Jenna Bush Hager’s Today show book club has picked Susie Yang’s novel, White Ivy, as its November selection.
“It is a juicy read with a shocking twist,” Hager said. “It’s really good.”
Yang’s debut novel, which is set to be published Tuesday by Simon and Schuster, follows Ivy, a young woman in Boston with a penchant for lying and stealing, and who’s determined to gain the attention of a wealthy former childhood crush. A reviewer for Kirkus calls the book “a sophisticated and darkly glittering gem of a debut.”
“While I always rooted for Ivy and empathized with her, I didn’t always like her or agree with her choices,” Hager said.
“I’m really drawn to stories with anti-hero protagonists,” Yang said. “When I knew that I wanted to create that kind of character, the first line of the book came to me.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Yang said she was honored to hear that her book is being compared to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
“I love that book, and it’s such a flattering comparison,” she said. “That was interesting to me...to hopefully get the reader on board with a decision by the character that, when they look back on the book, feels inevitable. That they’ll think, ‘Of course this isn’t a redemption story.’”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
