by Kaylie Seed
*Content warning: corporal punishment, abusive relationships
Susie Yang's debut novel White Ivy is a coming-of-age story about the immigrant experience, with many dark undertones. Two years after Ivy Lin was born in China, her parents decided to leave her with Meifeng, her maternal grandmother, so that they could pursue the American Dream, coming back for Ivy when they could afford to do so. When Ivy and Meifeng end up in America with Ivy’s parents and new baby brother, it's the beginning of a tumultuous upbringing that sets up everything that Ivy will become: a thief, a liar, and a woman who will stop at nothing to be drenched in success.
Throughout White Ivy, the reader will see Ivy’s relationships with many different characters. Yang has sculpted such intimate details between Ivy and various characters, yet there is no relationship more important to Ivy than the one with her grandmother. Ivy and Meifeng’s bond is unlike any other in White Ivy and Yang has reminded readers that our elders are a huge reason that we end up the way we do. Ivy can be a love-to-hate character. She will make the reader mad at the choices she makes, but it’s important to remember Ivy’s life as a whole to understand the reasoning for her choices.
Yang has created a dark, slow-burn novel that keeps the reader engaged as they learn about what's going on in Ivy's life. Yang’s prose throughout White Ivy is breathtaking and captures the reader’s attention all throughout the story. Yang addresses themes such as corporal punishment, immigration, language barriers, racism, abusive relationships, and intergenerational trauma. All of these themes entwine with one another and it's clear that Yang has put a lot of thought into how Ivy's upbringing will affect her in the present. White Ivy is a raw, real, and heartbreaking coming-of-age story that reminds readers that their childhoods can truly dictate their future if they let them.
*Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!