The #1 New York Times bestseller!Now a Hulu original series starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.“I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting.” —Jodi Picoult“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 … danger of perfection. It moved me to tears.” —Reese Witherspoon
“Extraordinary . . . books like Little Fires Everywhere don’t come along often.” —John Green
From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, 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.
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 many more…
Perfect for book clubs! Visit celesteng.com for discussion guides and more.
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There certainly is a lot of teenage angst in the book but it is beautifully written and I have been recommending it to all my friends.
Compelling story that is very well-written. Author’s ability to change POV seamlessly is extraordinary!
All the pieces come back together and I really love that kind of books. That means that author thought it all through. It is a great book.
My suspicions were all wrong and was kind of happy that they were. Because at the end we see that she really is a good person and all she wants to do too, is see the good sides in everyone. She does what she rhinks is best for her and her family.
It is great how the past and present are intertwining for us to see why people are like they are. The book was flowing easily and I read it in a couple of days. There is no guarantee that you will get a second chance.
I really don’t want to mention the names of the characters because then this will be a spoiler review and I hate that.
The saying: “You never know what you had until you lose it.” confirms true once again. I hate people that are like this. We have to live in the present and not to be afraid to live our life to the fullest.
You have to read this book.
Entertaining book with interesting characters, also somewhat sad.
This beautifully written book explores themes of class, privacy, motherhood, and art. It is still haunting me weeks later; I think I will have to read it again.
Thought-provoking. Couldn’t put it down.
Took a little time to get into it, but worth the read.
Great family saga with vivid characters. I couldn’t put it down!
A thoughtful novel about choices, those made by us and those made for us. Centered around three different stories of motherhood, pregnancy and its involuntary result: a mother who decides to keep a child, a woman who longs to become a mother at any price and mother not yet ready to be one.
The author’s first book “Everything I Never Told You” was a powerful and dark tale and one that should also not be missed. In this instance, fortunately the story is a bit cheerier, but nonetheless also captures the tension of class anxiety, ostracism, racial discrimination and the complexities they engender.
I was drawn into the story in the first few pages and when I finished the last page
I knew this was a story that I would be mulling over for some time. It’s a story for
today and tomorrow with utterly believable characters and events. I’m so glad I
didn’t pass it up!
Great viewpoints and contrasts for each of the two families.
Unlike some sprawling dramatists with multiple families & characters to keep track of, Celeste Ng quite proficiently fleshes out each one as a separate entity in the reader’s mind. It was no struggle at all to delineate who was who, which I appreciated! Books like Little Fires guide you to analyze the person you are and what you may do in similar circumstances – and this does that almost perfectly.
The conflict and choices in the novel caught me off guard. So I was surprised about the topic material. It is however book club worthy.
Exploration of family ties and dynamics. What and who should be a “mother”? Will a utopia based community actually influence future generations? What is the role of art? Who decides? So many wonderful threads to follow in this book. Beautifully written characters. An enthralling read! Greta for book club discussion.
Kept my interest the entire way through.
A great book. Characters are well defined, and the story is intriguing.
Excellent story and well written. Held my interest and got me thinking a lot while not reading the book. I found myself go over In My mind all the time, how do I feel about so and so etc. all I. All in all a great read.
It was true to many problems and secrets families keep The interactions with each other
Engaging and thought provoking
I keep picking this book up and then put it down after a couple pages. It’s just not grabbing my attention at all. I’m not sure what to rate it only because I still haven’t finished it.