Review: Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng

“Everything here reminds her of what Lydia could have been.”

Lydia, a high school student has died and her mother drifts into her room to experience the smells and sensations of the girl who used to inhabit the space. Across town, Lydia’s father has dropped into another woman’s bed and sleeps tranquilly.

Nothing in life has happened as it should.

Love gets lost in withheld touches and unspoken thoughts. Parents’ expectations are driven into successive generations and serve as baggage rather than inspiration.

Words hurt: “this,” referring to Lydia’s parent’s marriage, “isn’t right.”

Words are avoided: mixed, interracial, mismatched.

Words that could reassure lay stagnant and not vocalized.

Words are smithed to cope: “disappeared, fell in the lake, drowned.”

The family’s search to understand the daughter who died, their search for a killer to pin their grief on, the destruction of trust, and the slow melting away of relationships show a family on the brink.

The sprint to finish this book and discover if this family can be healed is worth the read.

Source: Purchase

Category: Women's fiction

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