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A review by bookph1le
White Ivy by Susie Yang
3.0
First things first: this book is not a mystery or a thriller in any way. Yes, it is psychological, but it is most definitely not a psychological thriller. The way this book has been classified is, to me, misleading.
That said, it's also one of those books where I'm just not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it kept me reading. The writing is vivid, the author uses quotation marks (THANK YOU), and I was catapulted right into Ivy's world every time I started reading.
And yet. My first real difficulty is with Ivy. I get what the author is doing with her, but she's a cipher. The book details a lot about her family, her situation, and her life, but I never felt like I had a grasp on her at all. I can buy that this may have been intentional--Ivy herself doesn't seem to really know who she is or what she wants--but it made the book a lot less satisfying than it might otherwise have been.
I also wasn't all that thrilled with the plot arc itself. The book has a lot to say and says much of it well in fine, deft touches, but it also tends to dance around some things when it may have been better had the text been more explicit.
That said, it's also one of those books where I'm just not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it kept me reading. The writing is vivid, the author uses quotation marks (THANK YOU), and I was catapulted right into Ivy's world every time I started reading.
And yet. My first real difficulty is with Ivy. I get what the author is doing with her, but she's a cipher. The book details a lot about her family, her situation, and her life, but I never felt like I had a grasp on her at all. I can buy that this may have been intentional--Ivy herself doesn't seem to really know who she is or what she wants--but it made the book a lot less satisfying than it might otherwise have been.
I also wasn't all that thrilled with the plot arc itself. The book has a lot to say and says much of it well in fine, deft touches, but it also tends to dance around some things when it may have been better had the text been more explicit.