, most importantly, to attract the attention of Gideon Speyer, the golden boy of a wealthy political family. But when Ivy’s mother discovers her trespasses, punishment is swift and Ivy is sent to China, and her dream instantly evaporates.
Years later, Ivy has grown into a poised yet restless young woman, haunted by her conflicting feelings about her upbringing and her family. Back in Boston, when Ivy bumps into Sylvia Speyer, Gideon’s sister, a reconnection with Gideon seems not only inevitable—it feels like fate.
Slowly, Ivy sinks her claws into Gideon and the entire Speyer clan by attending fancy dinners, and weekend getaways to the cape. But just as Ivy is about to have everything she’s ever wanted, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the nearly perfect life she’s worked so hard to build.
Filled with surprising twists and a nuanced exploration of class and race, White Ivy is a “highly entertaining,” (The Washington Post) “propulsive debut” (San Francisco Chronicle) that offers a glimpse into the dark side of a woman who yearns for success at any cost.
Editor's Note
Book club pick…
Jenna Bush Hager selected this propulsive story of a woman’s dark obsession with her rich classmate as the November #ReadWithJenna TODAY Show book club pick. Young Ivy Lin learned a lot from her grandmother — like how to lie and steal. But when her mother catches her, Ivy gets sent back to China, shattering her American dreams. As an adult, Ivy returns to the WASPy Boston suburb of her youth where she’ll do anything to get close to glamorous “golden boy” Gideon.
Susie Yang
Susie Yang was born in China and came to the United States as a child. After receiving her doctorate of pharmacy from Rutgers, she launched a tech startup in San Francisco that has taught 20,000 people how to code. She has studied creative writing at Tin House and Sackett Street. She has lived across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and now resides in the UK. White Ivy is her first novel.
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Reviews for White Ivy
302 ratings16 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a well-written book with deep characters and plot twists. The story effectively portrays the immigrant experience and the struggle of assimilation. However, some reviewers felt that the twist at the end was forced and didn't fit well with the rest of the book. Despite this, many readers found the book entertaining and captivating, with beautiful language and complex characters. Overall, it is recommended as a great read with a captivating story and a talented writer.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5That was very entertaining!!! I finished it in two days! As an Asian I felt so much for Ivy Lin, Filipino households are somewhat similar to her Chinese family. Achievement is everything but at what cost? I like this book a lot.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twisted, disturbing, funny, shocking. This is a novel with an anti-heroine (not a spoiler; the dust jacket describes Ivy Lin as a liar and a thief). This is not a prototypical immigrant story of cultural assimilation but one that keeps Ivy’s Chinese heritage front and center (specifically, hard knock life lessons imparted by her grandmother and later, her mother, become Ivy’s roadmap for survival). Ivy is a cunning, self-centered girl who desperately wants (without fully realizing) a life of creature comforts and privilege. This is manifested in the existence of Gideon Speyer and his WASP family, pure upper crust breeding who fascinate Ivy and in turn, welcome her in with open arms. But a childhood friend- a deeply troubled boy turned Ivy’s first lover-pops up unexpectedly to put a wrench in Ivy’s perfect life with the Speyers. Ivy’s sense of self-control and awareness of right vs (serious) wrong disintegrates as the novel wears on. The ending few chapters will make you gasp and there are twists that many will not have seen coming. Overall, a definite page-turner and written with darkly comic wit. Impressive debut novel. I only gave it four stars as the lead character was too polarizing for me to care deeply about her or her fate. A big thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An interesting story about an unlikable woman. It was good. A sequel would be fun to read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The end was not an end. It did not help solve the problems in her life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The characters were amazing and complicated. The best part was the beautiful language.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Surprising in the end but not very captivating overall, hard to stay engaged.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a great book!! I was entertained the whole time. I finished it in 2 days.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was amazing! Plot twist, character development, generational stories, interwoven plots, I read it straight through never putting the book down unless to sleep. I recommend it. It’s more than of summer read, but it’s not so heavy that you fall asleep. Good work Susie!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a well-written book. There were enough plot twists to keep me guessing, and the characters were deep enough that I felt like I knew them.
The drawback was the smattering of language and sex scenes. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Although somewhat predictable a really good read! The narrator was terrific.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5White Ivy was like 2 books. The first half of the book was a story of an immigrant struggling to find her way and discover herself. The second is a somewhat predictable drama/thriller with the moral of “be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.” What wasn’t predictable seemed to come out of left field.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5best audio book i have listened to, I really enjoyed it, especailly surprised at the ending. I eagerley wait for more from Susie Yang
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a great story! I thoroughly enjoyed it. A complex tale about home, and family, and duplicitous twisted relationships. So well written! This is a fine writer; I will keep my eye out for more of her books.
Regarding the narrator:
Emily Woo Zeller rocks!! ☺️ - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Wow, what a depressing read. I kept waiting for Ivy’s character to grow and improve as the book went on, but she consistently let me down. Kind of a twist at the end, but not sure it was worth wading through the rest of the book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The story itself was ok. It did a great job of painting the immigrant story and the struggle of assimilation for the children. However, this is not a thriller. There was a twist at the end but it felt forced and out of the blue and didn’t make sense, given that this book had SO much else to work off of. I felt this was a missed opportunity- the set up was amazing but it just didn’t deliver. It was frustrating to be honest- there was so much there to work with!!!! But the author didn’t. Worth a listen? Yes if you have nothing else. It’s not the worst, but also no the best.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5That was a captivating listen. I always love it when I find myself loving and hating the same characters at different times in the book. Loved it!