Review: Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are books that sear you with the story they weave, with the characters within them that are almost altogether real in pleasant ways. This is one of those books. It's a book that had characters that made me frustrated and disgusted and angry, but also made me cry with the depth of pain express on the pages.

This is an examination of quite a few things. Feminism. Family. Expectations. Racism. Grief. I could probably find more, but these five alone are so incredibly powerful in the story that has been built, here. I felt as though if I closed my eyes, I could see Lydia before me, or little Hannah, or even their parents.

The plot is intensely character driven, so if that's not the type of book that you'll enjoy then I'd say that you likely won't enjoy this. The dialogue is sparse, the story told through the eyes of each of the Lee family members, and by the last page it's managed to be aggravating but romantic, incredibly painful and hopeful all at the same time. It isn't a sweet, fluffy story, it is a story that touches on what it means to be human, with all the bumps and bruises and triumphs and joys that come along with it.

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