“Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet..”
If that isn’t a great hook, I just don’t know what is. This debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, from Celeste Ng explores the slow unravelling of a mixed race family in the 1970’s when faced with the unbearable loss of the middle, and favourite, child, Lydia. When she disappears and is subsequently found at the bottom of the local lake, nothing is ever the same and this family’s delicate balancing act slowly crumbles, leaving them to confront the secrets that have long been quietly buried.
I know what you’re thinking…family drama? A mysterious death? Yes, we’ve seen it before. But how this novel sets itself apart is the characters and how all their choices and experiences play a role in Lydia’s death. At its core, the story is about how we can be incredibly close to people without truly being connected. The day to day details begin to slip away and we stop noticing what’s really important. 
Ng has a subtle storytelling ability, adding just the right amount of tension to keep you reading. I became so caught up in her characters’ stories, which she deftly knotted together and seamlessly transitioned from one to the other, that I barely noticed how many pages I had turned in one sitting. I especially loved how Ng tackled the difficulty of writing about racism, feminism, and identity in general, and how dangerous expectations and societal pressures can be.
This is a great read, especially for a debut and I’m looking forward to seeing where this author goes in her career! An inspired read that I definitely recommend!
PS – This was not a novel originally on my Summer Reading List, but I did manage to get through a few of those too! How did your summer reading go?? Find any amazing reads you’d like to share?
xo