Welcome to Litsy!

Full dreams. Empty girl.

A little predictable, but overall a good read that dealt with the important issues of identity and a exploring cultural differences.

Starting this one again, I really rushed through it last time and I wasn't a fan but I'm going to give it another go! I think it's the ending that I hated but we'll see if my opinion changes on audiobook.

Really enjoyed this book--it had a Great Gatsby feel to it. Good writing and a morally gray main character. At times it felt a little slow, but I think this was all a part of the character and plot development.⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

As a teenager, Ivy has a crush on the popular boy at school but finds herself falling in with another local misfit. Later as an adult, she finds that neither man is what he seems.

Thank you to @AmyG for this amazing book it arrived.
I didn't know you where in America I would have covered the postage otherwise 😘

White Ivy was well written and interesting. I thought the characters were relatable enough but the circumstances a bit far fetched. It was an interesting view of class for sure but not a thriller.

This is Susie Yangs first book so I am an sharing it for you all all to add it to your piles 😄
https://www.susiebooks.com/

#ReadingAsia2021 #asianauthor #femaleauthor #females #readathon #readyforthefuture #reading #booknerd #goodreads #readathon #read #recommended

listened to White Ivy, a suspense-ish novel, by Susie Yang. Ivy, a Chinese girl, struggles to fit in with her white upperclass peers. As an adult she feels she has finally made it when she becomes engaged to a popular boy from her childhood. An old friend reappears in her life and threatens her perfect future. The story is entertaining enough. The twists are a little obvious. 3.5 stars

This blew me away (I was getting some modern day Gatsby vibes for sure). It‘s mostly a complicated character study of an immigrant but the plot builds and builds and that leads to a few minor surprises.

Had to race thru til the end, saw sole@of it coming but not all...

I thought this book was silly. The main character was really frustrating and I thought the story had too many plot twists. Kind of boring

Hmmm... Anyone who finishes the book will be glad they read it. Roux was the most - only? - likable character in the novel for me. Not that characters have to be likable. Some of the plot thread arcs are elusive to me. I liked it. I liked the beginning and the end the most. My childhood best friend through college roommate is American born Chinese. Much felt familiar.

I almost DNF'd this one. I put it down about 30 pages into it because it wasn't doing anything for me. Once I got into Part 3 it started to pick up. A lot of the reviews I've read say Ivy is unlikeable. She didn't strike me that way. Just unrelatable. I thought the message at the end pulled it together.

I see this classified as a thriller, but I didn‘t find it to be so. It is a good look at a woman‘s struggles to find her place, and the desire to achieve a better life, or at least the one you think you want. I found some passages very on point about the experiences of women. Eg, “[L]ike most men, he‘d liked her passion when he was the cause of it, but her own passion, passion that had nothing to do with him, was dismissed as foolishness.” 4⭐️

This was a very different thriller than I have read before. It gets 3.5 stars for plot twists and 2.5 for characters I really didn‘t care about. This was a crazy book! I‘m not exactly sorry I read it, but it‘s not one I will recommend to my bookish people. #Libby #Kindle

Holy plot twists! I‘m speechless. This book was so good, so beautifully written and flowed effortlessly. I didn‘t want to put it down!

I was on the bookish podcast @ReadingEnvy with the lovely Jenny for the third time! I had so much fun nerding out.

http://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy213

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved the tone of this book. It was dark and honest and told such a great story. It talks about family, love, class divides, culture differences, fate with such gripping writing. I thought it was different from some newer contemporary books I‘ve read lately. I can‘t wait to read what Yang comes out with next. This was my #bookspin No. 2 pick! I recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So compelling, smart, thought-provoking... and stressful! 😆 It reminded me a bit of “Necessary People”, also a literary suspense novel that examines ambition and privilege and left me feeling uneasy. I loved the complicated family relationships, deceitful love triangle, and commentary on race. This would be a great book club pick - so much to unpack, and whether you love or hate it, it‘s bound to elicit strong feelings and reactions!

A coming-of-age novel with a side of thriller. The twists and turns are surprising and filled with an amazing combination of mystery, uncertainty and understanding. #bookreview #newbooks

The story of a young Chinese woman in America. From High School to marriage. Ivy always wanted to be popular and wealthy. She eventually gets there. What a crazy read. What some will do to get what they want-or think they want.

Just Ok for me. It started good, but really slowed down through the middle. I disliked the ending. A little to much entitlement and privilege pretending to be a story of an immigrant family.

❐ Overall Rating 2¾ | Narration 3½
For the most part, this is a well-written story, but for me personally, it was so freaking slow. Plus, every character in this book is deplorable. I couldn‘t get into these characters or their stories, especially, the MC, Ivy. Although...I‘m a minority here because most everyone else really likes this. It's also possible the narration played a part in my rating.

This is well written and the narration is very good on the audiobook. I didn‘t love it though. I need to learn to stop spending my time with books full of unlikable characters. Generally they don‘t lead to a good reading experience for me.

I really really disliked the main character.

My first book of 2021, and it was just okay for me. Ivy spends her whole life trying to fit in by lying and stealing. She‘s not meant to be particularly likeable, and I don‘t have a problem with that. The book felt like all tell, though. I never really understood why she wanted what she wanted. Just kind of a meh for me. And now I have to think of some brilliant questions for my book club on Tuesday.

Finished (and enjoyed) One Of Us is Next just before I celebrated NYE. Just about to start White Ivy, which is my pick for Tuesday‘s book club.

I should be able to finish both of these today, then I can focus on my December/2020 wrap-up

I‘m stumped on how to review this. The cliche review is that all the characters are unlikable and Ivy is infuriating, but that‘s really the whole point. You‘re not supposed to like her. I think it was just hard for me to understand a person being that phony for so long because of some ideal she had created.

I'm sorry, White Ivy, but I'm throwing in the towel at only 17%
Maybe it's me and not the book - so much going on with Christmas currently. I'm not sure but I'm not invested and I'm not going to try any longer with the audiobook. Onwards!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Not one of the better books I read this year. It dragged in places. The ending felt rushed. I had finally gotten interested and then it ended. The book follows Ivy though her life and her relationships. She seems unable to decide what/who will make her happy.

When I‘m not reading I‘m hiking! It‘s looking like it‘s going to be a green Christmas this year. #currentlyreading

Sigh. A lot has been said about the unlikability of this novel‘s characters, and that is true. But I don‘t need to like characters to enjoy a book. My character‘s deadly sin is obliviousness. It was obvious to me, long before it was to Ivy, how the other characters were manipulating her. She didn‘t figure it out until the last 15 minutes of a 13-hour #audiobook. Maybe this is why I don‘t do well with thrillers, literary or otherwise...🤔 2⭐️

I liked this one better than I thought. I could be in the minority but i didn‘t dislike Ivy. I was rooting for her for some reason 🤷🏽‍♀️

The 8 books I received this week.

Full Post: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com/2020/11/21/stacking-the-shelves-7/

Book 166 of 2020.

Daaaaang this book was so good and intense!!! Be prepared for some pretty unlikeable characters but that‘s what makes this story so great! I loved it!!

I don‘t mind reading an unlikeable MC, but give me something. Perhaps if supporting characters were examined through their own perspective, I could have found sympathy or understanding for them. But all through Ivy‘s eyes, I was tangled up in the weeds.

I finally finished this one. Wow! What a whirlwind this turned out to be. Ivy Lin is a Chinese immigrant, her family lacks the wealth and social status that Ivy so desperately longs for. When Ivy meets Gideon as a teen she is smitten his family has it all, but there's still something about her childhood friend Roux, he knows her like no other. ⬇️

Eh. Propelling plot but unlikeable (to me) characters. #ARC #netgalley

Starting this today. Already finished one book in lockdown 2, so here we go. I have one paper left for my grad school classes and then I‘m free for two weeks to just read read read!

🎧Started listening this morning.💕

I loved this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Interesting book, with the undertones and not so much the actual plot, make this book.

http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/11/02/white-ivy-book-review/

Mantra for the next 3 days...

#bookmail #BOTM

Whew- I can see why Yang‘s debut novel has garnered such great pre-publication press! Though it‘s not exactly the spooky Halloween read that typically keeps me up into the wee hours, I absolutely couldn‘t put this coming-of-age/twisted love story down! Riveting & well-written, Ivy is an antiheroine & yet still sympathetic- even when her choices leave the reader‘s stomach churning. It‘s an impressive first novel & I can‘t wait to see what‘s next!

Ivy Lin is complex, dynamic, thought-provoking, and deeply flawed. This book is a fascinating read full of unlikable characters, questionable decisions, and commentary on class, race, and identity. Check out my full review here: https://amysbookreviews.com/2020/10/28/white-ivy-by-susie-yang-review/

Check out my November new release post! https://www.facebook.com/262384764521804/posts/575059333254344/?extid=0&d=n

Full review here: http://girlwellread.blogspot.com/2020/07/white-ivy-by-susie-yang.html.