Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

29 reviews

frey's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely devastating read, in the best way possible. Not the genre i usually read but by the quarter-way point i was unable to put it down for long. Even as a non-American it was such a beautiful read with beautifully believable characters. The way of telling the story was so well done and my heart hurt so much for Hannah the longer I read.

Not to mention, finding out at the very end that Lydia didn't actually mean to kill herself broke my heart. The last chapter of the book was so beautifully sorrowful that it nearly broke me. The line from Nath's point of view at the very end of the book: "When, a long, long time later, he stares down at the silent blue marble of the earth and thinks of his sister, as he will at every important moment in his life." I still think about this line weeks later. Nothing encapsulates grief better I think in the book than this line. I will never get over it: "I will always think of you in the most important moments of my life" is grief in its most beautiful form.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Racism, Sexism, Infidelity, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Racial slurs and Pregnancy

Minor: Body horror, Sexual content, and Alcohol

viviundworte's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Sexism, Child death, Physical abuse, Bullying, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

Moderate: Vomit and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Blood

di_the_reader's review

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying and Vomit

Cheating Trope

mollyjeannette's review

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Really well written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Infidelity, and Death

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

emherrick's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual content

vedpears's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I think I have become a Celeste Ng fan girl now. The writing is beautiful and mesmerizing  - such great storytelling! I disliked every character except Nathan and Hannah (spelling? I consumed this book via audiobook). Narcissists all around. I recognized so many scenarios from my own family dynamics and those of my friends'. I find it interesting that some reviews I have read said these characters weren't believable. I whole-heartedly disagree with that sentiment and am certain that those reviewers aren't paying attention to others in their lives, are like one of the parents in the book themselves, or live very fortunately charmed lives. 

I think Celeste Ng does a great job threading context/ characters' histories into the current narrative. That story telling tool often irritates me but she does it so well that it doesn't feel like an interruption. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Grief, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Suicide, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Vomit

hmih's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Racial slurs

bryelle's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A girl goes missing and her body is found in a lake. Her family goes through grief trying to figure out what happened and coping with the lose of their loved one. 

This books has many themes of internal struggle. All the characters are going through their own journeys of what their lives are. 

Lydia, the girl who goes missing, wants to live up to her parents expectations. She pushes her self and only feels like she has her brother to support her. 
Nath, going away to Harvard soon, feels like he is in Lydia’s shadow. His father hit him when he is young and he can never look at him the same. 
Hannah, the baby that brought her mother back after she ran away to accomplish her dreams. No one pays attention to her, but she loves them all the same. 
Marilyn, wanted to be a doctor, but fell in love and got pregnant. She pushed her goals on her daughter Lydia. 
James, Asian man in a mostly white community. Always knows everyone is looking at him and his children.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Child death, Bullying, and Alcohol

Moderate: Outing

sunny_not's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide