Everything I never told you
Everything I never told youCeleste Ng
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Everything I never told you (2014)

Celeste Ng

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

"Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet. So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue-in Marilyn's case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James's case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party. When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest of the family-Hannah-who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened. A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, exploring the divisions between cultures and the rifts within a family, and uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another"-

ISBN:
9780143127550
Length:
301 pages

Genres: mystery, thriller, historical fiction, literary fiction

Lists: …

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Reviews7

Bookables
Loved it

this is one of the first ever like adult mystery letters that i've read and i thought it was why at the time i don't remember much about it ... i remember really loving it

Review 1 of 2
Loved it

this was a real surprise to me I picked it up for a book club having heard lots about it but not really feeling very sure whether or not I would like it and I just fell in love with Celeste Eames writing style it really reminded me of heavenly Sinjin Mandel who is my favorite contemporary novelist probably almost definitely

Loved it

It really is a story about family that like I said very sad but it just it just tugs and punches at your heart but her writing style is so beautiful. So if you've heard people say they recommend this the hype is real please go ahead and read it.

Loved it

her first novel everything I never told you was one of my favorite books the year that I read it and still one of my favorite books of all time I think it's one of the best sort of depictions of the American Dream and it's just so good