A superbly impressive debut from an author with an unlikely background in pharmacy and tech, White Ivy by Susie Yang is an excellent character study and an absorbing read. Ivy is just a young girl when she immigrates from China to join her parents who have already settled in Massachusetts. Up until then, she had been raised by her grandmother, from whom she learned how to proudly steal and cheat. She continues these practices when she arrives in the U.S., ashamed of her humble origins and her family’s poverty. She longs to be accepted by the other children at school, and idolizes the wealth and ease experienced by her mostly white peers. She especially is enamored of a boy named Gideon, who seems to embody all the qualities she would love to possess. Ivy pines for the golden boy, but her only real fiend is Roux, a boy from a similar background to her own. Now an adult, Ivy finally seems on the cusp of achieving all she desires with Gideon when Roux, now a man with unsavory connections, pops unexpectedly back into her life. Ivy is torn between assimilation with the WASP family she has always wanted and the allure of the dangerous “bad boy” who knows her true personality. Ivy is a complicated character and Yang does a fabulous job portraying her devious and manipulative nature while also evoking sympathy for her. Completely lacking a moral compass and desperate to escape what she believes is a traumatically embarrassing family, Ivy’s grasping and striving is at once pathetic and horrific. This cunning duality, maintaining a façade of compliance and impeccable manners as a cover for naked ambition makes for an engrossing story. The unexpected ending takes an interesting turn and yet makes perfect sense given the author’s skillful unveiling of events. White Ivy is a compulsive read, a gripping and unique twist on the immigration tale with a truly unforgettable and unrepentant “protagonist.” Thanks to the author, Simon & Schuster and Library Thing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.