All the Things We Don't Talk About
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A “big-hearted, lively, and expansive portrait of a family” that follows a neurodivergent father, his nonbinary teenager, and the sudden, catastrophic reappearance of the woman who abandoned them (Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author).
Morgan Flowers just wants to hide. Raised by their neurodivergent father, Morgan has grown up haunted by the absence of their mysterious mother Zoe, especially now, as they navigate their gender identity and the turmoil of first love. Their father Julian has raised Morgan with care, but he can’t quite fill the gap left by the dazzling and destructive Zoe, who fled to Europe on Morgan’s first birthday. And when Zoe is dumped by her girlfriend Brigid, she suddenly comes crashing back into Morgan and Julian’s lives, poised to disrupt the fragile peace they have so carefully cultivated.
Through it all, Julian and Brigid have become unlikely pen-pals and friends, united by the knowledge of what it’s like to love and lose Zoe; they both know that she hasn’t changed. Despite the red flags, Morgan is swiftly drawn into Zoe’s glittering orbit and into a series of harmful missteps, and Brigid may be the only link that can pull them back from the edge. A story of betrayal and trauma alongside queer love and resilience, ALL THE THINGS WE DON’T TALK ABOUT is a celebration of and a reckoning with the power and unintentional pain of a thoroughly modern family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Feltman (Willa & Hesper) crafts a nuanced portrait of a nonbinary teen's coming-of-age amid intense family dynamics. Growing up just north of New York City, 17-year-old Morgan is trying to navigate gender identity and their first romance without much of a road map. Morgan's father, Julian, is neurodivergent, and their mother, Zoe, has been largely absent from their life after fleeing to Europe on their first birthday. Then, following a breakup with her longtime partner, Brigid, Zoe spectacularly crashes back onto the scene, trailing chaos in her wake and promising glamour and adventure, but only succeeding in undermining Morgan's fragile sense of trust. Julian and Morgan's relationship, meanwhile, is portrayed thoughtfully and, at times, poignantly, such as their work together on a 5,000-piece puzzle and their shared PB&Js. Morgan is authentically awkward in their exploration of gender expression, such as a scene in an airport ("They stood in front of the two bathroom choices and, defeated, went into the choice that meant they were invisible"). Not all of this works; a thread involving social media doxing nearly tips into unbelievability, and Zoe and Brigid's outsize but murky wealth too frequently advances the plot. In the end, though, Feltman brings empathy and moments of grace to her characters. This is worth a look.
