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dascruggs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
catbag's review against another edition
5.0
Everything I Never Told You ✵ Celeste Ng
“It was too big to talk about, what had happened. It was like a landscape they could not see all at once; it was like the sky at night, which turned and turned so they couldn’t find its edges. It would always feel too big. He pushed her in. And then he pulled her out. All her life, Lydia would remember one thing. All his life, Nath would remember another.”
Man, this book hurts. Everyone in it is in pain, and they’re all constantly hurting each other without knowing, until the hurt runs so deep it feels impossible to escape it. To read Everything I Never Told You is to have your heart break over and over as you watch a family rip itself apart because of everything left unsaid.
I wish—” He stopped, swallowing the words back down: I wish I’d had it when I was your age. Perhaps, he thought, everything would have been different; if he’d known how to handle people, how to make them like him, perhaps… He’d have gotten more out of life.
Everything I Never Told You is about James and Marilyn Lee and their three children: Nath, Lydia, and Hannah. It’s told through flashbacks leading up to Lydia’s death and the days following it. With this dual timeline, we’re shown two parents stuck in the past and using past pain as an excuse to act poorly in present days. Both Marilyn and James actively try to shape a chosen child in a way that they believe will prevent the child from experiencing the same things that hurt the parent. But by trying to prevent things that have already happened, both parents end up hurting their children anyway. Lydia and Nath struggle through their lives with their parents’ expectations weighing heavily on them. Every move they make is a consequence of their environment, and they make many, many decisions that only cause everyone else more pain. It’s a horrible cycle to watch and it hurt so much to read.
“no need to tear another hole, even a pinprick, in their lives.”
My two favorite characters were the ones who kept getting hurt by those around them, but who chose to be kind and to minimize the pain they passed on as much as they could. One of these characters was the third child of James and Marilyn, Hannah, and the other was their neighbor Jack. Both were outsiders who were ignored and misunderstood, but at every moment they could have done what every other character did and hurt someone else, they chose to be kind. In the end, it was their quiet understanding that helped me and the other characters find the ability to go on with their lives after all the pain they’d experienced, and I love that Ng gave us characters like Hannah and Jack.
“There is nowhere to go but on.”
Everything I Never Told You is a quiet, introspective novel about the cycle of pain and hurt. It’s an incredibly moving journey with realistic characters that I recommend everyone read.
“It was too big to talk about, what had happened. It was like a landscape they could not see all at once; it was like the sky at night, which turned and turned so they couldn’t find its edges. It would always feel too big. He pushed her in. And then he pulled her out. All her life, Lydia would remember one thing. All his life, Nath would remember another.”
Man, this book hurts. Everyone in it is in pain, and they’re all constantly hurting each other without knowing, until the hurt runs so deep it feels impossible to escape it. To read Everything I Never Told You is to have your heart break over and over as you watch a family rip itself apart because of everything left unsaid.
I wish—” He stopped, swallowing the words back down: I wish I’d had it when I was your age. Perhaps, he thought, everything would have been different; if he’d known how to handle people, how to make them like him, perhaps… He’d have gotten more out of life.
Everything I Never Told You is about James and Marilyn Lee and their three children: Nath, Lydia, and Hannah. It’s told through flashbacks leading up to Lydia’s death and the days following it. With this dual timeline, we’re shown two parents stuck in the past and using past pain as an excuse to act poorly in present days. Both Marilyn and James actively try to shape a chosen child in a way that they believe will prevent the child from experiencing the same things that hurt the parent. But by trying to prevent things that have already happened, both parents end up hurting their children anyway. Lydia and Nath struggle through their lives with their parents’ expectations weighing heavily on them. Every move they make is a consequence of their environment, and they make many, many decisions that only cause everyone else more pain. It’s a horrible cycle to watch and it hurt so much to read.
“no need to tear another hole, even a pinprick, in their lives.”
My two favorite characters were the ones who kept getting hurt by those around them, but who chose to be kind and to minimize the pain they passed on as much as they could. One of these characters was the third child of James and Marilyn, Hannah, and the other was their neighbor Jack. Both were outsiders who were ignored and misunderstood, but at every moment they could have done what every other character did and hurt someone else, they chose to be kind. In the end, it was their quiet understanding that helped me and the other characters find the ability to go on with their lives after all the pain they’d experienced, and I love that Ng gave us characters like Hannah and Jack.
“There is nowhere to go but on.”
Everything I Never Told You is a quiet, introspective novel about the cycle of pain and hurt. It’s an incredibly moving journey with realistic characters that I recommend everyone read.
staceycriddlereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
ashiscurrentlyreading's review against another edition
4.0
i don’t usually read sad books, but i picked this one up on a whim and i really felt for all the characters. how wanted to yell at them to make better decisions, but i could still understand their actions. this is what happens when no one takes the time to understand each other, and the things they never told each other. absolutely heartbreaking, but i don’t regret reading it, as it opens up a lot of room for thinking and discussions. i can see myself thinking about this book for a long time.
maddieisbrown's review against another edition
3.0
For mixed kids and people with generational trauma
peachflavorr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Child death
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
Heartbreaking, and so layered. Ng manages to convey so much in the gaps between what is said and what isn't. I would have liked to see a little more of Hannah's side of things, I get that her prescence was partly device as much as character, and all her scenes left me a full of ache for her lonely existence. Similarly with Nate. The animosity with Jake was certainly interesting, but I just wanted a little bit more from him. A tantalising and satisfying glimpse of the future (if a touch frustrating lol) very elegantly done.
caliseales's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
picho_vm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0