Celeste Ng's Blog, page 7

Booklist Starred Review!

Thank you, Booklist, for this starred review! 

A teenage girl goes missing and is later found to have drowned in a nearby lake, and suddenly a once tightknit family unravels in unexpected ways. As the daughter of a college professor and his stay-at-home wife in a small Ohio town in the 1970s, Lydia Lee is already unwittingly part of the greater societal changes going on all around her. But Lydia suffers from pressure that has nothing to do with tuning out and turning on. Her father is an American born of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous in any setting. Her mother is white, and their interracial marriage raises eyebrows and some intrusive charges of miscegenation. More troubling, however, is her mother’s frustration at having given up medical school for motherhood, and how she blindly and selfishly insists that Lydia follow her road not taken. The cracks in Lydia’s perfect-daughter foundation grow slowly but erupt suddenly and tragically, and her death threatens to destroy her parents and deeply scar her siblings. Tantalizingly thrilling, Ng’s emotionally complex debut novel captures the tension between cultures and generations with the deft touch of a seasoned writer. Ng will be one to watch.

Want to read Everything I Never Told You before everyone else?

Everything I Never Told You isn't on sale until 6/30, but First to Read is currently offering the chance to read it early. First to Read is a free program that allows members to read forthcoming Penguin titles months before they're out--and this week, Everything I Never Told You is on offer.

Visit http://bit.ly/Prn6Op to learn more and request an e-galley. The book is on offer until this Sunday night, 4/27, so don't wait too long. 

And if paper ARCs (advance reading copies) are more your thing, you still have until April 30th to enter to win a free ARC of Everything I Never Told You on Goodreads.

Library Journal starred review!

Thank you, Library Journal, for this starred review! 

“Ng’s debut is one of those aching stories about which the reader knows so much more than any of the characters, even as each yearns for the unknowable truth. “Lydia is dead,” the novel opens—blunt, unnerving, devastating. She’s only 16, the middle of three children of James and Marilyn Lee, a mixed-race couple married years before the ironically named Loving v. Virginia finally invalidated U.S. antimiscegenation laws in 1967. They’re initially drawn together by their differences: James, the American-born son of Chinese immigrants, finishing his Harvard PhD; Marilyn, the only Radcliffe undergraduate determined to become a doctor, a gifted scientist among unbelieving men. When they bury their daughter in 1977, the Lee family—already fragile before the tragedy—implodes. James detaches, Marilyn seeks refuge, brother Nath blames, and youngest Hannah silently watches all. Each will search for a Lydia who doesn’t exist, desperate to parse what happened. ­

VERDICT: Ng constructs a mesmerizing narrative that shrinks enormous issues of race, prejudice, identity, and gender into the miniaturist dynamics of a single family. A breathtaking triumph, reminiscent of prophetic debuts by Ha Jin, Chang-rae Lee, and ­Chimamanda Adichie, whose first titles matured into spectacular, continuing literary legacies. [See Prepub Alert, 12/16/13.]”

— Library Journal -- Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

The review will appear in their 5/1 issue.  

Publishers Weekly starred review!

Thank you, Publishers Weekly, for this starred review!  

"Lydia is remarkably imagined, her unhappy teenage life crafted without an ounce of cliché. Ng’s prose is precise and sensitive, her characters richly drawn."

OMG! All the Books! Giveaway

Yesterday I told you about the Goodreads giveaway of an advance reading copy of my book--here's a chance to win a signed first edition.

I'm super excited to be taking part the OMG! All the Books! Giveaway--a HUGE book giveaway with 24 authors. (Thank you to fellow authors Miranda Beverly-Whittemore and Julia Fierro, and Dan Blank of WeGrowMedia, for orchestrating!)

Every day from April 7 to May 8, you can enter to win a signed first edition of the brand-new book from these incredible authors:

April 7: Emma Straub, The VacationersApril 8: Maggie Shipstead, Astonish MeApril 9: Ted Thompson, The Land of Steady HabitsApril 10: Jean Kwok, Mambo in ChinatownApril 11: Caeli Wolfson Widger, Real Happy FamilyApril 14: Mira Jacob, The Sleepwalker’s Guide to DancingApril 15: Cristina Henriquez, The Book of Unknown AmericansApril 16: Alexi Zentner, The Lobster KingsApril 17: Courtney Elizabeth Mauk, Orion’s DaughtersApril 18: Scott Cheshire, High As The Horses’ Bridles April 21: Megan Abbott, The FeverApril 22: Edan Lepucki, CaliforniaApril 23: Joanna Rakoff, My Salinger YearApril 24: Marie-Helene Bertino, 2 A.M. At The Cat’s PajamasApril 25: Kevin Clouther, We Were Flying to ChicagoApril 28: Roxane Gay, An Untamed StateApril 29: Porochista Khakpour, The Last IllusionApril 30: Brian Gresko, When I First Held YouMay 1: Courtney Maum, I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without YouMay 2: Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told YouMay 5: Robin Black, Life DrawingMay 6: Nicole C. Kear, Now I See YouMay 7: Julia Fierro, Cutting TeethMay 8: Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, Bittersweet

Plus, every time you enter a daily giveaway, you'll also be entered into the drawing for the grand prize--ONE COPY OF EACH OF THESE BOOKS.  That’s right, the grand prize winner will receive 24 signed first editions; all of the books listed above, including mine.

HOW TO ENTER:

Each day, visit http://mirandabw.com/omg/ to enter to win each daily giveaway. (I'm May 2--mark your calendars!)

We’ll post a question about each person’s work; by answering in the entry form, you’ll automatically enter that day’s giveaway! The winner will be announced the next morning. If you win, you’ll receive the book as soon as it’s available--some aren't out until August, so you'll receive your signed copy hot off the press and direct from the author.

Each time you enter ANY of the individual book giveaways, you are automatically entered to win the grand prize. (So your name could be entered in the grand prize giveaway up to 24 times!)  The grand prize winner will be announced May 9, 2014. That lucky person will receive all 24 books--including mine--each signed and sent directly from the author as the books are released.

Full contest rules and instructions are available here.  

Good luck! I hope you win all the books! 

Enter to win an advance copy of EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU on Goodreads

Everything I Never Told You will be released June 26, 2014, but if you don't want to wait that long, you can enter to win one of 25 advance reading copies of the novel on Goodreads.  Just click here--the deadline to enter is April 30.

My Writing Space

I mentioned earlier that Everything I Never Told You will be part of First Flights, Penguin's debut novel program in partnership with EarlyWord.  And that there would be... a video of me.  

Well, the video is up now--and if you're interested in writers' workspaces, you can find out why I keep a tiny picture frame and a Mario mushroom on my desk, as well as about all the other lucky charms, tchotchkes, and inspirational quotes that help keep me motivated.  The video is available on the First Flights/Early Word website.

And if you're a librarian, please join us for a webchat on March 26 from 4:00-5:00pm Eastern; more information is at my Events page. 

BookPage: 14 Women to Watch in 2014

BookPage has included me in their list of "14 Women to Watch in 2014."  I'm thrilled to be listed alongside so many other writers I admire.  Thank you, BookPage!

And now, since people may be watching me, I should probably go put on some nicer clothes...

Some good news to share

A short story of mine, "Every Little Thing," has won second prize in Glimmer Train's Dec. 2013 Fiction Open!  The story is about a woman with hyperthymesia (extremely detailed autobiographical memory). I've been a reader of Glimmer Train for, oh, slightly over a decade now, so I was really, really thrilled to get this news.  

Here's the winner list and the list of honorable mentions.  Thank you so much to Glimmer Train for this honor, and congratulations to everyone on these lists! 

Early Word/Penguin First Flights Pick!

Everything I Never Told You has been selected as part of the First Flights program!  First Flights is a joint endeavor by Penguin and EarlyWord to help promote debut novels.  The program sends advance reader copies to participating librarians and includes a live webchat with me; Nora Rawlinson, the co-founder and editor of EarlyWord; and Catherine Hayden of Penguin USA's Academic and Library Marketing and Sales.  

Visit the First Flights page to learn more about the program, read about the book, and see a video of me (coming soon!). And if you're a librarian, bookseller, or reviewer, you can sign up to receive an ARC and join our webchat March 26th from 4-5 pm.  Only book professionals can participate in the webchat, but it will be archived online for anyone to read.