White Ivy Summary
Susie Yang

White Ivy Overview

Susie Yang's White Ivy is a coming-of-age immigrant story with a dark twist. Ivy Tran is five when she is sent to live in Massachusetts with her distant and abusive parents. She begins to lie and steal at an early age, and no one ever suspects her secret except for her neighbor, Roux, who is a rebel and a thief without any pretenses or facades. When she is admitted to a prestigious prep school, she abandons Roux and sets her sights on Gideon, a quiet and mysterious all-American boy from old-money who eventually proposes to her. When forced to pick between a respectable marriage with Gideon and passionate love with Roux, Ivy makes a decision that will change her forever. The novel explores, among others, themes of identity, internalized racism, and facades.