Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Pages: 338
Published by Penguin Press
Publication Date September 12th 2017
Source: Gift
Genres: General Fiction
Goodreads
Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours 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 teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the alluring mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When the Richardsons' friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town and puts Mia and Mrs. Richardson on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Mrs. Richardson becomes determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs to her own family – and Mia's.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of long-held secrets and the ferocious pull of motherhood-and the danger of believing that planning and following the rules can avert disaster, or heartbreak.
Featuring
- A legal battle
- Spoiled middle-class family
- Poor decisions
- Nature vs Nurture
The Characters:
- Do not read Little Fires Everywhere for the characters. They are all pretty self-absorbed and are only looking out for their best interests. This is definitely true for Elena and Mia, the matriarchs in their respected families.
- Why is it that so many books have characters who make horrible choices. I suppose a “never takes risks do-gooder” wouldn’t be very interesting. Elena taking it upon herself to investigate Mia’s past were ruthless and the lengths were unethical. However, the choices Mia made were appalling and contradicted her live and let live mentality. View Spoiler »
Adoption Battle
- What I liked most about Little Fires Everywhere was the adoption battle and as to whether it was best for the child to grow up with her biological mother and her culture or the family who could financially (and emotionally) support her. I found the Nature vs Nurture storyline very interesting. As it did make you question the situation.
- Personally, from a cultural standpoint I found the McCulloughs to be ill-equipped to immerse Mirabelle in her Chinese heritage, because eating with chopsticks and watching Hidden Tiger Crouching Dragon isn’t going to cut it.
- However, is it right to put a child in a financially precarious situation just for the sake of being with her biological parents? This examination is what got me immersed in Little Fires Everywhere as it kept me thinking throughout the novel’s entirety.
Overall, I think Little Fires Everywhere is an excellent, thought-provoking book with a little soap opera drama added in.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I’m glad you mostly liked it! I’ve seen mixed reviews (a lot of people seem to hate the characters), but I’m looking forward to reading this book.