Everything I Never Told You is the debut novel by Celeste Ng, published in 2014.
Everything I Never Told You was a New York Times bestseller, Amazon’s #1 Best Book of 2014, and named a best book of the year by several publications.
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Plot
When Lydia Lee’s body is found in a local lake, her family is thrown into a pit of devastation and guilt. Lydia was the teenage daughter of Marilyn and James and both parents had high hopes for her future. James is an American born of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and Lydia’s, make them conspicuous in any setting. James, who never felt like he really fit in, is desperate for his daughter to be popular and have an active social life. Marilyn meanwhile wants Lydia to fulfil her own lost dream of becoming a doctor.
After Lydia’s body is found, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path that may ruin his marriage and what remains of his family. Marilyn demands answers and is determined that someone, anyone, pays for the loss of her beloved daughter. Lydia’s older brother Nathan thinks local bad boy Jack is somehow to blame, while quiet, unassuming younger sister Hannah may know more than people realise.
Everything I Never Told You Book Review
I usually love a family saga but unfortunately, this book just didn’t do it for me.
It’s a tale of unhappy families and an exploration into the impact poor parenting can have on a child. It clearly highlights how damaging a lack of communication can be and how too much pressure on a child can have the opposite effect.
It just felt so dreary. I’ve read some really bleak (ok, devastating) books such as A Little Life and Shuggie Bain but I can cope with the misery if I really engage with the characters. That just wasn’t the case with this book. All of the characters (except the youngest daughter, Hannah) were unlikeable and I found myself not really caring about the outcome. James, the father, was the absolute worst. I just couldn’t relate to him and the way he treated his family at all. He was utterly selfish, emotionally stunted and secretive, much like the rest of his family. I like flawed, nuanced characters but this family just evoked frustration rather than any feeling of sympathy.
The mystery of what happened to Lydia came to a climax with some rather underwhelming revelations that did nothing to improve my opinion of the book. It’s a slow burner and while I usually love a character-driven novel, I just found myself getting bored and wishing I was at the end.
Don’t get me wrong. This book is very well written and Celeste Ng is obviously a very gifted author. It’s not the writing that’s at fault, it’s the story. I just found it all so frustrating and I felt like screaming at the characters to just talk to each other.
I found this to be a dreary tale of missed opportunities and lost ambitions which resulted in a dead teenage girl. Just not my cup of tea at all.
Has Celeste Ng written any other novels?
Celeste Ng has also written Little Fires Everywhere and Our Missing Hearts.
What should I read after Everything I Never Told You?
If you enjoyed Everything I Never Told You, I would recommend reading Celeste Ng’s other books such as Little Fires Everywhere. You may also be interested in Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun.