Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - All the Things We Don't Talk About

We follow Morgan, a nonbinary teen navigating their first romantic relationship, and Julian, their autistic father struggling to find the best way to support his child. Their balance is disrupted as Morgan’s estranged mother Zoe tumbles into their lives once again. And our fourth POV comes from Zoe’s partner Brigid, who has developed a long-distance friendship with Julian over the years.

So … it's complicated. Add in Zoe’s struggle with alcoholism (and Morgan’s deep desire for acceptance) and you can see that this family is teetering on the edge of huge conflict.

The topics are heavy and the characters are complex (even Zoe, who typically serves as the antagonist, has an honest POV & you get to peek deeper into her behavior). But the characters are treated with care, and there are so many tender moments that kept me reading.

I appreciated that the characters’ identities (Morgan’s gender identity & Julian’s neurodivergent identity) are not used as big plot points/major sources of turmoil. Instead, they are deeply woven into the characters’ POVs and lives and written with nuance. Julian’s ability to parent is never in question. Morgan’s pronouns are respected.

I really wanted more time with Julian - I would have loved more backstory into his journey as a single parent, raising Morgan and learning routines together and navigating life.

Sometimes the writing was a bit dry. It was generally very raw & felt authentic, but there were times when Feltman was building up to a conflict where the pacing felt off/the scenes dragged. I was also confused at times about the space between scenes.

Finally, I felt the ending was a bit too quick, and too much was left unresolved. Not that things have to be tied up in a neat little bow - but I wanted a bit more closure around certain plotlines. And I felt disappointed & saddened about some major decisions made by the characters.

Overall, this was a caring portrait of a complex family. It gave me room to reflect on some dynamics in my own life. It was powerful and tender and an engaging read.

CW: addiction, alcoholism, abandonment, car accident, mass/school shootings, medical content, drug use, animal cruelty, death, death of grandparent, classism, emotional abuse, grief, gun violence, injury, medical content, mental illness, transphobia, toxic relationship, pregnancy (mentioned), abortion (mentioned)

(I received a free review copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

Content Warnings

spaghettireads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

felix's review

Go to review page

emotional tense slow-paced

4.0

Disclaimer: I got an advance ebook of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review (that's what people say, right?)

TikTok review: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdk7KVjH/

There are a couple of types of book that I love to critique. One is Greek myth retellings, and another is books with autistic characters. I requested All the Things We Don't Talk About on NetGalley because it fits the latter category, despite the fact that I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised.

All the Things We Don't Talk About is about the members of one family: Morgan, a non-binary teenager; Julian, their autistic dad; Zoe, their alcoholic and estranged mother; and Brigid, Zoe's partner who has developed an online friendship with Julian over the years. The book follows the family as they navigate Morgan's first relationship and their curiosity about their mother as Zoe crashes back into their life.

Overall, I thought this book was well-written and thoughtful in how it navigated a family's turmoil. The characters felt very realistic, and their different identities felt very well-integrated into their characters. I really appreciated especially how the narrative didn't make a big deal about Morgan being non-binary, but did allow it contribute to Morgan's experience and the way they interacted with the world. I also appreciated how the story approached the difficulties that can come with being an autistic parent without implying that autistic people shouldn't or can't be parents. I was able to relate to the way Julian saw the world and the way he interacted with other people, which is actually pretty rare for me when reading.

I said earlier that I wasn't sure whether I'd enjoy this book. That's mostly because I tend to not like literary fiction type stories centered around characters' messy lives-- I often find that in authors' attempts to highlight the messy parts of life, they make the drama totally overwhelming and the characters become tiresome. I didn't have that issue with this book. There were a few points that felt awkward-- for example, I didn't feel like the consequences of the opening scene were fully integrated into the rest of the book, and it was sometimes hard to tell how much time had passed between events. But on the whole, I found this book to be honest without being tiresome, and I appreciated that even at their worst, I was able to sympathize with each character.

I think this book would be a great read for anyone who likes literary fiction in theory but finds it tiresome in practice-- which is how I feel. I can see it appealing to a wide age range, too. I hope to see more stories as thoughtful as this one in the future.

Content Warnings

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