Everything I Never Told You in Busy as a Bee Books

Sep 16, 2014 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, _own-home-library, _own-ebook, read-in-2014

This is a wonderful little novel about an interracial family (Chinese American) grieving for the loss of a teenage daughter. I don't want to tell you much about the plot of the book because I think it was all the more enjoyable by reading it with very little context or information. What I will tell you is that it's a wonderful story that explores racism, community, and emotional baggage.

The characters are wonderful and feel very real and raw for most of the novel. There is a realism about this ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2015 Karli rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016, kim

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really enjoyed this book. The writing, characters, setting - all fantastic and well written.

This book also made me feel like and amazing, awesome mother. I am NOT the best mother in history, but Marilyn's mothering makes me cringe.

Lydia is the favorite, perfect child. She has an older brother, Nath who is good, smart and kind. He gets no attention. She has a younger sister Hannah, who has virtually no place in her family because she hides and keeps out of the way. Unfortunately the reason tha ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2018 Erika Hayes rated it really liked it

Great look into the life of this family, the struggles of racism and how it goes deeper than skin color. The struggle of bi-racial children and of their parents. The author skips from family member to family member to tell the pains and joys of this family. While not a fan of head popping, in this instance, the author did a wonderful job keeping characters and the internal monologues distinct The book deals with what most families struggle with -- secrets. Each person has a different view of wha ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2015 Jen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Very well written emotional powerhouse of a read. Not very uplifting however, even at the end where the pieces all come together and resolve I'm not left feeling very optimistic. It's a really amazing portrait of a family in long term, and then immediate crisis. Well written but nothing I haven't seen before. ...more

1 like · Like · see review