Here is a statement from the author about her novel:
"I’m really drawn to stories with anti-hero protagonists," Yang told TODAY. "When I knew that I wanted to create that kind of character, the first line of the book came to me. It’s really hard to write a character that is supposed to be idealized but I didn’t want him to appear remote or kind of mysterious to the reader," said the debut novelist. "It was the balance of wanting the reader to understand who Gideon was but Ivy to not have the understanding of him."
Yang added that her story may feel familiar to "anybody who’s ever felt like an outsider."
"Whether that’s an immigrant, or whether that’s an issue of class, or even just going to private school for the first time. I feel like it is that sense of looking into a group that you are not familiar with and trying to assimilate. I think that theme of otherness is throughout the whole novel."
Here is a statement by Jenna Hager about the main character of the book:
"While I always rooted for Ivy and empathized with her, I didn’t always like her or agree with her choices."
Here is goodreads synopsis of White Ivy:
A dazzling debut novel about a young woman’s dark obsession with her privileged classmate and the lengths she’ll go to win his love
Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar—but you’d never know it by looking at her. Raised outside of Boston, she is taught how to pilfer items from yard sales and second-hand shops by her immigrant grandmother. Thieving allows Ivy to accumulate the trappings of a suburban teen—and, most importantly, to attract the attention of Gideon Speyer, the golden boy of a wealthy political family. But when Ivy’s mother discovers her trespasses, punishment is swift and Ivy is sent to China, where her dream instantly evaporates.
Years later, Ivy has grown into a poised yet restless young woman, haunted by her conflicting feelings about her upbringing and her family. Back in Boston, when she bumps into Sylvia Speyer, Gideon’s sister, a reconnection with Gideon seems not only inevitable—it feels like fate.
Slowly, Ivy sinks her claws into Gideon and the entire Speyer clan by attending fancy dinners and weekend getaways to the Cape. But just as Ivy is about to have everything she’s ever wanted, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the nearly perfect life she’s worked so hard to build.
Filled with surprising twists and offering sharp insights into the immigrant experience, White Ivy is both a love triangle and a coming-of-age story, as well as a glimpse into the dark side of a woman who yearns for success at any cost.
Source material: Yahoo.com