This book made me reflect on the complexities of family relationships and how the past can shape the present. I connected with the Chu siblings right away, even though their dynamics were messy and strained. I felt their awkwardness and hesitation as they reunited after years apart, and I admired how the story didn’t shy away from showing their flaws. I loved the way the road trip to the Grand Canyon unfolded. I found myself completely drawn in by the tension and mystery surrounding the aborted trip from thirty years ago. As the siblings began to confront their childhood experience, I felt their emotions so vividly—frustration, sadness, and even moments of humor. It reminded me how shared family histories can be both painful and healing.

Overall, I thought this was a touching and thought-provoking read. The mix of humor, heartache, and family dynamics kept me engaged from start to finish. It’s a story that will stay with me, and I’m so glad I got to experience it.

The story of estranged siblings who must come together to honor their parents wishes and road trip home to see their mother after a stroke. There is tension between the younger two as well as personal struggles they are each experiencing. We find out that in thr back of everyone’s mind is also an incident that happened 30 years ago during an aborted trip to the Grand Canyon. They’ve never discussed this trip before. During their time on the road they discuss many things, including that long ago trip, as well as the struggles they are each having today.

This story does a good job of addressing the racism that Asian Americans experience - touching on things such as the fact that they are frequently told they all look alike (they don’t), and being accused of bringing the covid virus to this country. It also does a good job of developing 3D realistic characters. It also makes me want to drive Route 66!

I am grateful to the publisher and NetGalley who provided this advance copy for reading.

Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex have drifted apart over the years and are brought back together on a trip requested by their mother, who uses her health concerns as ammunition. Their differing views have become contentious over the years, and the hours they must spend together will not be the easiest.

The story alternates between their road trip and a traumatic event that happened in their childhood that prevented them from seeing the Grand Canyon so many years ago.

The way that the relationships between immigrant parents and children and the microaggressions against Asians that are portrayed in this book are extremely relatable for me. The persistent negativity from Kevin and constant bickering did take a toll on me, but there was true development as the storyline developed.

The writing was good but not particularly memorable, and this was an enjoyable read overall.

Synopsis: Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex’s mother, seriously ill, makes a request before their impending visit home: she wants the siblings to visit the Grand Canyon and complete a journey the family had begun thirty years ago but abandoned for mysterious reasons. Despite their geographic (and to some extent, emotional) separation, the Chu siblings then embark on a road trip on Route 66, a path that will expose secrets and prejudices and cause each to reevaluate the meaning of family and heritage.

Review: Li rewrites the American road trip novel from the perspectives of three Americans with Taiwanese heritage. Read this book for the characters, who are likable, complex, and interesting. Their narratives are interspersed with flashbacks documenting the events of the first attempt to visit the Canyon. These passages provide glimpses of the family dynamics that shaped the Chus. They are also meant to create narrative tension, but I found the “secret” at the heart of the flashbacks unsurprising. WHAT WE LEFT UNSAID best suits readers who wish to document Americana via the interests and concerns of multiculturalism.

Winnie M. Li’s *What We Left Unsaid* is a powerful and engaging novel that mixes family drama with important social issues. It follows the Chu siblings—Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex—on a road trip to the Grand Canyon that their mother insists on before she passes away. This journey brings them back together after years apart and forces them to confront old childhood memories while exploring their Asian American identity in today’s world.

As they drive along Route 66, retracing a family trip from years ago, they dig into why their parents abruptly stopped that journey. The story deals with heavy topics like generational trauma and cultural expectations, all while highlighting the ups and downs of sibling relationships.

Li's writing flows effortlessly, blending personal experiences with larger social themes. The book can be serious but also has its funny and warm moments, keeping it hopeful. Fans of authors like Celeste Ng and Min Jin Lee will really enjoy *What We Left Unsaid*, which offers a deep look at identity and healing that lingers even after you finish reading.

The Chu siblings haven’t seen each other in years, but when they’re told that their ailing mother is scheduled for an operation next month, they agree to visit her together. Then their mother makes an odd request: before seeing her, they must go on a road trip together to the Grand Canyon.

Thirty years ago, a strange incident had aborted a previous family road trip there. No one’s ever really spoken about it, but during this journey, the middle-aged Chu siblings have no choice but to confront their childhood experiences.

Together, Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex travel along Route 66—but as the trip continues, they realize the Great American Road Trip may not be what they expected. Facing their own prejudices and those of others, they somehow learn to bridge the distances between them, the present day, and their past.

Poignant, heartfelt, and beautifully written, this novel is more than just a road trip story—it’s a touching exploration of family, forgiveness, and the power of confronting the past. Highly recommended.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

They are **3 middle-aged Asians passing through a Midwest town ** (insert your culture/ethnicity, age, gender, religion). This will determine how you react to this book. The author's prose is fluid and engaging, including you in this family's journey
America's not the land of opportunity anymore.. becoming the land of oppression and bias.
A traveling confessional disguised as a road trip, with each changing landscape triggering trauma and mistakes made
It becomes cathartic in such closed quarters, forcing intimacy, secrets, and insecurities but also redemption in having to face adversity together. I will re-read this story again .. it is that good.

Winnie M Li’s The Great American Everything is a thoughtful, moving, and deeply layered family drama that blends road trip adventure, self-discovery, and unspoken trauma into a compelling narrative about what it means to be American.

The novel follows the Chu siblings —Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex—who haven’t been in the same room for years. When their mother, facing an upcoming operation, makes an unusual request for them to take a road trip to the Grand Canyon, they reluctantly agree. Decades earlier, an aborted family trip to the same destination left a lingering mystery, one they never discussed but can no longer avoid.

As they journey down Route 66, the siblings’ conflicts, cultural identity struggles, and old wounds resurface, forcing them to confront their individual and collective pasts. What begins as a simple road trip transforms into a powerful exploration of memory, race, family expectations, and the complexities of the immigrant experience in America. Li’s writing is unflinchingly honest, The novel questions what home truly means and how shared histories can shape and fracture familial bonds.

Highly recommended for those who love introspective literary fiction with strong themes of identity, belonging, and family reconciliation.

#TheGreatAmericanEverything #WinnieMLi #FamilyDrama #RoadTripNovel #LiteraryFiction #ComingofAge #ImmigrantNarrative #NetGalley #atriabooks

This is a sweet story of three Taiwanese siblings--Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex--whose family had attempted to go to the Grand Canyon on a road trip, but something unexpected stopped them. Now as adults, they return--immersed in memories as they grow closer to acknowledging their bond and stay true to each other!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I felt as if I was with these 3 sibling traveling across country to California. The writing is descriptive and lyrical. I could taste the dust of the desert and my fear of heights at the Grand Canyon. A sad but enjoyable read.