Celeste Ng Popular Books

Celeste Ng Biography & Facts

Celeste Ng (Chinese: 伍綺詩 sə-LEST ING) (born July 30, 1980) is an American writer and novelist. She has released many short stories that have been published in a variety of literary journals. Ng's first novel, Everything I Never Told You, released on June 26, 2014, won the Amazon Book of the Year award as well as praise from critics. Ng's short story Girls at Play won a Pushcart Prize in 2012, and was a 2015 recipient of an Alex Award. Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, was published in 2017. The TV-miniseries based on the book premiered in 2020. Ng received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020. Her most recent novel, Our Missing Hearts, was released on October 4, 2022. Early life and education Celeste Ng was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her parents moved from Hong Kong in the late 1960s. Her father Dr. Daniel L. Ng (d. 2004) was a physicist at NASA in the John H. Glenn Research Center (formerly known as the NASA Lewis Research Center). Her mother was a chemist who taught at Cleveland State University.When Ng was ten years old, she moved from Pittsburgh to Shaker Heights, Ohio with her parents and sister. She attended the schools in the Shaker Heights City School District, from Woodbury Elementary all the way up to Shaker Heights High School. At Shaker Heights High School, Ng was involved with the Student Group on Race Relations ("SGORR") for three years and was a co-editor of the school's literary magazine, Semanteme. She graduated from high school in 1998. After graduating from high school, Ng studied English at Harvard University. She then attended graduate school at University of Michigan, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in writing, now the Helen Zell Writers' Program. At the University of Michigan, Ng won the Hopwood Award for her short story "What Passes Over". Career Ng received the Pushcart Prize in 2012 for her story "Girls, At Play". Her fiction has appeared in One Story, TriQuarterly, and Subtropics. Her essays have appeared in Kenyon Review Online, The Millions, and elsewhere. Ng taught writing at the University of Michigan and at Grub Street in Boston. Ng also was an editor of blogs at the website Fiction Writers Review for three years.Ng's debut novel, Everything I Never Told You: A Novel, is a literary thriller that focuses on an American family in 1970s Ohio. The novel had four drafts and one revision before completion, which took six years. Working on it, Ng said she drew upon her own experiences of racism as well as her family and friends. The book, which the Los Angeles Times called an "excellent first novel about family, love, and ambition," won Amazon's book of the year award in 2014 and was a New York Times Notable Book of 2014. It has been translated into 15 languages. In 2020, it was reported that Annapurna Television would develop the novel into a limited series. Ng and Mary Lee of production company A-Major Media will serve as executive producers.Ng's second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, is set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and follows two families, one a mother and daughter, that challenge the boundaries and culture of the town. The novel was developed into a 2020 Hulu miniseries of the same name starring and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington; Ng also served as one of the show's producers. Ng's third novel, Our Missing Hearts, is set in a future where America has legitimized racism, particularly against those of Asian descent, and stifled free expression. It follows a 12 year-old boy of Chinese descent named Bird who rediscovers his dissident mother's art. The novel released in October 2022. Personal life As of 2014, Ng resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and son.While on a book tour for Everything I Never Told You, Ng said her favorite book as a child was Harriet the Spy. As an adult, one of her favorite books is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.In 2018, when the American government separated the children and parents of undocumented immigrant families, Ng used her Twitter account to call attention to the policy. Ng and a group of other writers auctioned naming rights of future characters in their books. The goal was to raise money for Immigrant Families Together, a volunteer group dedicated to reuniting migrant families. Bibliography Everything I Never Told You. Penguin Press. 2014. ISBN 978-1594205712. "Girls, At Play". Pushcart Prize 2012 Anthology (XXXVI 2012 ed.). 2012. ISBN 978-1888889635. Little Fires Everywhere. Penguin Press. 2017. ISBN 978-0735224315. Our Missing Hearts. Penguin Press. 2022. ISBN 978-0593492543.References External links Official website. Discover the Celeste Ng popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Celeste Ng books.

Best Seller Celeste Ng Books of 2024

  • Little Disasters synopsis, comments

    Little Disasters

    Sarah Vaughan

    “Taut, clever, compelling, and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.” Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the WaterFrom...

  • Where the Truth Lies synopsis, comments

    Where the Truth Lies

    Anna Bailey

    A teenaged girl’s disappearance brings her community’s most devastating secrets to light in this “compelling and nuanced psychological thriller suffused with small town prejudice a...

  • Heatstroke synopsis, comments

    Heatstroke

    Hazel Barkworth

    'A thrilling look at mothers and daughters, adolescence, sex, suburbia and secrets' NELL FRIZZELL In the middle of a stifling suburban heatwave, fifteenyearold Lily doesn't come ho...

  • The Anatomy of Dreams synopsis, comments

    The Anatomy of Dreams

    Chloe Benjamin

    Discover the awardwinning debut novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists, a “majestic collision of scifi thriller and love story” (Bustle) about a young w...

  • Our Missing Hearts synopsis, comments

    Our Missing Hearts

    Celeste Ng

    An instant New York Times bestseller A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Ti...

  • The Never-Ending Summer synopsis, comments

    The Never-Ending Summer

    Emma Kennedy

    'Emma Kennedy's books are as funny, warm and lifeinspiring as she is' Jenny Colgan'An excellent read. I loved all the characters' Claudia Winkleman'A warm, funny and truly lifeaffi...

  • The Still Point synopsis, comments

    The Still Point

    Tammy Greenwood

    Dance Moms meets Little Fires Everywhere in award winning author Tammy Greenwood’s addictive new novel set in the hyper cutthroat world of ballet girls and their mothers as they co...

  • The Orange Girl synopsis, comments

    The Orange Girl

    Jostein Gaarder

    From the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a modern fairy tale with a philosophical twist.'It should be read by all' VOGUE'My father died eleven years ago. I was only four then. I never th...

  • The House on the Lake synopsis, comments

    The House on the Lake

    Nuala Ellwood

    No matter how far you run . . .He's never far behind'Gripping, poignant' Rosamund Lupton'Eerily haunting' Jane Corry'I literally couldn't put it down' Emma CurtisLisa needs to disa...

  • The Gravity of Birds synopsis, comments

    The Gravity of Birds

    Tracy Guzeman

    A debut novel already destined to be a book club favorite. “With its deft interweaving of psychological complexity and riveting narrative momentum, with its gorgeous prose and poet...

  • The Winter Sister synopsis, comments

    The Winter Sister

    Megan Collins

    A “haunting debut: suspenseful, atmospheric, and completely riveting” (Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls) about a young woman who returns ho...

  • We All Love the Beautiful Girls synopsis, comments

    We All Love the Beautiful Girls

    Joanne Proulx

    Perfect for fans of Rick Moody, Lauren Groff, and Celeste Ng, a propulsive literary breakout about three suburban families whose lives spiral dangerously out of control after trage...

  • Light Shining in the Forest synopsis, comments

    Light Shining in the Forest

    Paul Torday

    'An unsettling, haunting story...memorable, atmospheric and tense' THE LADY'Wellwritten, wellcrafted and constantly gripping' DAILY MAIL'A disquieting and atmospheric psychological...

  • The Perfect Family synopsis, comments

    The Perfect Family

    Robyn Harding

    The bestselling author of the The Swap takes you “on a wild psychological ride with this addictive thriller” (Palm Beach Daily News) about what happens when a seemingly perfect fam...

  • Bad Fruit synopsis, comments

    Bad Fruit

    Ella King

    “[A] blistering psychological thriller.” The New York Times Book Review"A compelling debut that fizzes with tension from start to finish, blending the subtle erudition of lite...

  • The World According to Anna synopsis, comments

    The World According to Anna

    Jostein Gaarder & Donald Bartlett

    When fifteenyearold Anna begins receiving messages from another time, her parents take her to the doctor. But he can find nothing wrong; in fact he believes there may be some truth...

  • What Could Be Saved synopsis, comments

    What Could Be Saved

    Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

    When a mysterious man claims to be her longmissing brother, a woman must confront her family’s closely guarded secrets in this “delicious hybrid of mystery, drama, and elegance” (J...

  • White Ivy synopsis, comments

    White Ivy

    Susie Yang

    “A truly addictive read” (Glamour) about how a young woman’s crush on a privileged former classmate becomes a story of love, lies, and dark obsession, offering stark insights into ...

  • Together synopsis, comments

    Together

    Julie Cohen

    RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER BOOK CLUB PICK 2018'This big, clever, tender and twisty love story reminded me of One Day & The Time Traveler's Wife' Erin Kelly, author of He Said, She...

  • A Love Story for Bewildered Girls synopsis, comments

    A Love Story for Bewildered Girls

    Emma Morgan

    'An utterly gorgeous novel. It will forever hold my heart in its pages' Pandora Sykes, cohost of The HighLow podcastGrace loves a woman. Annie loves a man. Violet isn't quite sure....

  • The Books That Changed My Life synopsis, comments

    The Books That Changed My Life

    Bethanne Patrick

    One hundred of today’s most prominent literary and cultural icons talk about the books that hold a special place in their heartsthat made them who they are today.Leading authors, p...

  • We Are All Good People Here synopsis, comments

    We Are All Good People Here

    Susan Rebecca White

    From the author of A Place at the Table and A Soft Place to Land, an “intense, complex, and wholly immersive” (Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author) multigenerationa...

  • The Book of Delights synopsis, comments

    The Book of Delights

    Ross Gay

    As Heard on NPR's This American Life: The New York Times bestselling book that celebrates ordinary delights in the world around us by one of America's most original ...

  • The Spanish Daughter synopsis, comments

    The Spanish Daughter

    Lorena Hughes

    “An engrossing, suspenseful family saga filled with unpredictable twists and turns.” Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana“With an equal mix of h...

  • More Than You Can Say synopsis, comments

    More Than You Can Say

    Paul Torday

    The bestselling author of SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN returns with a Buchanesque thriller.'Torday has an extraordinary gift for making apparent "normality" look sinister and strang...

  • At Sea synopsis, comments

    At Sea

    Emma Fedor

    What happens when the man you love most in the world unexpectedly disappears and takes your small child with him? Emma Fedor’s “wonderful, haunting, and original” (Katherine Faulkn...

  • Little Fires Everywhere Summary synopsis, comments

    Little Fires Everywhere Summary

    The Summary Guy

    Little Fires Everywhere: A Complete Summary Celeste Ng’s novel Little Fires Everywhere takes place in Shaker Heights, Ohio in the summer of 1997. On a Saturday in May, the Richa...

  • My Kind of People synopsis, comments

    My Kind of People

    Lisa Duffy

    From the author of The Salt House and This Is Home comes a profound novel about the power of community and a small town’s longburied secrets as a group of New England islanders com...

  • The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall synopsis, comments

    The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall

    Paul Torday

    Hartlepool Hall has been in Ed's family for generations but is that about to change, and who is the mysterious Lady Alice?'A deliciously dark comedy about class, snobbery and a va...

  • What We Kept to Ourselves synopsis, comments

    What We Kept to Ourselves

    Nancy Jooyoun Kim

    This timely and surprising novel about a family’s search for answers following the disappearance of their mother from the New York Times bestselling author Nancy Jooyoun Kim explor...

  • Ridley Road synopsis, comments

    Ridley Road

    Jo Bloom

    NOW A MAJOR BBC ONE DRAMA starring Rory Kinnear, Tamzin Outhwaite, TracyAnn ObermanA TALE OF LOVE AND MORALITY SET IN THE DARK SIDE OF THE SWINGING SIXTIES'Vivid, cinematic and exc...

  • A Death at the Party synopsis, comments

    A Death at the Party

    Amy Stuart

    In this tense, spellbinding thriller set over the course of a single day, a woman prepares for a party that goes dreadfully wrongfor fans of Ashley Audrain and Lisa Jewell.Nadine W...

  • Radical Hope synopsis, comments

    Radical Hope

    Carolina de Robertis

    Radical Hope is a collection of lettersto ancestors, to children five generations from now, to strangers in grocery lines, to any and all who feel weary and discouragedwritten by a...

  • Little Fires Everywhere synopsis, comments

    Little Fires Everywhere

    Instant-Summary

    Little Fires Everywhere A Comprehensive Summary CHAPTER 1 The first chapter of the book serves as an introduction into the book. We are introduced to the town of Shaker Heights,...

  • Mother Mother synopsis, comments

    Mother Mother

    Annie Macmanus

    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER, JUNE 2021'Annie Macmanus is a writer whose understanding and capturing of human nature comes as easily to her as breathing' CANDICE CARTYWILLIA...

  • The Castle in the Pyrenees synopsis, comments

    The Castle in the Pyrenees

    Jostein Gaarder

    Two former lovers are brought back together ... but can they really trust their pasts? The new novel from the bestselling author of SOPHIE'S WORLD.Through five intense years in the...

  • Dark Rivers to Cross synopsis, comments

    Dark Rivers to Cross

    Lynne Reeves

    For fans of Hannah Mary McKinnon and Kimberley Belle, this emotionally charged thriller explores longburied family secrets and the deadly reckoning that often follows their explosi...

  • Dinner with the Schnabels synopsis, comments

    Dinner with the Schnabels

    Toni Jordan

    'I loved every page of this funny, warm, delightful novel!' LIANE MORIARTY'A smart, funny novel about love, marriage and family.' Weekend Australian'With sharply observed character...

  • Ploughshares Summer 2020 Guest-edited by Celeste Ng synopsis, comments

    Ploughshares Summer 2020 Guest-edited by Celeste Ng

    Celeste Ng

    The Summer 2020 Issue. Ploughshares is an awardwinning journal of new writing. Since 1971, Ploughshares has discovered and cultivated the freshest voices in contemporary American l...

  • You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here synopsis, comments

    You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here

    Frances Macken

    'This atmospheric debut looks like a rural Irish comingofage novel, but it’s cleverer, darker, more unreliable.' Daily MailAN IRISH INDEPENDENT BEST BOOK OF THE YEARAN IRISH INDEPE...

  • The Last Of The Bonegilla Girls synopsis, comments

    The Last Of The Bonegilla Girls

    Victoria Purman

    A postSecond World War story of strong female ties and family, secrets and lies, set in the multicultural Australia of the fifties.Can the Bonegilla girls defeat their past? Or wil...

  • House on Fire synopsis, comments

    House on Fire

    Bonnie Kistler

    “A masterfully written saga of family drama in the vein of Celeste Ng, Liane Moriarty, and Sally Hepworth” (Book Reporter) about a blended family in crisis after a drunk driving ac...