The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Yang, Susie. White Ivy. Simon and Schuster, 2020. Kindle.

The novel is narrated in the past tense with a close third on Ivy. Ivy is the main character and a thief. No one knew about her secret, though, because she looked like an ordinary Asian girl, and no one in America ever suspected young Asian girls of anything nefarious. When she was two, her parents had left her in China with her grandmother, Meifeng, while they immigrated to the United States. Ivy loved Meifeng deeply and was devastated when her parents sent for her. She was five when she flew across the world and met her parents, who seemed like strangers, in Massachusetts. They were cold and distant in comparison to Meifeng, and Ivy became equally cold and distant. She loved her new little brother, Austin, but her parents were abusive, and she found no solace with them. When Meifeng finally came to Massachusetts, she and Ivy reignited their close relationship. Bored with American life and full of entrepreneurial energy, Meifeng started stealing from stores and garage sales, using Ivy to help. Soon, Ivy began to steal on her own. No one ever knew except Meifeng and Roux Roman, Ivy’s neighbor. Roux was 13 and surly, and he had a mother everyone claimed was a whore. One day, Ivy caught Roux breaking into the Moretti’s bike shed while they were on vacation for revenge. She offered to be lookout for him. After that, they spent all their time together. One day, they went to Moretti’s deli and Ivy saw Roux’s mother having sex with Mr. Moretti. Roux was ashamed, so Ivy told him all about her thieving to take his mind off the horrific moment.

Ivy’s father got a job as a computer technician at Grove Preparatory Academy and Ivy transferred in. She became enamored with her wealthy classmates who all came from old-money families. She stopped hanging out with Roux and developed a massive crush on Gideon, the most popular and handsome of all the prep school boys. Gideon invited her to his sleepover birthday party, and Ivy went to Kmart to steal a pair of binoculars for him. Roux was working there, though, and caught her. Instead of getting her in trouble, he handed her 40 dollars to pay for the gift. Ivy told her parents she was staying over at a female friend’s house, then went to the birthday part. She had a fabulous time, but in the morning her parents discovered her deception and came to drag her home. They decided to send her to China for the summer. Ivy visited her father’s wealthy relatives and her mother’s poor relatives. When she got back, she learned her family had moved to New Jersey and she would never see Gideon again. She made her way through high school with barely passing grades and a string of white boyfriends. Her father lost his job and so did her mother. The family was in dire financial trouble when Ivy’s mother started her own shipping business which gained traction and turned successful. Despite her parents’ wishes that she stay nearby, Ivy applied for college near Boston.

The novel jumps ahead in time to when Ivy is 26 and a first-grade teacher at the Kennedy School in Boston. She stays after school one day with her student, Arabella, whose mother is late to pick her up. Instead of the mother, the mother’s cousin arrives, and Ivy recognizes her as Gideon’s older sister, Sylvia. Ivy introduces herself and Sylvia invites Ivy to a party at her house on New Year’s Eve. Ivy had recently been dumped by her boyfriend, Daniel, who said he could not see himself marrying Ivy. Ivy went to the party and was delighted to see Gideon. He seemed indifferent toward her, but she talked her way into receiving an invitation to brunch with Gideon and his best friend, Tom, the next morning. After the brunch, Tom’s girlfriend, Marybeth, suggested Ivy come skiing with them in Canada. Ivy agreed. During the trip, Gideon kissed Ivy. When they returned home, they became a couple, though Gideon hardly ever showed physical affection toward her. After Ivy met one of Gideon’s friends, who was married to a woman who used to be a lawyer, Ivy decided she wanted to quit teaching and become a lawyer. Gideon invited Ivy to come with him and his family to their beach house. When she arrived, she was shocked to see that Sylvia was dating Roux Roman. Ivy felt terrified that Roux would expose her, but she was also curiously drawn to him. She felt distant and confused about Gideon, who was just as distant as always. One night, Ivy had sex with Roux, and they agreed to run away together. The next day, however, Gideon took Ivy to the beach and proposed to her. Ivy agreed. When Roux heard, he broke up with Sylvia and left.

When she returned to Boston, Ivy called Roux and started having an affair with him. He had gone into business with Mr. Moretti, who was in the mafia, and now Roux was exceptionally wealthy himself. Ivy felt comfortable around Roux, and she was attracted to him, but she did not connect these feelings with love. She continued to plan for her wedding, but Roux started acting possessive. Eventually, he told her that either she had to tell Gideon about their relationship, or he would. He gave her two weeks to decide what to do. Ivy remembered going hiking with her ex-boyfriend, Daniel, who had taken her to a remote location in the White Mountains. Ivy tricked Roux into going on a hike with her, then pushed him off a cliff and killed him. She got so ill she had to go to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with scurvy because she had not been taking care of herself properly. She pushed toward the wedding, but on the day of the ceremony she caught Gideon and Tom together and realized Gideon was in love with Tom. Ivy contemplated leaving, but decided to marry Gideon anyway.