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Little Fires Everywhere

Celeste Ng

Start date: October 1, 2019

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Little Fires Everywhere

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By Holiday · 1 post · 7 views

last updated Sep 20, 2019 10:25AM

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Sep 19, 2019 Holiday rated it really liked it

I enjoyed this book a lot, although based on the book blurb I wasn't interested. I had a few extra credits on Audible and purchased this book with one of them. The narrator did a fantastic job, and the story itself was captivating. I wanted to know what was going to happen next for Izzy and for Pearl, and learn more about Mia's secret past. The Mae Ling story was interesting as well, and I appreciate the author for bringing up issues of race in adoption. One of the major themes of the book seeme I enjoyed this book a lot, although based on the book blurb I wasn't interested. I had a few extra credits on Audible and purchased this book with one of them. The narrator did a fantastic job, and the story itself was captivating. I wanted to know what was going to happen next for Izzy and for Pearl, and learn more about Mia's secret past. The Mae Ling story was interesting as well, and I appreciate the author for bringing up issues of race in adoption. One of the major themes of the book seemed to be about motherhood and the choices women make when they decide to become parents. And although that's a topic I detest (I think it's selfish for anyone to have children until all the children already on the planet are warm, safe, and loved), this book made me care about these characters and appreciate their reasons for making the decisions they did.

Mrs. Richardson is a loathsome character. I love when authors are able to write characters in such a way that you hate them, and their actions make you want to scream and wish for justice to be brought to them.

Izzy is the best. I wish she'd had more space to learn how to enact change for social justice in ways that are not destructive or illegal.

**Spoilers**
Why didn't Mrs. Richardson ever find out that it was actually Lexie that had the abortion? That was infuriating to leave the book with Mrs. Richardson mistakenly believing that it was Pearl. Why would Lexie use Pearl's name and not another fake name? Why didn't she take the opportunity at the clinic to say "I used a fake name on the phone, but I filled out the form with my real name," and use another fake name then?
Why don't we get to know where Izzy ends up? We know her mother never finds her (thank the stars), but we don't know where she is or what she does with her life. I assume she meets up with Pearl and Mia somewhere along the way. But that's frustrating for me as a reader, because Izzy was my favorite character. We get to see things from her perspective, as well as the other characters' but this ending made me feel like we were only getting Mrs. Richardson's perspective to view the end from, and that's an upsetting note to end on.
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Jul 23, 2017 angeleen rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

I loved Ng's first novel, "Everything I Never Told You", and I loved "Little Fires Everywhere" almost as much. The novel is a domestic drama set in the wealthy, planned community of Shaker Heights. Ng explores the lives of two families. One is "perfect" with a beautiful home and four all-star children and the other consists of a nomadic, somewhat mysterious artist and her 15 year old daughter. The families, and especially the two mothers, represent two ways of living life: planned and by the boo ...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Valerie Brett rated it it was ok

I didn't hate this book at all, despite my low rating. I read this in two sittings and enjoyed it, mostly, while I was reading. I just felt that in the end, it didn't realize its potential. This had good bones: interesting characters and conflict, and tension in the plot that was set up from the beginning. The book starts with its end, and then explains how they got there, and you get the sense that there will be some big reveal, but then it never comes. It's a predictable book in many ways, eve I didn't hate this book at all, despite my low rating. I read this in two sittings and enjoyed it, mostly, while I was reading. I just felt that in the end, it didn't realize its potential. This had good bones: interesting characters and conflict, and tension in the plot that was set up from the beginning. The book starts with its end, and then explains how they got there, and you get the sense that there will be some big reveal, but then it never comes. It's a predictable book in many ways, even though there are a few minor twists. Through the first half of the book I was invested and interested in the characters, but then they never fully developed or grew. When it came to Mia's flashback/background (not sure if this time hopping worked well) I was totally bored. That character was painted as way too saintlike. Maybe one or two of the characters were complex, but a most were disappointingly one-dimensional. I just didn't think that the book satisfyingly pulled anything together.

The central theme was clearly who's a mother: someone who gives birth, or someone who loves? Strangely, I felt like we were being lectured (as readers) about how mothers who birth are the real mothers, which felt sad to me somehow. While she attempts to consider difficult issues (race/adoption/love/motherhood) in a nuanced way, in the end she actually leaves the impression that there is one correct opinion.

SOME SPOILERS: I really loved Trip and Moody and felt that they didn't get to fairly learn or grow or be known. I also thought that Pearl would have no way just gone at the end with her mother, without a major blow up fight. That just didn't seem realistic at all for a teenager who longed for stability, was promised it, finally got it, was in the midst of a passionate affair with her crush, and then was told that her whole life was a lie. Why would she just be like, "Ugh, ok fine let's go"? Yeah right. Also Mia would've been found if the family she was a surrogate for wanted to find her. If Mrs. Richardson, a nobody barely journalist could figure out her whole background that easily, a lawyer or PI certainly would have. I didn't understand why Warren was a character? He seemed unnecessary and I was bored by Mia's entire background. I wanted there to be some climax with regards to the fires Izzy started but there wasn't really. Also, would she really have been that hard to find after she ran away only hours before? ...more

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