Reviews tagging Racial slurs

Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng

148 reviews

kelley_beth's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A strong start to the new year. This was lovely. And so heart wrenching and I couldn’t put it down. The nuance of family relationships and the weight of expectations. It almost had an element of “murder mystery” that made you wonder if how Lydia died is how Lydia really died. But it’s mainly about the family dynamic and how hard and fraught those relationships can be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Sexism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Abandonment

ptitirodactyle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Homophobia, and Sexism

Minor: Outing and Death of parent

kelhutch68's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, Sexism, and Grief

emmilou18's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, and Grief

ellereadsalot's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was fully ready to rate this book 5 stars until I read the twist ending that undercuts the first 80% of the book. Don't get me wrong though: it's beautifully and expertly written. The characters are richly described, have deep inner lives, and have exquisitely unique senses of their self. I appreciated the exploration of family dynamics at play, as well as seeing things from the point of view of characters of color as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book...except for the last 30 pages, which I will discuss in the spoiler tag below.

Spoiler

The catalyst for the entire novel is because Lydia had an accident. Even her death robbed her of her agency. I was going to give this book a five-out-of-five rating because I thought I was reading an actual true-to-life account of a teen struggling with depression, but no. She drowns on accident. Because her foot missed the dock when she was climbing out of the boat.

This book is just another example of literary fiction grief porn. Lydia "had to" die for her family to learn how to live. Even her death is only meaningful to those who are living. Even her death was taken away as a thing meant just for her.

I was hugely disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Grief, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Child death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Racism

dmonsees's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

afion's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Grief, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape, Body horror, and Death of parent

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I didn’t love this book but I can see how people do.

What I did like is that it centers around a normal, everyday family. No fantastical story arcs, twists and turns, or serial killers hidden throughout the pages. Just… real people.

What I didn’t love was how slow of a slow burn it was. It was a long, loooong character study of the Lee family—each grappling with the struggles of life and how lack of communication can slowly destroy relationships. The nature of the book is also very heavy, which (somehow) caught me off guard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Infidelity

Moderate: Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Racism

pitschi's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Death

Moderate: Infidelity and Racial slurs

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A novel about missed opportunities and words that were never said, this book is sad and thoughtful. It makes you question what you might do differently if the people you love were suddenly no longer here with us. Ng’s books are well-crafted — full of beautiful prose. I can’t wait for her newest novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Stalking, Child death, Xenophobia, Outing, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Suicide attempt, Racism, Infidelity, and Grief