Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

228 reviews

mmoran22's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Infidelity, and Racial slurs

funofme's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

probably one of the most devastating books i have ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Abandonment and Infidelity

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The dysfunctionality of functional families
The complexity built between each of the family members was very impressive, you could blame and sympathise with each person

‘No trace of herself left except these pencil marked dreams’

‘Its a problem of geography, he said with the confidence of someone who had never yet tried to free himself of family.’

‘Marilyn would forget this moment. Lydias shout, the shattered edges in her tone. It would disappear forever from her memory of lydia. The way memories of a lost loved one always smooth and simplify themselves. Shedding complexities like scales.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship

allygator's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is an exceptional mystery-shrouded family drama. Celeste Ng, best known for Little Fires Everywhere, is an expert at writing characters so complex and realistic it feels like they could walk off the page and function perfectly normally in society. There are a lot of unlikeable characters, if only because they are making the mistakes that so many people do. They cheat on their partners, they force their problems onto other people, they start fights, they break promises. However, none of them are bad people, just people who make bad decisions and regret them and try their best to make things right. The tragedy of the story is that none of them will ever know exactly what happened to Lydia, despite how hard they try. They will grieve her for the rest of their lives. The fact that they all think they know what happened to her when she died just like they all thought they knew what she wanted in life was heartbreaking. I only wish that the narration was a little less convoluted -- I got lost a few times because I lost track of which characters were being followed when, and when in the timeline we were.
For a debut novel, this is beyond impressive. I can't believe it took me so long to read this and I can't wait to read more of Ng's work in the future.
(Very special shoutout to Jack Wolff because he reminds me of Steve Harrington and therefore he is very precious to me and I wish him nothing but the best.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Child death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy

phina04's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, and Suicide

nordicat's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexism and Alcohol

cawaza's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism

mariahhamilton's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

borrowmybookjacket's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's a great book, but Ng tells very human stories and that can weigh on you as you read sometimes. There are good resolutions ultimately, not much is left hanging except for I guess the potential of a relationship. It's a book that you can feel the hurt coming from, but you actually feel satisfied with it in the end. Not happy. Satisfied.

<spoilers>
I found it so easy to relate to everyone here. Not as much the father may be as much of his struggle was racial and let's be real, I'm a squishy white woman, but my parents have a strained dynamic, I have these kind of relationships at varying times with my mother, my father, and my siblings. I am the youngest, tip-toeing around and listening to what was happening in the house. Can't be noticed, won't be noticed. I am the ignored brother with unrealistic goals even though I was clearly working well toward them without people seeing. I am Lydia, struggling under pressure to be Good and Correct and Doing What Is Expected. My parents didn't know I didn't have friends like that and I clung to moments of attention. I think many folks have. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Suicide, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

Minor: Murder, Vomit, Alcohol, and Blood

beegster16's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Infidelity, Child death, Misogyny, and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide and Alcohol