Book Series Guide

Celeste Ng

Author guide

Celeste Ng Books in Order

Celeste Ng is an American novelist who grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan. She is the author of three novels: Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts. Her fiction and essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Guardian. She has received a Pushcart Prize, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

literary fictiondomestic fictionmysterydystopian fiction

Catalog record updated .

Celeste Ng's Newest Book

Cover of Our Missing Hearts

Our Missing Hearts

novel · First published 2022

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. Then one day Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will learn the truth about what happened to his mother and what the future holds for them both. Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children and the power of art to create change.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You

Start with Ng's debut novel and read the novels in publication order.

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (3)
  1. Everything I Never Told You

    novel · 2014

    "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet. So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home,…

  2. Little Fires Everywhere

    novel · 2017

    In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this…

  3. Our Missing Hearts

    novel · 2022

    Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old.…

Frequently asked questions about Celeste Ng

Where did Celeste Ng grow up?

Celeste Ng grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. Her upbringing in Shaker Heights later informed her attention to community, conformity, and race.

Sources: celesteng.com (opens in a new tab)time.com (opens in a new tab)

What is Celeste Ng’s cultural background?

Ng identifies as Asian American, and her parents immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong. Her writing often explores the complexities and diversity of Asian American identity.

Source: time.com (opens in a new tab)

What did Celeste Ng study, and how did she become a writer?

She earned an AB from Harvard University and an MFA from the University of Michigan. As a student, encouragement from teachers and the supportive writing community at Michigan helped her pursue writing professionally.

Sources: radcliffe.harvard.edu (opens in a new tab)alumni.umich.edu (opens in a new tab)

What themes and experiences influence Celeste Ng’s fiction?

Her fiction examines cultural identity, family, gender, race, community, and immigrant experiences. Her childhood in Shaker Heights, personal experiences as an Asian American, and contemporary issues such as anti-Asian racism have shaped her storytelling.

Sources: radcliffe.harvard.edu (opens in a new tab)time.com (opens in a new tab)

What awards and honors has Celeste Ng received?

Ng has received a Pushcart Prize, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors. She has also supported literary diversity through initiatives such as an internship grant program created with We Need Diverse Books.

Sources: celesteng.com (opens in a new tab)radcliffe.harvard.edu (opens in a new tab)