Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng, author, Jennifer Lynn, narrator
If I had to use one word to summarize this book, I would use motherhood, motherhood in all of its possible definitions. What does it mean to be a mother? What makes a good mother? Who has the right to decide what is or who is a good mother? Who has the right to decide the timing for motherhood?
The story has several interesting female characters. One, Elena. Richardson, basically unconsciously, picked mercilessly on her last born child, daughter Izzy, because she was afraid she would suffer from health issues as she grew up. She was premature, and the doctor had warned her of possible repercussions in her future. Her overly critical treatment of the child hurt her emotionally. Her other children were self-confident, privileged and a bit irresponsible, assuming everyone lived in the comfortable way that they did. Mrs. Richardson (Elena) can be described as a creature of habit and structure. She expects others she has been kind to, to return the favor. She is a bit of a good-natured busybody. Therefore, one has to wonder if her intent is truly kind. She has been a local reporter for a small neighborhood paper for years and would like a good story to help her break out into real journalism. The Richardson’s live with material excess, what today is called “white privilege”. Is that a fair term of description?.
Mia is unconventional and her mothering is as well. In her youth, struggling to pay for her education in photography, Mia agreed to be a surrogate mother, but, instead, after a change of heart, she ran away and kept the baby, named Pearl. She continued to run for the rest of her life to avoid dealing with what she had done. Her parents rejected her because they believed she was selling her baby. Was that what she was doing? Mia and Pearl subsist on what she earns from selling her work or from odd jobs. They move when the mood strikes Mia and are not attached to material possessions. They live minimally.
Mrs. Riley wanted a surrogate mother to bear a child for her, one that looked like her. She and her husband had the wherewithal to pay someone to have a baby for them. Should that contract be binding legally and subject to criminal charges if broken?
Mrs. McCullough could not conceive a child. She had had several miscarriages. She and her husband desperately wanted a baby. Many attempts at adoption had been unsuccessful, until, one day, they were offered an abandoned child to adopt. What happens if the biological mother shows up and wants that baby back? Who should raise that child? Who is the rightful mother?
Bebe, a Chinese immigrant, is impoverished. She abandoned her baby because she could not afford to care for her when she was abandoned by the father. Her English was poor and she was unable to care for the child properly, although she tried her best. Did she do the right thing? Was it criminal? Did she give up her rights to the child in the future?
Lexi is a teenager who engaged in unprotected sex and decided to have an abortion when she discovered she was pregnant. She was supposed to go to Yale and the baby would have negatively impacted the lives of herself and her boyfriend. She wondered, did she make the right decision? Should she have discussed it with her boyfriend? Did he have the right to know? Did her mother have the right to know? Should she, as the adult and guardian have been consulted? Will Lexi carry that decision with her for the remainder of her life, always wondering if it was right or wrong?
For me, the title holds several meanings. One would pertain to an actual fire, one would pertain to creativity, coming up with a new idea, and one would pertain to the idea of encouragement, to figuratively lighting a fire underneath someone to propel them into action. This book, explores those ideas with regard to motherhood and life, in general, through the experiences of the characters. It also exposes the different ideas that define all types of motherhood. Should class, status, social standing, culture or ethnicity influence any of the choices regarding motherhood, behavior and rights?
The story takes place in the community of Shaker Heights, an affluent community in Cleveland, Ohio. It is essentially a bubble filled with similar people who have similar goals of upward mobility. The Richardson family lives there. Mia and Pearl Warren arrive there looking for a suitable community to settle in with good schools and a safe environment. Mia has decided that Pearl would benefit from a less nomadic life. They rent an apartment from the Richardson’s. They live in a minimalist way while the Richardson’s live with obvious abundance. The Richardson’s and the Warner’s learn about and react to each other’s way of life.
Moody Richardson and Pearl Warren are high school sophomores. They become fast friends as they are the same age and are in many of the same classes in school. Pearl loves her new home and also becomes friends with Lexi Richardson who is a senior. When she meets Trip Richardson, a junior, a romance develops. Izzy, is the youngest Richardson child who has always been singled out as a troublemaker by her mom, and so she has subsequently taken on that persona of a troublemaker. She becomes close to Mia Warren who opens up her mind to being less rebellious. She is kind to her and accepts her as she is, but her advice is often ill thought out. Izzy remains “a loose cannon”.
The ideas of abortion and unwanted pregnancies are examined along with the idea of who is the real or true mother in a custody battle between a parent who abandoned her child and the parent who hopes to adopt the child, the surrogate or the one engaging her. What rights does a surrogate mother have when she signs an agreement to deliver the child to the family? Which idea of parenting is more beneficial to children, the structured or unstructured approach? When an underage female has an abortion, who should decide whether or not it is appropriate, who should counsel her?
Each of the female characters in the book engages in behavior that is not always by the book, ethical or even legal. Yet they all seem to get away with pushing the envelope. The person who behaves least responsibly seems to come out the winner, in the end, although that irresponsible behavior was the catalyst that caused many catastrophes that can not be reversed. I wondered why that has become acceptable behavior. I wondered, also, who was the greater villain of the mothers featured. Was it the busybody Mia, who chose her nomadic life over her daughter’s need for structure, or the busybody Mrs. Richardson? Was it the would-be mother seeking a surrogate or the mother seeking to keep an abandoned child after the biological mother wants her back? Does the mother who abandons her child retain any rights? The meddling of others, the lies told and the secrets kept continue to come back to haunt many of the characters, but they are resilient and seem to find ways to adjust.
One parent taught with compassion and by example, not always good ones, and the other seemed impetuous, rushing to judgment and meting out acts of retribution. The children learned from those parents, imitating their behavior. The Richardson children learned self-confidence, but they also learned to be arrogant and to feel entitled, entitled to what they possessed and to use others to serve their needs. Pearl Warren, on the other hand, learned patience and consideration from her mother. She learned to appreciate and accept what little she had, but was amazed and enthralled by how the Richardson’s lived. Although Pearl’s life of a drifter seemed the more unstable than the structured life of the Richardson’s, was it really less stable or was it actually more enduring and flexible?
The paramount idea of breaking out of one’s “box” and beginning again, seemed to work for all of the characters with minimal repercussions. The book intensely examines motherhood, with regard to surrogacy and biology, the idea of giving up a child, losing a child and the rights to a child is dissected. Family values with regard to class, culture, wealth, poverty, parental influence and legal rights and the bubbles within which we all live are explored. Behavior, often illegal, seems to be encouraged in some ways, and I found that confounding. Did the book bite off more than it could chew? Are there too many social issues introduced? In an attempt to be progressive and open minded has common sense sometimes flown out the window.

I absolutely loved this book. I can't wait to discuss it with my book club this month. There are so many twists and directions. There are many themes good by on at once. There is so much depth to each of the characters. I didn't want this book to end. I want o keep reading about everyone. I related to so many of the characters and I really liked everyone.

This is the perfect book club selection. We could have discussed for many more hours. The mother daughter relationships alone can be the topic of one meeting!

very well written, follows its own path back through other viewpoints

I loved this book! It had a slow start, but the last two-thirds were read in one sitting! As with the author’s other book, Everything I Never Told You, these two books parallel each other with parents seemingly oblivious to what is going on with their children. Even Mia, who feels like she’s best friends with her daughter, is guilty.

Our club really liked this book. It delved into complex mother-daughter relationships. A great book for women of all ages.

Mrs. Richardson was a right fighter and she didn’t care how many lives she messed up as long as she was right.

I enjoyed the book with interesting topics about friendships, home, motherhood, and morals.

This book was thought provoking. The author touched on topics of motherhood, suburban living, and family dynamics. Most of the characters were multifaceted. Everyone had both "good" and" bad" aspects of their personality-- they were real people!.

read the review of the story yourself. I loved this book. I Had also enjoyed the authors first book. Most of the reviews are very positive...but i also enjoy reading the ones not so complementary. There are some good points in those and while i may disagree with the overall review, they make for good discussions. This was well worth the read.

After Celeste's first amazing book I was looking forward to suspense filled drama. Little Fires Everywhere seemed to meander along to find its direction and in the end only kinda sorta does. A quick harmless read, but didn't quite leave an impact for me.

It was good reading and hit various topics and personalities.

I chose this book for some of the discussion topics it offered: Motherhood, how to live a satisfying life, relationships. On that level it did make me think:would I hire out my body if I was stuck for cash and thought I was doing someone a good turn? Would I have the courage to follow my dreams if it meant living an unconventional life and a different upbringing for my kids? Does life affect us in the stories we tell ourselves and how does that affect people around us? As a work of fiction, however, this is a classic case of tell, dont show. I felt I kept the characters at arms length for most of the book. I was surprised that I did actually care for them at the very end and saw the purpose/sense in Izzy�¢??s pyromania. Not sure about Mrs Richardson�¢??s quest to find Izzy though. That was unconvincing.

Rating - 4 for pace and originality. Could not put it down.
Took a point away for character development.

I thought the most well-developed character was the town of shaker heights itself - Ng grew up there so that makes sense. She writes kind of a love letter to it and at the same time passes judgement on what I can only imagine was an interesting childhood looking from the outside in all the time. Her main proponent of the Shaker Heights is seen through the eyes of Elena (woman with influential family and historical ties to the town) who condescendingly provided the apartment charity to Mia/Pearl and those before them. The major theme to me was unrealized potential as a result of choice. Elena could have been a talented reporter and Mia an accomplished artist. Because of choices they made, life sort of catapulted them into the women they became and I think they initially resent each other bc they recognize that frustration they feel. Both become sort of obsessed with exposing the other. In doing so, the lives of the people around them are ruined. Izzy and Bebe are the physical manifestation of the flame With both Elena and Mia the sparks.
One thing that bothered me was I was thinking the story was going to be about Pearl and it jumped around to the other characters. I was unsure of the narrator at times - lends to my character development comment above. I felt like the author gave up on a few of them. The male characters were introduced but kind of just props. I would have liked Izzy’s storyline to be resolved.

Loved. Fun read.

Liked it!

Excellent

Dramatic and entertaining, but perhaps overly so. Not especially well developed characters, which limits some of the insightfulness the book aims for. Quick, easy read though. Good for vacation or the beach. I completely agree with the tells, but doesn't show comment in another review.

I really liked this story of teens and their relationships with their parents

Average rating by our book club = 7.63

Delicious dinner - Chinese, crab Rangoon dip, Spinach salad, desserts

Being made into a movie - Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

Easy to follow. Descriptive. Took a while
to get Invested in characters. Maybe too many subplots.

Spoiler alert: Mia and Pearl never go back.
Several hoped mom would find out her daughter had abortion. Lexi was a user.
Mia appreciated Izzy. Moody got his heart broken.

Author is from that area. Very descriptive.

Toothpick trick is awesome.

Custody battle of baby - would birth mother would get?

Sarah: This is like high school.

Same author wrote Everything I never told you.

Favorite characters - Mia and Pearl and Moody

Non fav - Mrs. Richardson

Not a fan

A great story about a snapshot in time of the relationship between two families. It made me think about how we treat one another and the impact of judgmental behaviour.

Lots to talk about in this book. I couldn’t put it down. You will get caught up in the nurture vs. nature discussion, and will hit on a lot of hot topics in terms of abortion, adoption, what makes a good mother, family, home; privilege vs. scraping to get by; lots and lots to talk about.

Interesting dissection of a typical comfortable American family and the contrast of values presented with the arrival of a migratory family.

I didn’t enjoy this book although there is lots of talk about it. I found the characters unconvincing, and without depth. And the story line too easy with too many coincidences. Wasn’t a fan

A beautiful piece of story-telling. The characters are fully drawn and the subjects addressed are thought-provoking. Highly recommend!

BORING POINTLESS SLOW-the words I chose to describe it. The app wonâ??t accept them.... maybe thatâ??s why itâ??s a NYT best seller? Hers why I donâ??t like it: Too many characters in this book. So many that you canâ??t become attached to anyone. Was a very tough read. Was expecting some mystery, there is none. The author spent so much time on description of the town, people, everything, that the storyline really suffered. Never dived deep into any characters or stories. HUGE disappointment.

Brilliant writing!! Ng has such a gift of weaving amazing, intricate stories. She gets to the heart and soul of vulnerable lives and histories.

I hated it so I didn’t finish it.

From the beginning you never know where this book will take you. It starts with the end and brings you back again, hopping from place to place, and person to person, child to child. Towards the middle I could not put it down,

First half fantastic. Last part disappointing. Too many great set up situations and characterization was never revisited.

Relies heavily on cliches and feels soapy. The twists were easily guessed early on in the book, and many of the characters became almost a parody of a personality. Dialogue is exceptionally weak at times. If you enjoy camp, this will delight, but look elsewhere for depth.

This one was a hard one to put down!

I enjoyed this book but found it a bit predictable. Haven’t read it in a year so I’ll pick it up again for good measure.

So many different mother-child relationships, so much to discuss!

Loved this book. Just when you think everything is right with the world, along comes this......

Initially I was not swept away. A huge turning point for me was the development of the characters historically. As I learned more about their pasts it helped to add content to the developing story. The climax was surprising, and the ending finally left me wanting more. It is thought provoking and the author was able to make the characters strikingly relatable.

Elena Richardson has lived all of her life in Shaker Heights, a progressive suburb of Cleveland. She rents an apartment to Mia Warren an artist and her daughter. The families become involved with each other’s lives with disastrous results.

The book makes you think about how your early life and upbringing, and how it shapes or limits your perceptions on life and how to live it. Do you decide your path in life and follow your dreams even if they are not in accordance to how you were raised, or do you stick within the parameters of what is expected and the norm?

I liked it! It picked up in the second half but was slow to start

The book was great! I did watch the miniseries on Hulu and it was even better than the book! Absolutely loved it!

The story is one that sticks with you after you finish the last page.

I watched the Hulu series first which may be why I wasn’t too into it, I already knew what was going to happen. But overall, it’s a good story, I’m sure others enjoyed it more if they read the book first.

Not a fan. Did not believe in the characters.

I always appreciate a book when I am finished but this was definitely hard to finish—however watching the Hulu series made me feel more pride in having read the book as I liked the book better.

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I loved the twists in this book. It would not have seen the end coming. It’s also very much a secret suburban book.

Really easy read - fun

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