Who Would Like This Book:
Celeste Ng's novel is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant family drama centered around the unraveling of a mixed-race family in 1970s Ohio after the tragic loss of the favorite daughter, Lydia. It masterfully explores themes of identity, parental expectations, racial tension, and the dangerous weight of secrets within a family. The character work is stunning - Ng gives depth and empathy to each member of the Lee family, showing how their histories and desires collide in heartbreaking ways. If you love nuanced literary fiction about families, intergenerational conflict, and the silent ways we can both love and harm those closest to us, this book will grab you from the first line and not let go.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the novel slow-paced and bleak, with a focus on grief, dysfunction, and communication breakdowns that can feel heavy and emotionally draining. The characters, especially the parents, are often flawed and make frustrating choices; if you need to love or root for every character, this might not be for you. Others were disappointed by what they saw as predictability or by the lack of tidy resolution to every storyline. If you prefer more action, external plot, or happier, redemptive family stories, this may not be your cup of tea.
About:
In "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng, the Lee family is faced with the tragic death of their daughter Lydia, leading them to unravel family secrets and confront the impact of unspoken truths on their relationships. The novel delves into themes of mixed-race identity, parental expectations, sibling dynamics, and the complexities of communication within a family. Through a nonlinear narrative, Ng skillfully navigates between past and present, exploring the characters' perspectives and emotions as they come to terms with Lydia's death and its aftermath.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers include themes of suicide, grief, depression, mental health struggles, and the impact of racism.
From The Publisher:
The acclaimed debut novel by the author of Little Fires Everywhere.
"A taut tale of ever deepening and quickening suspense." -O, the Oprah Magazine
"Explosive . . . Both a propulsive mystery and a profound examination of a mixed-race family." -Entertainment Weekly
"Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.
Ratings (155)
Incredible (25) | |
Loved It (55) | |
Liked It (43) | |
It Was OK (20) | |
Did Not Like (10) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (290):
Read It (162) | |
Want To Read (110) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (17) |
10 comment(s)
Lydia is a girl from a mixed race family, chinese-american, in the 70s. She is experiencing pressure from her mother, to achieve what her mother didn't achieve, from her father to have friends that he didn't have. She is then found in the local lake. Is it suicide or was she murdered. The story is mostly told by her family as they try and put together the pieces of this tradegy and come to grips with the ruling.
A heavy first read of 2021. Nicely written but phew. A lot to unpack here. Good read, but not my favorite. Ng once again tackles race and belonging in the 1960-1980s in the Midwest, recommend but definitely left me thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading it, and it wasn’t a “I can’t wait to read this feeling” more of “Jesus, this family is going through some hard sh*t” kinda feeling
A moving portrait of a mixed race Chinese family in 1970s America. All the characters felt so real to me and especially Lydia and James's lifelong struggles to make friends. My only criticism is that race and racial targeting were constant refrains: everything came back to the characters' perception of how others saw them and whilst this was well noted, I wish there had been a little more dimension to their characters.
First half dragged, was very hard to want to keep reading. Poor character development. When I finally couldn’t put the book down and got to the end, it was anticlimactic and a let down. No twist, just blah.
This was an interesting read - the characters interested me and I found it a relatively easy read. Its somewhat engrossing. I liked it.
I’m sorry, I just couldn’t wait to get this book over with. I was bored. It was very hard to like Lydia. Both the parents were annoying. The only characters I liked were Nath and Hannah.
This book wrenches on some many levels. What child, teen or parent has not experienced the Lee's is one way.
This was a very moving book about a biracial family growing up in the Midwest US in the 1970s. It is hard to read because it is so realistic and powerful, and that made it at times gut-wrenching without being maudlin or melodramatic. It is tragic how some people do not communicate honestly with each other. And how society tries to force us into certain specific roles and expectations, even if we do not want to fit in. This one will definitely stay with me awhile.
The mystery surrounding Lydia really drove my interest forward to continue reading this book. The family drama were often more interesting when we got to see the flashbacks and anecdotes to show everything that led up to their family fracturing over time.
Predictable. Boring.
What can you read after
Everything I Never Told You?
About the Author:
Celeste Ng grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan. Her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the…
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