from Goodreads

Scrappymags 3-word review: Painful, compelling reality

Shortest summary ever: It’s the 1970’s. We know immediately that Lydia is dead. She’s the child they’ve pinned all their unfulfilled aspirations on. The story is about how she died – what led up to this moment from everyone’s perspective – her parents, her brother, her sister, a strange new friend…

What’s good under the hood: It’s poetically sad. Haunting. Gut-check time for any parents out there. Ng completely devastated me. As a teacher, I’ve met “Lydias”, particularly where I once taught in an upper-class school. Parents can be relentless in their pursuit for what they think is best for their children, and many possess admirable intentions. The Lydias I’ve met are perpetually alone, perpetually unhappy and perpetually at risk. I’d like to never meet a Lydia again. What I particularly loved about the novel was the vividly portrayed characters – how I felt I knew each intimately. I could crawl into their minds and FEEL. Amazing writing. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to teach this book in a class.

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What’s bad or made me mad: Nothing.

Recommend to: I recommend this to everyone – it even fits into the YA category.
Anyone who wants all the “feels”.
So I’ll tell you I do NOT recommend it to anyone who is not in the mood for serious or sad. It’s both.