Review: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.

Book: Everything I Never Told You.

Author: Celeste Ng.

Pages: 290

Read On; My iPad.

How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days.

Plot Summary: Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . . So begins this debut novel about a mixed-race family living in 1970s Ohio and the tragedy that will either be their undoing or their salvation. 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.
General Thoughts: This book was everywhere when it came out last year. It sounded interesting and I wanted to read it pretty much as soon as I could. Then a few months went by and I began to hear amazing things about the book. I finally read it in December and really enjoyed my time with this book.

Things I Liked:

1. I love books about family. Families are my favourite thing to read about. This book not only has the main family that is the focus of the story but also delves into the families of Marilyn and James. I loved seeing how this family worked and how they were with each other. This was one severely dysfunctional family and I enjoyed reading about them.

2. Even James and Marilyn's marriage and it's complexities and issues made for riveting reading. They were both in this marriage for such different reasons, of them to be and appear different and the other to blend in and belong.

3. The writing was wonderful too.

4. The books shows the perspective of all the members of this family and we see the same situation, the death of Lydia, and it's aftermath is seen from the parents and the siblings views and we see how this is affecting them all.

5. Race is a big part of this book. Being different, being a minority and being treated terribly because you are an outsider. James and his entire effort of being 'American' was both heart-breaking and infuriating after a point. Racism is also seen effecting the children of this marriage, all the kids, all of them born out of a marriage of mixed race are ridiculed and bullied just because of race. It was sad and difficult to read in parts.

6. Lydia's struggles with her parents, their expectations of her and the high standards they hold her to was just heart-breaking. Her trying so hard to impress both her parents was so sad.

7. I loved the way the characters were crafted in this book. They seemed real, flawed and struggling and mostly likable.

8. I especially loved Marilyn's character. Her struggles, her wanting to stand-out and be someone and achieve something and be more, were all things I enjoyed reading about. I was rooting for her. And at the same time I was saddened by how women were treated in the 70s. It made me glad to live in the present time.

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. James...I just didn't like him. I hate saying it but I found him rather pathetic. He is so ashamed of his background. So ashamed of his hard-working parents it made me want to smack him in the face. Also his expectations of Lydia, him wanting her to be popular and social was so silly and again so pathetic. His rejection and shabby treatment of his son was also something that really bugged me.

2. I also didn't really get why this couple was so set on their daughter. Why were all their dreams and inspirations just focussed on her? Especially their academic dreams? She wasn't particularly bright. Their son was the bright yet ignored one! This just seemed rather odd to me.

3. And frankly, this book just infuriated me a fair amount. This family was just so...disconnected and they all pretty much wanted different things. Especially James and Marilyn...they just don't belong together. And after a point I found myself getting rather upset with the lot of them.

Rating: 3.5/5