Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

White Ivy by Susie Yang

23 reviews

khise's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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thereadhersrecap's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“White I’ve” is dark, and at times can be quite suspenseful. The beginning and middle was somewhat slow, there was a lot of character building involved with a bit of interesting parts thrown in. The last part was the best! It was intense and dark and it’ll keep your eyes glued to the page! 
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kutreen's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It was really refreshing to read a book with a main character who is not just imperfect in a quirky way, but flawed in a deep way. I think most people can relate to at least one of Ivy's dark feelings or thought processes, which are too taboo to talk to people about, probably even to your best friend. Yang delves into the parts of Ivy -- and ourselves -- that are too shameful to talk about, but also so central to the way we approach and walk through life. The same raw honesty was present in Yang's writing about Ivy's family, which has real problems that aren't easily resolved -- like in real life! Bottom line: I love how real this book is. I admire Yang's vulnerability in pulling these feelings and thoughts out of her head and sharing them with us. I also appreciate the non-russian Eastern European representation :)
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dguthrieadams's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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alicelalicon's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kendra_f's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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booksandprosecco's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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agradstudentreadsforfun's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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thespinystacks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, what a story. To say it’s a coming of age story would be an injustice, to say it was simply an immigrant story would be an injustice. Don’t get me wrong, it is both of these things but it is so much more.

Ivy Lin is a cunning Chinese woman who we first meet as a young child living in China. She is summoned by her parents who are living in USA and must adjust to a new life with them. We follow her through her teenage years with a crush on the rich boy in class, through her desire to assimilate but never quite achieving it, into young adulthood and her late 20s where she knows who she is - but are we supposed to like who she’s become?

Ivy manipulates the people around her using whatever she can. Whenever I thought I understood her motivation - she turned a different way and revealed another unknown facet to her personality and mind. I loved that about Ivy, even though I didn’t love Ivy herself.

Ivy is a largely unlikely lead, but you still feel for her when she missteps. I loved the journey I went on with Ivy and she kept me on the edge of my seat for much of this book. I’ll remember her always, but not always kindly.
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nadia's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There were points where I was really intrigued, but pretty much all of the characters were terrible people and I couldn't get a grip on their desires or motivations. There were also some key plot points that didn't seem fully believable.

I listed to this on audio and, on the whole, I thought the narration by Emily Woo Zeller was great!
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