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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Astounding. Inspiring. Powerful.
I'm speechless. I don't know why I did not read this before, and I had it on my to-read list. When I heard about the show, heard people talking about it, I got the book at the library. Only a few pages into the book, I knew that I was going to love this book. I have read few narrative books throughout my life, but none of them impressed me the way Little Fires Everywhere did. This is one of the best narratives that I have read. All the descriptions of the Shaker Heights, I felt as I was there. I wished that I could go there and see it for myself. Characterization was one of my favorites in the books; their descriptions and emotions were so vivid. As I read Little Fires Everywhere , I pictured each of the characters as I read about them. When I reached the end, I was sad as if I was saying goodbye to my friends. Little Fires Everywhere is not a book that I will forget anytime soon.
All the emotions that the characters went through, I felt it all. I talked about this book to my friends, my family while I was reading it. Little Fires Everywhere was real to me. Everything that happened in the story it's something that I can see happening in real life. There were few characters in the book that I had mixed feeling about, like Elena Richardson. She followed the rules, and I felt that it gave her the right to tell others what to do. Elena did try to be friendly with Mia, especially once her daughter Pearl became friends with her children. I wish that she let it go and got to know Mia instead of being suspicious of her. I was not her biggest fan towards the end of the book. Mia, I loved her from the start and her relationship with Izzy. From all the Richardson children, Izzy was my favorite. I hated how her family judged her, expecting the worse from her. Izzy needed someone like Mia.
Little Fires Everywhere is not completely mysterious, but some aspects are mysterious. The book starts with Richardson's house on fire and has you wondering if Izzy has done it and set her house on fire. I knew that Izzy was troubled, but even I didn't think that she would go that far. I loved how the book starts, and it's the type of beginning that will have anybody curious. Little Fires Everywhere was so good that there was a night where I stayed up until 1:00 am reading, I could not force myself to put it down. The custody battle, that was an emotional read, and every step of the way, you wondered who the girl will end up with. Little Fires Everywhere is a book that will have go through the emotions from beginning to the end. Little Fires Everywhere is the first book that I read by Celeste Ng and it won’t be the last. I am eager to check the rest of her books. Now that I have read the book, I'm excited to check out the Hulu series.
A highly recommended book. Little Fires Everywhere will touch you in a way you will never forget.
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