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Everything I Never Told You
'Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet.' A whole family that never said what they meant, and the daughter who paid for it.
Who it's for
The novel opens with Lydia already dead, then shows how her mother's thwarted dream of becoming a doctor and her father's longing for her to fit in pushed her into constant pleasing.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Everything I Never Told You is Celeste Ng's 2014 debut novel, set in 1970s Ohio. It opens with the discovery that Lydia, the middle child of the Lee family, has drowned in a nearby lake. Her parents, James, a Chinese-American academic, and Marilyn, learn that the daughter they thought was thriving had been lonely and struggling.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain in the US.
Before you start
Heads up: A teen's drowning, possibly suicide.
Age: Ages 16+
The roots below the earth claim no rewards for making the branches fruitful.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 134
