She, likewise, has her own dreams, but her marriage to James rather puts the kibosh on those. James, the husband, is a second generation immigrant has a definite chip on his shoulder about being the outsider, and this plays a role in his attraction to Marilyn – an all American sweetheart. Particularly effective is the description of her parents’ relationship. But the real magic of the book is how Ng explores each family member’s relationship to her, and to each other. There is plenty of intrigue as the family try to sort the truth from the lies to find out what happened to Lydia. Rather, it’s a careful and nuanced family portrait. You might expect this type of story to be a thriller, but it isn’t. How can it be that Lydia spends every evening talking to her friends on the phone, but after she dies it becomes clear that she doesn’t have friends at school? What happened when Lydia’s mother also went missing, but returned, when Lydia was just a child? And what do her brother and little sister know about what has happened to her? Family portrait And as time progresses, it becomes clear that there is much more going on beneath the surface. It’s about her family.Īs speculation grows over what happened to Lydia, her family starts to unravel.

‘Everything I Never Told You’ is about a girl who goes missing and is found dead in a lake near to her family home.Įxcept it’s not, really. Or it would also make an excellent one-sitting read curled up in a window seat with lots of cushions.

When should you read this book? As I did, on a beach.

Everything inever told you