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Everything I Never Told You cover art

Everything I Never Told You

By: Celeste Ng
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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Publisher's Summary

Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee - a girl who inherited her mother's bright-blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair.

Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfil the dreams they were unable to pursue. But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in 1970s small town Ohio. Her father is an American born of Chinese immigrants and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous.

When Lydia's body is found in a lake, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable. Lydia's brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is involved. But it's the youngest in the family - Hannah - who may be the only one who knows what really happened.

©2014 Celeste Ng (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic Reviews

"[A] moving tale...of daughters for whom cultural disconnect is but the first challenge." (Vogue)

"The mysterious circumstances of 16-year-old Lydia Lee's tragic death have her loved ones wondering how, exactly, she spent her free time. This ghostly debut novel calls to mind The Lovely Bones." (Marie Claire)

"There is much here that might impress Pulitzer and Man Booker judges." (Mark Lawson, Guardian)

What listeners say about Everything I Never Told You

Average Customer Ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, great narration.

Really liked it; sensitive characterization, interesting story and background. I sometimes wondered if the parents weren't characterised as a little too oblivious to their children's needs. Top points for narration - the narrator has a fascinating yet comfortable voice, with a slightly ironic tome that added to the story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

Sorry, it was just so slow! Started well then nothing seemed to happen. Gave up at half way.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Great character development, Celeste Ng’s books are all remarkable and should be read by all.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a sad story

A story of sacrifice, forgiveness and how our own childhood unknowingly affects our children.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Frustrating for many reasons, but well narrated

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

As I found the characters at the centre of this story very frustrating, I probably would not recommend it.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect of the story was the central line of inquiry: Lydia's life, activities, feelings. Was this murder, or suicide? This part of the story took a long time to unravel. While it was very satisfying to finally know what was going on with Lydia, the time it took to get to her was frustrating.

The least interesting aspect of the story wasn't so much "uninteresting" as "cliched" -- James Lee's choices after his daughter's death probably provided the least merit in the story.

Did Everything I Never Told You inspire you to do anything?

Communicate with my family! While listening to this story I often felt extreme anger and frustration at each remaining family member -- Marilyn's selfishness and inability to accept her children for who they were; James's inability to learn to communicate with his son; Nathan's refusal to speak to police about his suspicions or to speak up within his family; the parents' constant and literal ignorance of the two children who weren't Lydia. This family's story was a definite "what not to do" for family life.

Any additional comments?

The ending was much neater than I had anticipated partway through -- it didn't seem detrimental to the story overall though, and provided some hope for the family's future.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

a reflection on how we see our own hopes and dream

make sure you get increase the speed of narration or else the narration will seem very slow and drawn out

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story

A really wonderful, yet heartbreaking story. As always, Cassandra Campbell does an amazing job narrating.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So pleased I ignored the bad reviews.

What a brilliant analysis of racism, helicopter parenting and 'man's inhumanity to man'. It prompted me to think about my attitude to my own family. In parts it was shocking - was it only 40 years ago when marriage outside you own race was frowned upon and openly derided?
There were so many epiphany moments in this book I have lost count.
Also, the narrator was excellent - her voice was clear, sometimes mellifluous, sometimes angry, sometimes child-like. I cannot believe that some called it morose. This novel should not be missed and I'm looking forward to more books from this author.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not bad

Narrator's voice was annoying butbthe storyline helped to keep me interested.
The characters are well developed

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Ele
  • 30-07-2019

Brilliant

I loved this story it’s poignant, heartfelt sad..
and I liked the narration a lot

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2 people found this helpful

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