Little Fires Everywhere

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ng has a gift for capturing character motivations in a way that is neither cliché or expected. She breathes life into stories in a way that you can see the way the characters enter a room or throw their bag down on their bed. I love that nothing is as simple at it seems on the surface and how she takes on the dynamics of a large family. The intricacies of a family with four kids set against a single mom with an only child created a unique dance of family dynamics. I like too that even though I was captivated by Mia and Pearl, I didn't support all of their decisions. I think it takes a deft writer to make sympathetic characters that are lovable despite their flaws. Not to mention, clever writing to make the hard working mother of four be almost villainous.

I will say that I went into this book with low expectations, not because I didn't like Ng's debut novel, but because other friends didn't love this story. I will say that I think it's worth reading the actual book. The preview of the audio version does not seem promising, and the book is so popular and on enough lists that your local library should have a copy. Reese Witherspoon's book club chose it as one of their monthly choices earlier this year, so I wouldn't be surprised if Reese's production company has already optioned this book for a movie. I'd love to know already who they'd cast to play the mysterious Mia Warren or the controversial Izzy.

A final note is that Mia's question of "What are you going to do about it?" is going to stick with me for a long time. And Izzy's reaction to that question might stay with me even longer. Happy reading--