Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Truly one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Everything I Never Told You opens with the death of teenager Lydia, Marilyn and James Lee’s favorite middle child. Both have had their share of disappointments in life and they’re determined to succeed through Lydia.
A profoundly emotional literary novel unravelling the themes of identity, race, secrets, family and loss, this novel is told from each of the family’s POV so you really feel like you know these characters. They are so three-dimensional, their stories so intricately linked, I couldn’t stop thinking about them long after I’d finished the novel.
No, it isn’t exactly a comfortable read – in fact it’s quite sad – but the story is told so well, and the characters so real, you feel like you don’t want to put the book down. And so, so importantly, the prose is absolutely gorgeous. A really beautiful story to read.
