Oh wow! I have actually managed to finish a book off my spring TBR in record time! I started and finished Little Fires Everywhere over the weekend and am now starting the Monday with a nice smug feeling of satisfaction.
About the Book
In Shaker Heights, everything is meticulously 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 with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon 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 try 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.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
This book was a goodreads choice of 2017 winner, and I went into it with high expectations. For the most part, the book delivered. I loved how the author set up Shaker Heights and the people who lived there.
At its core, this is a story about mothers and their children (daughters in particular). Celeste Ng juxtaposes Mia and Pearl’s unconventional relationship against Elena’s more traditional relationship with her daughters (especially her relationship with her troubled daughter Izzy).
Mrs. Richardson, however, could not let Izzy be, and the feeling coalesced in all of them: Izzy pushing, her mother restraining, and after a time no one could remember how the dynamic had started, only that it had existed always.
In the beginning, we see Elena’s family as the perfect family. And in a sense it is. They are two successful and driven parents, with four good-looking children – each popular and successful in their own way. However, Izzy the youngest is the problem child always at odds with her mother. But there is nothing to be alarmed about problems between mothers and preteen girls.
Mia is a single mother with a mysterious past, she’s always on the move with her teen daughter Pearl – who longs for structure and stability.
However, as the story progresses, we that things are a lot more nuanced. Elena’s family is not as perfect as she thinks it is. And as Mia gets close to Elena’s children, cracks begin to form.
And this is also where I began to have problems with the book. I disliked Mia (who not so subtly is set up as the hero of the book) who interferes with Elena’s relationship with her children, and with the adoption issue. But then, I guess if she wasn’t such an interfering busybody, there wouldn’t be any story whatsoever.
I also didn’t like how extreme one character’s action gets. Her actions were a little too unbelievable, and the consequences of her actions are not dealt with properly. I mean – and spoilers here – A character burns down their house and runs away from home, and that is the end of the story?
It was a little too abrupt and extreme and not what I expected in such a book.
Last words
So, this book let me down a bit with the plot – which abruptly veered from meandering to melodramatic, and in the end formulaic. However, the writing is very good, and she did a good job getting me to care about all the characters.
However, I would have liked the book a lot more if the second half hadn’t gone all crazy on me.
What did you think of this book? Did you like it better than I did?
I really got into this book, so the end kind of had me gagging for more. I could forgive the ending as one of those litfic flourishes.
I also quite liked Mia in the beginning, until by the end I realised she was too much of a manic pixie dream woman. I could see why she interfered in the abortion, I sympathised with the birth mother.
I liked Mia at the start too. I just felt frustrated that she upped and left without realizing or even recognizing the trail of destruction she left behind her.
And that child, Izzy, UGH! I don’t have the words to describe how annoyed I was with her. And the end just left me hanging 🙁 .
Yeah true, her lack of responsibility sucked. I read the book a while ago so I’m fuzzy but didn’t she have to leave? If her house was taken away she couldn’t live in the neighborhood.
Also, have you read Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane or seen the movie? It’s a mystery that deals with similar concepts of natural mothers vs adoption, and even though that’s the main theme, I felt I could really sympathize with the characters actions and decisions better.
No haven’t. Will put it on my list.
Once again, we are of the same opinion. You won’t beleive how unpopular my problems with Mia were at my book club. It was ridiculous how everyone thought Mia’s interference was justified and Elena’s was an intrusion! As for the girl burning the house… I mean, really?
Also, don’t hate me – but I liked the previous website design so much more!! It was light and girly and so much you. This one is so severe! 🙂 Give me time, by tomorrow I will probably be a fan of this one!!
I love that we think the same thoughts on books. I would have been able to tolerate Mia if the book wasn’t leaning so much on her side, you know. And I thought Izzy was such a nut, and the book ended so abruptly.
That said, I normally don’t care about such type of books, but she got me getting worked up about the characters and their choices, so it’s a win!
On the blog look, oh dear! I think it’s because I ditched the header I used to have. I felt like it was looking a little dated compared to the sleek looking blogs around these days. Also, I had to pay for any updates to that old theme (which I badly needed after the block editor updates by WordPress). I didn’t want to pay to buy the same old theme, and hence the blog theme change.