A family is torn apart by tragedy in small-town '70s Ohio

In the first sentence of Celeste Ng’s debut novel, readers discover that Lydia Lee, the adored middle child of a mixed-race family, is dead. Her parents and two siblings are undone by the tragedy, and with each page the events that led to the moment of Lydia’s death are gradually revealed. Ng dissects the dynamics of the Lee family and examines race and gender in small-town ’70s Ohio through characters who are utterly real and emotionally convincing. 

Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng, $31.