A review by kathrynw12
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

In some ways this felt like a different version of We Were the Mulvaneys. Something tragic happens to a family’s favorite daughter, and her seemingly perfect family unravels. The differences in this book are the setting, the daughter dies, and there’s an overt element of race as a factor for the characters’ lives.
Ng tells a compelling story, but since I don’t typically go for character-driven novels, I was hoping for more of a dramatic reveal about how Lydia died. That she was unhappy and just went for a swim and drowned seemed both predictable and like a letdown.
Admittedly I listened to this one on audio while working, so certain subtleties were lost on me as I tuned things out and that impacted my overall enjoyment and comprehension.
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