Book 27 - Never Been So Happy to Bid Teenage Hormones ADIEU

Title: Everything I Never Told You Author: Celeste Ng Genre: family tragedy fiction

Damn. This book hit me hard. There is something so absolutely heartbreaking about the ways parents can fuck up their kids, without even meaning too. Their own scars have the potential to not only be passed down, but magnified a million percent in their own children. And siblings, too. The things children say to each other, the "lessons" they impart on each other - they can be wonderful, but they can be devastating.

Yeesh.

Besides having a significantly depressing effect on my mood, this book was great. Every moment by nose wasn't stuck in this book was a wasted on; I wanted to know more about this family, about the events that eventually lead up to Lydia Lee's disappearance. That's a skill Celeste Ng has mastered; writing palpable characters, showing the inner and outer workings of their lives, and making them so, so real your heart just breaks for them. I am especially impressed with how Ng manages to capture the frustrations that come along with being a teenager - or, at least, frustrations with which I can identify (as I was one surly teen, let me tell you...). The body-aching need to fit in, but be different. The emotions so intense you want to tear off your own skin. And of course, the desperate desire to please. To be liked, and loved - even just noticed. Powerful stuff.

Now, I am going to find something happy and less relatable to shake off this funk.

PS...

If you liked Everything I Never Told You, or you're thinking you might like to read some of Celeste Ng's work but are finding yourself discouraged by my super! upbeat! review!, I strongly suggest checking out Little Fires Everywhere, which I read and reviewed earlier this year. Happy reading!!