Everything I Never Told You

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year • A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • Winner of the Alex Award and the Massachusetts Book Award • Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Grantland Booklist, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Shelf Awareness, Book Riot, School Library Journal, Bustle, and Time Our New York

The acclaimed debut novel by the author of Little Fires Everywhere and Our Missing Hearts

“A taut tale of ever deepening and quickening suspense.” —O, the Oprah Magazine

Explosive . . . Both a propulsive mystery and a profound examination of a mixed-race family.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

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Published May 12, 2015

336 pages

Average rating: 7

810 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Everything I Never Told You* is a moving, character-driven story about family, identity, and racial tensions, praised for Celeste Ng’s ev...

Taylor
Feb 23, 2025
4/10 stars
Overrated and underwhelming.
Khris Sellin
Jul 05, 2024
8/10 stars
Heartbreaking story about family, loss, missed opportunities, and misunderstandings. We never really know each other.
Denise Lauron
May 19, 2024
8/10 stars
I enjoyed this story, but I think that there were way too many topics that intersect in it. Racial, generational, LGBT, and feminist issues all pop up, but, then again, they do in everyday life. Each person isn't just one thing, and this family certainly isn't, either.

I would recommend the book. It is definitely worth reading.
Mary Pat Holt
Feb 05, 2026
8/10 stars
I liked this book. A lot. There is so much more going on than just a teenage daughter who died. Great title for this book. So many things unsaid between Marilyn & James, Marilyn & Lydia, James & Nath & Lydia & Nath. Very well written, good character development. I liked that the story was told in 3rd person-you get to see each character's perspective. It was a moving story, at times sad, about family, family history, racial tensions & how we all struggle to understand each other.
KelSpinski
Jan 09, 2026
8/10 stars
Incredible story about a chinese/american family growing up in the 70s. The struggles with inter-racial relations and children. Amazing stroy. Loved every minute of it.

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