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Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel
The #1 New York Times bestseller - Named a Best Book of the Year by People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and more "To say I love this book is an understatement. It's a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears." --Reese Witherspoon "I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting. . . . Be ready to be wowed by Ng's writing--and unsettled by the mirror held up to one's own beliefs." --Jodi Picoult From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Our Missing Hearts comes a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. 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 spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren--an enigmatic artist and single mother--who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood--and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
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I'm one of the last people on the planet to read this book so you don't need me to tell you what it's about. Everyone kept telling me I needed to watch the Reese Witherspoon version of this, but of course I couldn't do that until I read the book first! It was a bit of a comedown after reading her first book, but I appreciated her description of Mia's photography and the lessons about diversity and race sensitivity she was trying to get across.
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I was really looking forward to this book after hearing good things and seeing that it was adapted into a short series on TV. It wasn't that I didn't like the book per say, I just felt like it was trying to do so many things all at the same time. Was it a thriller? Was it a mystery? Was it just a contemporary fiction book with a deep meaning? I'm not totally sure. That is to say, I enjoyed the multiple storylines, but just found it to be all over the place even though it all collided in the end. Heavy topics on motherhood, abortion, adoption, friendship. The book made me question the morality of the characters and the decisions they make; very thought-provoking of a book, unlike most of the books I've read recently, so I appreciated that. Overall, it was alright. Long chapters made it really slow to finish.
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I’m not usually one for drama, but the book certainly raises some interesting questions around family, motherhood, ethics, and individualism, among many others, of course. Truthfully, I was annoyed by all the secrets and sneakiness, but if I ignored that and just focused on the more philosophical questions, I was left feeling intrigued by the complexity of life and “rightness”. If you like drama, you would like this book! And if you like reading deeply, you will find things to think about! I don’t think I would recommend this book to everyone, but I have no doubt that plenty of people would be able to enjoy it!
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3.5 stars!
Celeste Ng's first book is actually one of the few books on my 5-star list, so I was super excited about her second novel. Unfortunately, I have a much more mixed reaction to Little Fires Everywhere. I did enjoy reading it, but ultimately, there were two issues that came up.
The first was that I felt like there was just too much going on in the book. There were so many different plots that I felt like she was cramming everything and the kitchen sink into the story, which made it feel kind of unfocused. I enjoyed all the plots, but I kind of wish she'd just picked one or two and stuck with it instead of giving me so many. The story could definitely have been tighter and more streamlined.
The other problem is that while there were characters I think she expanded on very well, there were other important characters that I felt like I didn't really get to know at all and I wish I knew better. I think part of this issue was because of the first point I mentioned — that there was just so much going on. One of the reasons I loved [b:Everything I Never Told You|18693763|Everything I Never Told You|Celeste Ng|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386795198s/18693763.jpg|26542311] so much was the focus on a core set of characters and watching them develop, but I didn't get that as much in this book.
I did enjoy the character stuff that we got, and I liked the debate over whether love or biology makes a mother. The entire book revolved around motherhood and what motherhood really means, and I enjoyed seeing all the different forms of motherhood shown in the novel. And finally, as with Celeste Ng's other book, I am a huge fan of her portrayal of issues around Chinese-White relationships, this time in the form of white families adopting Asian children and their (unknowing and unintended) racism despite their good intentions. Honestly, I really wish she'd focused more on that plot and delved deeper into those issues. But overall, I did enjoy the book, and I look forward to more novels by Celeste Ng!
Celeste Ng's first book is actually one of the few books on my 5-star list, so I was super excited about her second novel. Unfortunately, I have a much more mixed reaction to Little Fires Everywhere. I did enjoy reading it, but ultimately, there were two issues that came up.
The first was that I felt like there was just too much going on in the book. There were so many different plots that I felt like she was cramming everything and the kitchen sink into the story, which made it feel kind of unfocused. I enjoyed all the plots, but I kind of wish she'd just picked one or two and stuck with it instead of giving me so many. The story could definitely have been tighter and more streamlined.
The other problem is that while there were characters I think she expanded on very well, there were other important characters that I felt like I didn't really get to know at all and I wish I knew better. I think part of this issue was because of the first point I mentioned — that there was just so much going on. One of the reasons I loved [b:Everything I Never Told You|18693763|Everything I Never Told You|Celeste Ng|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386795198s/18693763.jpg|26542311] so much was the focus on a core set of characters and watching them develop, but I didn't get that as much in this book.
I did enjoy the character stuff that we got, and I liked the debate over whether love or biology makes a mother. The entire book revolved around motherhood and what motherhood really means, and I enjoyed seeing all the different forms of motherhood shown in the novel. And finally, as with Celeste Ng's other book, I am a huge fan of her portrayal of issues around Chinese-White relationships, this time in the form of white families adopting Asian children and their (unknowing and unintended) racism despite their good intentions. Honestly, I really wish she'd focused more on that plot and delved deeper into those issues. But overall, I did enjoy the book, and I look forward to more novels by Celeste Ng!
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