Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Review

While reading Everything I never Told You, I could tell that every word and sentence was carefully and deliberately put together to develop the different themes and concepts each character clings to, from chapter to chapter the layers just keep building into a precipice that made me genuinely feel for the characters and be invested in them, which is much more than I can say for the countless amount of Young Adult fiction I've consumed throughout the years. This story integrates so many themes, from how it feels to be a minority in America, sibling and familial relationships, keeping secrets, snowball effect, and more, but feels complex and meaningful rather than spread thin. I felt the most compassion and emotion for the youngest Lee sibling, Hannah, who is often pushed to the side and forgotten as a result of her parents' adoration and focus on Lydia, and even Nathan when Lydia passes. The switching timelines and jumping from the parents' relationship in the past to the tragedy of Lydia's passing and how the Lee family deals with it in the present to build suspense and context throughout was extremely well done; I was equally interested in the story of Marilyn and James' early relationship and how it slowly changed as children entered the picture and time passed. Marilyn was by far the most complex and interesting character in the story, I would even go as far as to describe her as morally gray. Although it was an easy read because it falls under the Young Adult category, it delves into many mature and tragic topics. 

I actually recommended this novel to my mom, who usually reads children's books and the like for fun. She doesn't read much, but she wants to read more and make it into more of a habit. I like to think it's because I started reading more voraciously in recent years, which has reignited that curious aspect of her brain. She asks me to recommend books and I pulled this out of my shelf, thinking the writing is a bit easier to digest and the ideas and themes are pretty interesting. Especially because we're Asian American, I want my mom to read books with people like us, with families like ours, and experiences that align with ours, especially since we both grew up in America. I don't think that part was particularly relevant to her, but reading from more Asian American perspectives and voices gives me more peace of mind since I usually read classics and modern classics from an alarming amount of white male authors. She ended up really enjoying this one and it was so fun to sit on the couch and discuss what we thought of the writing style and plot. She asked me if Ng is the only one who writes plots with disjointed and a non-chronological style. I laughed and said, of course. It's interesting to "teach" or impart such experiences through books upon my mom, who raised me. I wish she knew how much I love it, to share such a special experience and my favorite hobby with her.