Everything I Never Told You in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

May 26, 2015 Kim Marques rated it really liked it

So, part of me wanted to give this a lower rating because of how heavy handed the "parents putting pressures on their kids so they can live the lives they never had" trope was. I get it: mom wanted to be a dr so now she's pressuring her daughter to be a dr. Dad wanted to fit in so now he's pressuring her to find friends. Bang me over the head with that again, please.

But when it comes down to it? This was so engaging that I finished it in 2 days. I didn't necessarily LIKE any of the characters, b ...more

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Aug 10, 2015 Renata rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, grownup

This book was very sad. (on purpose.)

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Jul 24, 2016 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, book-club

I really enjoyed Everything I Never Told You, a book about families and about letting ourselves get trapped in situations of our own devising.

The book opens by telling us that Lydia is dead. She's a teenage girl, half-white and half-Chinese, in 1970s Ohio, and she has drowned in a lake. The book moves backward from there, telling us about Lydia's childhood and her parents' childhoods and taking us up, finally, to the fateful moment at the lake.

Lydia's father, James, was born and raised in the Un I really enjoyed Everything I Never Told You, a book about families and about letting ourselves get trapped in situations of our own devising.

The book opens by telling us that Lydia is dead. She's a teenage girl, half-white and half-Chinese, in 1970s Ohio, and she has drowned in a lake. The book moves backward from there, telling us about Lydia's childhood and her parents' childhoods and taking us up, finally, to the fateful moment at the lake.

Lydia's father, James, was born and raised in the United States, but as the only Chinese child surrounded by white children, he always felt picked on and inferior for his race, and he has internalized a lot of that hatred. His wife, Marilyn, is a white woman who wanted to be a doctor but felt held back because of her gender; she sought out James because he was different from everyone else around her, and she hoped that they could make a life that was different and new and better than the stifling world she grew up in. They have three children, but Lydia is their golden child. James finds himself directing a lot of his self-loathing at their eldest son, Nath, who reminds him too much of himself, and Marilyn piles all her unfulfilled hopes and dreams on Lydia. Their youngest daughter, Hannah, is mostly left to fend for herself while mom and dad direct all their attention at Lydia. The children are extremely aware of this imbalance - Lydia is embarrassed and guilty about it, Nath resents it and dreams of escaping, and Hannah retreats into herself and just observes everyone around her while being largely unnoticed. Lydia tries to be the perfect child in hopes that she can keep her family together and happy, but she's having a harder and harder time holding everything together.

The book does an excellent job of keeping the actual situation of Lydia's death a mystery up till the very end while wrestling with a lot of issues about race and families and unrealistic expectations. It's fascinating to watch the family struggle to hold things together while Lydia is still alive, and then try to come to terms with the meaning of her death and how they can keep interacting with each other after she's gone. Everything I Never Told You is not a perfect book; Lydia's magical thinking gives the whole book a somewhat juvenile feeling. But there's a lot here that's done really well, and I'm glad I read the book. ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Stacey rated it really liked it

A haunting look into the lives of a grieving family; their complex histories, baggage, and dreams for a better life for their children, but also how those dreams can do their own damage. So hard to read, but beautifully written.

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Dec 01, 2017 Heather Griffitts Clark rated it did not like it

Shelves: fiction, kcls-audio-book, kcls-ebook, kcls-hard-copy-book, kcls-audio-cd

This was the worst book ever. The plot dragged and had no real point. The two main characters often acted as they would have in the 2000s. Not the 1950s - 70s. Very unrealistic.

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