I read 'The Ivy' ages ago, back in high school, and I have to admit some of the finer plot points are a blur. From what I remember, it's a classic rich-kids-at-boarding-school drama, so the cast revolves around a core friend group. There's Lyla, who's the new girl from a more middle-class background thrown into this world of old money—she's our viewpoint character, I think. Then there's her roommate, Bianca, who's the epitome of the privileged legacy student, all icy glamour. Lyla gets involved with a guy named Dan, who's Bianca's ex or something? Honestly, the love triangle was a bit paint-by-numbers.
The characters that stuck with me more were actually the side ones. There was a scholarship student, maybe named Callie? She had this intense drive and resentment that felt more real than the main romance. And of course, the obligatory mean girl clique with a ringleader whose name I've forgotten, but they made Lyla's life hell. I mostly recall the atmosphere of the book—the pressure, the secret societies, the whispered scandals—more than any one character being deeply fleshed out. It was a fun, gossipy read, but the characters felt like archetypes serving the plot about social climbing and secrets.