It is hard to believe that the first month of 2020 is already coming to an end. It has been a busy month around here; lots of sickies, making 2020 goals and celebrating a birthday. One of my goals for 2020 is to work on making time for my reading again. I shared my Reading List and Goal for the new year and I am pleased to announce that I have officially finished book one of 2020!!
For my first book of 2020 I picked up a book from an author I really enjoyed in 2019 – Celeste Ng. I read and reviewed her book Little Fires Everywhere last year. I LOVED this book so I was super excited to dive into Everything I Never Told You.
Book ONE of 2020
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.
So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.
A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told Youis both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.
My Review of Everything I Never Told You
Without giving away too much of the deep meanings I found in this book I have to say, Ng, was able to tell Lydia’s deepest moments without her being alive through out the book. Not only did this story allow us to see a glimpse into this family that was struggling with all of the stereotypes of being a Chinese family in a town that everyone else looks the same. But we were also able to see the life of a teenage girl just trying to to find herself….both at school and at home.
Lydia should have felt nothing but love and support but instead, she was lonely. So lonely. It does make me question what parents miss when they think they are doing the very best for their children. While Lydia is the focus of this book, I loved getting to know the rest of the characters. I feel like Ng did a wonderful job with character development and allowed for each character to show their true colors through out the book.
I found this book empowering and a bit heartbreaking but overall I would categorize this book as a must read. At first I thought this would be a thriller but in the end this is a dramatic book all about family ties and relationships. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to sit down and thoroughly enjoy meeting new characters.
Well here’s to a new year full of reading! Book one is complete and I am really excited to share book two with you all very soon. I am always looking for new books to add to my reading list so please share some books you have really enjoyed recently. Make sure you check out my 2020 Reading List and Goal too. Maybe you can add some of my books to your list this year!
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
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