WHITE IVY
White Ivy is a dark coming of age story about Ivy Lin, who arrives in the United States from China as a young child, and spends her teen years yearning for wealth, acceptance, and for Gideon, the son of a prominent, moneyed family. Through thievery and guile she creates an identity for herself as a young adult, but seems unable to really feel much, other than a toxic mix of ambition, obsession, self-loathing and ego. When the only true friend from her painful past resurfaces in her tenuously crafted present, Ivy must decide if she can reconcile the chasm between the two, in a stunning and suspenseful conclusion.
This book was a page turner that features a pretty unlikeable main character, some memorable supporting characters and a few gasp-out-loud moments. As a reader who wants to like (and prefers to love) my protagonists, I decided instead to focus on Ivy’s immigrant experience, by far the most compelling part of this book. However, when it came to the “why” of Ivy’s choices, I found that Ivy’s heartbreaking struggle with a feeling of otherness was complicated by the toll of psychological and physical abuse that led her to become a detached, emotionally scarred adult. Ivy’s childhood experiences arriving from China and wanting to fit in were, to me, the strongest, most poignant part of this novel. I wanted to absorb them and follow their path, without their being overshadowed by her trauma. But then, it would have been a different story from the one the author wanted to tell. This is obviously my own POV and I encourage you to seek out reviews by own voice readers of this book.
There were some delicious sounding meals here, but in the end I was intrigued by a shocking scene with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches - something so uniquely American, tempting but also kind of cloying and artificial, right? When I saw these peanut butter and fluff brownies I knew I had to make them for this post. They were pretty amazing and this is the first time I’ve made brownies from scratch - what a difference! But this is the last of my holiday baking. Hopefully my next book will feature kale and a juice fast!
