Celeste Ng

"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"--

Everything I Never Told You

Amazon.com's #1 Book of the Year 2014 Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee; 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 centre of every party. But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in 1970s small town Ohio. Her father is an American born of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous in any setting. When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable, no matter what the cost. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest in the family - Hannah - who observes far more than anyone realises and who may be the only one who knows what really happened. Everything I Never Told You is a gripping page-turner, about secrets, love, longing, lies and race.

Shahab Valizadeh

His mother had died his second year, a tumour blossoming in her brain.

"Some of the equipment in the shop would be difficult for you to use," he told her. "And to be honest, Miss Walker, having a girl like you in the classroom would be very distracting to the boys in the class."

lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet. 1977, May 3, six thirty in the morning, no one knows anything but this innocuous fact: Lydia is late for breakfast.

A first novel by a Pushcart Prize-winning writer explores the fallout of a favorite daughter's shattering death on a Chinese-American family in 1970s Ohio.

Syrina

The first disappointment in his son, this first and most painful puncture in his fatherly dreams

wanted to press his lips to the tender hollow where Marilyn’s lifeline and love line crossed

They didn’t understand his answers, but they’d nodded, pleased that James was learning things they did not know.

Elvira Sjönell

This is the first book where I genuinely have no idea how to feel. I don’t love it or hate it. I’m just floating in the middle, confused, neutral, and mildly irritated that I can’t even tell what side of the spectrum I’m on. That makes rating it so much harder, but 2.25 stars feels like the only number that makes sense right now.

I’m almost halfway (47%) and the wildest part is that I keep forgetting Lydia is dead. The back-and-forth timeline shifts have drained the urgency right out of the story. I’ll start vibing with a chapter, then the book jumps again, and suddenly the emotional momentum is gone.

It’s not that the concept is bad, it’s actually okay. The idea of peeling back a family’s layers to see where everything cracked? I love that. But the execution feels strangely distant. Even when something dramatic happens, it floats away instead of hitting hard. There’s grief happening, racism happening, dissatisfaction happening… but it all sits on the surface like the story is too polite to dive deeper.

I don’t dislike any of the characters, but I don’t care about them either. I’ll have a moment of connection and think, “okay, I get you,” and then the narrative shifts and that connection dissolves. The characters feel more like ideas than people. Like placeholders for themes instead of fully fleshed human beings.

I actually felt like I was the only one truly grieving Lydia. The story itself didn’t emotionally anchor me to her loss, which made the whole thing feel oddly hollow.

The writing is calm and melancholy, but also incredibly mannered. It feels… workshopped. Polished. Edited to the point where the rawness was buffed right out. And when a novel deals with heavy topics like racism, isolation, and sexism, that polished distance starts to feel like avoidance.

I’m not saying the characters needed to become activists or lead movements, but the thematic weight needed more honesty, more mess, more grit. Authors like Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Angie Thomas, and R.F. Kuang know how to get their hands dirty with systemic issues. They let the ugly parts breathe. Here, the identity struggles feel more like shock-value side plots than lived experiences. As a person of colour, that superficial touch cheapened the emotional stakes.

This is where I’m stuck. So many people love this book, and I understand why on a concept level. It has atmosphere, melancholy, and a family unraveling under secrets. But for me, the distance in the prose and the shallow handling of serious themes made it hard to stay invested.

And despite what the blurb says, the story leans heavily on the interracial identity and mixed-family dynamic. That’s not a problem unless the execution feels thin. And here, it did.

If you like literary fiction that whispers its themes and moves gently, you might love this. If you need emotional depth, urgency, or characters who feel fully alive, this might leave you feeling as detached as I did.

 has a beautiful concept, but for me, the execution felt too polite and too distant. The themes are important, but they weren’t explored with the depth or honesty they deserved. I kept drifting in and out, never fully connecting, never fully caring, and ultimately feeling like the story wanted to say something but didn’t want to get messy in the process.

My 2.25 stars reflect that weird space between appreciation and detachment. A book I didn’t hate, didn’t love, and somehow still can’t stop thinking about.

Tali ⋆.˚🦋༘⋆

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Rating: 2.25 stars

Introduction
This is the first book where I genuinely have no idea how to feel. I don’t love it or hate it. I’m just floating in the middle, confused, neutral, and mildly irritated that I can’t even tell what side of the spectrum I’m on. That makes rating it so much harder, but 2.25 stars feels like the only number that makes sense right now.

Plot Analysis
I’m almost halfway (47%) and the wildest part is that I keep forgetting Lydia is dead. The back-and-forth timeline shifts have drained the urgency right out of the story. I’ll start vibing with a chapter, then the book jumps again, and suddenly the emotional momentum is gone.
It’s not that the concept is bad, it’s actually okay. The idea of peeling back a family’s layers to see where everything cracked? I love that. But the execution feels strangely distant. Even when something dramatic happens, it floats away instead of hitting hard. There’s grief happening, racism happening, dissatisfaction happening… but it all sits on the surface like the story is too polite to dive deeper.

Character Analysis
I don’t dislike any of the characters, but I don’t care about them either. I’ll have a moment of connection and think, “okay, I get you,” and then the narrative shifts and that connection dissolves. The characters feel more like ideas than people. Like placeholders for themes instead of fully fleshed human beings.
I actually felt like I was the only one truly grieving Lydia. The story itself didn’t emotionally anchor me to her loss, which made the whole thing feel oddly hollow.

Writing Analysis
The writing is calm and melancholy, but also incredibly mannered. It feels… workshopped. Polished. Edited to the point where the rawness was buffed right out. And when a novel deals with heavy topics like racism, isolation, and sexism, that polished distance starts to feel like avoidance.
I’m not saying the characters needed to become activists or lead movements, but the thematic weight needed more honesty, more mess, more grit. Authors like Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Angie Thomas, and R.F. Kuang know how to get their hands dirty with systemic issues. They let the ugly parts breathe. Here, the identity struggles feel more like shock-value side plots than lived experiences. As a person of colour, that superficial touch cheapened the emotional stakes.

Would I Recommend
This is where I’m stuck. So many people love this book, and I understand why on a concept level. It has atmosphere, melancholy, and a family unraveling under secrets. But for me, the distance in the prose and the shallow handling of serious themes made it hard to stay invested.
And despite what the blurb says, the story leans heavily on the interracial identity and mixed-family dynamic. That’s not a problem unless the execution feels thin. And here, it did.
If you like literary fiction that whispers its themes and moves gently, you might love this. If you need emotional depth, urgency, or characters who feel fully alive, this might leave you feeling as detached as I did.

Conclusion
Everything I Never Told You has a beautiful concept, but for me, the execution felt too polite and too distant. The themes are important, but they weren’t explored with the depth or honesty they deserved. I kept drifting in and out, never fully connecting, never fully caring, and ultimately feeling like the story wanted to say something but didn’t want to get messy in the process.
My 2.25 stars reflect that weird space between appreciation and detachment. A book I didn’t hate, didn’t love, and somehow still can’t stop thinking about.

Everything I Never Told You By Celeste Ng

in my opinion, the book felt a bit so-so considering how complicated the backstory was. it took me 2 weeks to finish it. not because the topic was heavy but it was a little boring. maybe it’s because we already knew from the start that lydia died, and the plot twist wasn’t really that shocking either, it didn’t even have much to do with lydia (i’m confused). however, the book is still worth reading to expand your reading list and it does offer plenty of valuable life lessons such as:

● before making big, risky life decisions, think first about the long-term effects.

● if you're planning to get married, try your best to achieve what you want in life — especially career-wise before settling down. otherwise, you might end up placing your unfulfilled dreams onto your children.

● if you have more than one child, please don’t forget about the others just because one of them happens to reflect your lost ambitions. don’t favor one child over the rest just because you think they can make your dream come true.

● last but not least… LISTEN TO YOUR MOM and DON’T BE STUBBORN. prioritize your own happiness and well-being over pleasing others.

love, kinanti

in my opinion, the book felt a bit so-so considering how complicated the backstory was. it took me 2 weeks to finish it. not because the topic was heavy but it was a little boring. maybe it’s because we already knew from the start that lydia died, and the plot twist wasn’t really that shocking either, it didn’t even have much to do with lydia (i’m confused). however, the book is still worth reading to expand your reading list and it does offer plenty of valuable life lessons such as:


● before making big, risky life decisions, think first about the long-term effects.

● if you're planning to get married, try your best to achieve what you want in life — especially career-wise before settling down. otherwise, you might end up placing your unfulfilled dreams onto your children.


● if you have more than one child, please don’t forget about the others just because one of them happens to reflect your lost ambitions. don’t favor one child over the rest just because you think they can make your dream come true.

● last but not least… LISTEN TO YOUR MOM and DON’T BE STUBBORN. prioritize your own happiness and well-being over pleasing others.

so, i’d rate this book 4/5 ⭐️

This book was relatable in ways I did not expect. The first daughter of parents weighing her down with their dreams and expectations for her, the overwhelming pressure those expectations can bring, the search for freedom and the desire to find one’s self. I found myself in all those pages, it was wonderful.

Nana O

hannihara

I didn’t expect to finish this book and nonetheless cry because of it. It had a very slow start yet I was still able to connect with the characters and some of their experiences.  plus…the family’s functional dysfunction made me feel frustrated, although it’s sadly realistic.

We have one person trying to fit in, the other trying to stand out, and just the outcome of both situations coming together in a tragic end. 

lily

I didn’t expect to finish this book and nonetheless cry because of it. It had a very slow start yet I was still able to connect with the characters and some of their experiences.  plus…the family’s functional dysfunction made me feel frustrated, although it’s sadly realistic.

We have one person trying to fit in, the other trying to stand out, and just the outcome of both situations coming together in a tragic end. 

There a slow burn and then there’s ‘Everything I Never Told You’. Whilst the novel made bold and interesting comments on the feeling of being othered and the Asian experience in 1970’s America, I found it difficult to cling on due to its slow burning nature and only found myself truly enjoying the final 70 pages. Additionally, James and Marilyn are abismal parents

Kath

I like the narration, but sometimes it is confusing, like you have to pick up what scene is currently being said. It also feels slow-paced, and the build-up is so long and many other unnecessary side stories. But overall, it's still good.

Andrea Morales

a very 3 ☆ read. the characters were interesting at times, but the mystery aspect of it wasn’t very well developed, and by the ending I felt like every important plot point or character development was very spoon-fed. like everything was perfectly resolved and was kind of oh so THAT’S what was missing silly us… idk kinda forgettable :/

armoni mayes

This is a very generous three stars. I think this may be my fault but this book seems to be YA? Online searches say it is general fiction but this book comes off as surface-level mystery/fiction which is why I think it should just be YA. This book discusses racism, grieving, and family dynamics but not in a super intellectual way, just brushing by topics here and there.

Bria

I was very surprised with this book. I’ve heard so many good things, so I thought this would be a pretty decent book. I found myself bored the entire time. I wouldn’t read this again nor recommend it to anyone.

11/28 Update

I’m bumping this up to 4 stars because I was in a slump when I reviewed. This is very well written, and I love the backstory. That was my favorite of the book. I wish there was a more build up, but I can understand that this is literary fiction and not really plot driven.

Is about a family that showcase very raw and unabashed perspectives from all sides. Is a very beautiful story of entangled emotions and aspirations.

Anna

Paula Plaza Ponte 

Celeste Ng, Wow. It was really difficult to put your book down. What you captured, through the pain of this family, written so beautifully, has left a dull ache in my heart and this tightness in my throat. It was only when I finished the book that I was able to breathe normally again. Talk about insecure based decisions left and right. I can relate to that need to escape at a very young age; the need to manage invisibility, loneliness, doting parents, mixed messages, others' projections, emotional blackmail and denial. And yes, the burden of expectations, attention and wishing to be anything but yourself. Amidst all the silence, the coping, the dysfunction, the discrimination and insecurity and misguided decisions however, one can't help but find love and hope in Ng's words. We can't choose our family and most of the time, everything we know about loving and forgiving and accepting starts there. And like everything without a manual, we almost always screw up. Like these guys. But, in the screwing up, in the getting lost, in the self absorption and self-loathing -- moments of clarity light up a room, even for just a second, it becomes painfully clear what we need to do to evolve ...and this is where we learn. We don't always get second chances and needing to live with that is another story. But when we do get that second chance -- redemption becomes possible. Hopefully, it slowly settles in. And until the next screw up, we can breathe.

like reading a tv show drama; a painful depiction of generational trauma

amelo

Caroline

Everything I never told you is my second read by author Celeste ng. At first I was very excited to read this book, but let me tell you as I moved forward in the book my excitement started to fade. Though a well written book, I just felt that there was a constant sadness that grip this book throughout, not even one happy moment , not even as the book moves in and out of flashbacks. 

The characters were quite over the top. The character of Marilyn and James, Lydia's mother and father were too full of their own selves and their want to fulfill their own dreams, which their failed to achieve and now which they try to live through their middle daughter while sidelining or ignoring their other two children was just so annoying, that there were times when I myself want to scream at them to "STOP IT". As for the character of Jack, I felt that the author herself did not know in which direction to go with him and finally ended up giving it a silly silly twist which to me quite did not fit in. 

I would have really loved, if the author had come up with a really gripping mystery or thriller or something more on how Lydia dead.

All I can say now that "LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE" will still remain at number one position for me by this author.

mimansa 

As an Indian, i always grew up with the thought that the family pressure of being perfect and the academic and social expectations did not exist in foreign countries. The children were much more free and happy. Obviously now i know its not true. 

Lydia is the middle child of the Lee family burdened with her parents expectations of becoming a successful doctor and popular high school student. While Lydia is quite opposite. Its sad to think that she decided to do whatever her mother said from such an early age that she didn’t even think about what she wanted.
Her older brother was her only support. He knew how she felt about her parents but was often conflicted with empathy towards her and jealously he felt due to the attention her parents gave her. Her younger sister was an observer. She never really stepped up and never got the attention she required from any member of the family and she was used to it.
The plot gets a little bit slow in the middle where we understand each family member i grave detail. But last 3 chapter coverup for that. It really puts in motion the family’s change and effort towards change and moving forward. How the other two children finally get the attention they deserve and how the parents learn and improve parenthood.

Maria

been meaning to read this for a while and i’m so glad i picked it up. the prose is perectly done and it gives the story so much vibrancy, despite the tragedy surrounding it. i think what i loved most about this was the family story and the complicated dynamics between all the family members, the clashing views between the wish to blend in vs the wish to stand out. it was all just superbly done. and from a narrative point of view, every character was treated with so much care, making them all so real and flawed. i did suspect a lot of the things that unfolded in this book, but even so it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. 
i really look forward to read  little fires everywhere !

I did not get the ending (non english native speaker things) all I did throughout reading is put myself in Lydia’s place and sob.

Megan Daigle

A thrilling, heart-wrenching, story filled with bits of like-truth of a delicate balance held by a dysfunctional family. Just as many families hold. An unfortunately true look into Asian racism and how it reaches for and touches so many unrealized places with its brutal, torturing fingers. Page turner worth every minute it takes to read.

This book was very slow paced. I get it’s a story about grief and the difficulties of being an interracial family in the Seventies and that part, for me, was decent.

What I didn’t like at all were the characters: everyone was extremely unlikeable, very one dimensional and I couldn’t really empathise with any of them. The whole time I couldn’t stop thinking that James and Marilyn should have never married and they especially should have never had children. 

Hannah and Nath are going to need so much therapy to try and heal the damage these two did to them. 

I also found that some of the relationships between the characters were basically the same as the ones in “Little Fires Everywhere”, so the whole thing was a bit repetitive, if you read both books. Different settings, different kinds of families, same dynamics. 

Overall I didn’t really enjoy this read. At times I didn’t even want to pick it up and a few times I thought about not finishing it.

Roberta

This book was very slow paced. I get it’s a story about grief and the difficulties of being an interracial family in the Seventies and that part, for me, was decent.

What I didn’t like at all were the characters: everyone was extremely unlikeable, very one dimensional and I couldn’t really empathise with any of them. The whole time I couldn’t stop thinking that James and Marilyn should have never married and they especially should have never had children. 

Hannah and Nath are going to need so much therapy to try and heal the damage these two did to them. 

I also found that some of the relationships between the characters were basically the same as the ones in “Little Fires Everywhere”, so the whole thing was a bit repetitive, if you read both books. Different settings, different kinds of families, same dynamics. 

Overall I didn’t really enjoy this read. At times I didn’t even want to pick it up and a few times I thought about not finishing it.

'There is much here that might impress Pulitzer and Man Booker judges...Ng brilliantly depicts the destruction that parents can inflict on their children and on each other' Mark Lawson, Guardian Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee; 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 centre of every party. But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in 1970s small town Ohio. Her father is an American born of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous in any setting. When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable, no matter what the cost. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest in the family - Hannah - who observes far more than anyone realises and who may be the only one who knows what really happened. And if you loved Everything I Never Told You, don't miss Celeste Ng's second novel Little Fires Eveywhere What readers are saying: 'Devastating...A truly tragic but devastatingly well written book' 'Ng is a true craftsman. I implore you to read this. Also my favourite ending of a novel so far this year' 'This is the best book I have read this year' 'Really enjoyed this book, deeply moving, sad and thought provoking'

Amazon.com's #1 Book of the Year 2014

Zahra

4.5 stars

This book shattered my heart into tiny little pieces. But also mended it whole again with that beautiful and hopeful ending, wrapping things up nicely. Such a powerful book about family, sibling relationship, being different, and accepting who you truly are.

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.

A Novel

Suyash Goylit

I guess the journey is as, if not more, important than the destination

Everything I Never Told You is like a recovering addict. It has potential but every time it starts to go remotely in the direction of something resembling excellence, it takes a nosedive into self-destruction. There is a hint of a good story shrouded by a massive curtain of racism and sexism. Sure these are very sensitive issues and could draw enormous emotions when handled well, but that isn't the case here. What should've been the cogs in character building or the driving force behind the characters, at most, takes center stage in the story, and the characters become second fiddle. There were times when I wanted to learn about the characters but all I could see were these victims of racism and sexism. Not to take lightly, of course, but it became tedious after a while.
 
Another problem with the novel is the pacing. It is pretty clear that in the big picture it is a slow-paced piece of work, but that memo gets lost somewhere en-route to the lower level. There is no chapter-based perspective approach that would have helped the slow-burning style tremendously, rather the perspective keeps switching not just during a single chapter, but even in a section and worst of all, even during the course of a single paragraph. The writing style was far too start-stop to generate any sort of flow. Whenever I was about to get absorbed by a scene, it would just vanish abruptly, and it got a little irritating after a while.
 
Now, all of this could have been ignored in favor of good characters but the novel fails in this regard as well. James and Marilyn have to be some of the worst parents ever. I get why they did what they did, but since the end goal of the story was to make me feel sympathetic for them, there should have been at least one redeeming quality to them. Instead, throughout the story, the author kept on dumping on them, to the point I grew to hate them and the redemption never came. Nath's character was too shallow and underdeveloped. The only ones that I felt relatable were Hannah and Jack and none of them were given any attention.
 
(view spoiler)[The only reason I kept reading this was to find out the circumstances behind Lydia's death and that turned out to be the most disappointing of the bunch. I get that her death was supposed to be poetic, some sort of metaphor of darkness, but to me, the whole thing just fizzled out poorly. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I understand what the author had in mind and the idea wasn't bad at all, but the mediocre execution just sank the whole thing.

Ned Summers 

Really impressed by this book. Read it in three days because I couldn't put it down but even reading it so quickly I now have that post-story empty feeling that comes from feeling so attached to the characters. Really quite beautiful, and quite heart-wrenching too.

Ryan 

i think this is one of the most beautifully crafted story i’ve ever read. i felt everyone’s own pain and heartbreak in this book like more hands grasps at my throat and choking the life out of me. probably one of the best books i read this year by far. more to come.

Everything I Never Told You

Reviews

Highlights