Little Fires Everywhere

I enjoyed the back half of the book more than the first half. The first half is so centered on the kids and they're really not very compelling characters at all. They come off a bit one-dimensional or like they don't have much of a personality or backstory? They seem mostly there to prop up the adults (or at Elena and Mia), who are the true main characters of this story despite so much of the book narrating about the kids. I really enjoyed the Bebe subplot with the themes of racism and class (but honestly while enjoyable to read, didn't voice anything I wasn't already thinking or give me a new perspective) and the juxtaposition of Elena and Mia. So similar yet so different in the ways they chose to live their lives. This was one of the most interesting parts of the book. Elena as a petty woman who crushed her own adventurous spirit to live the 'perfect', 'planned' life and sees Mia as someone she could have been. I also quite liked Ng's writing style, even if i thought it was a bit unsubtle and seemed to spell everything out at times.

All in all it was enjoyable to read, especially once it started talking about the adults more. The last third was read much more quickly than the first third. ( )

An incredibly accomplished, gripping, thoughtful and moving novel centred on two very different families in 1990s America. I always worry that character-driven books like this one won’t grip me like the plot-centred genre fiction I tend to read, but ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ gripped me from the first page and I read it every moment I could until it was done.
The characters are convincing and satisfying, with recognisable motivations and flaws; the setting (Sherman Oaks, a planned community that feels a little like Stepford at times, is as much a character as the humans; and the twists and turns of the story delighted and surprised me. Ng has a wonderful omniscient narrators voice, telling us about the past and future as well as the present in an almost documentary style that makes the events of the book even more convincing. She dishes out her plot in beautifully measure portions, signposting future events in a way that is beguiling rather than feeling like a tease, and wraps it all up beautifully at the end. The themes she tackles: the responsibility of parenthood, the prevalence of racism and unconscious bias in western society, the difference between true compassion and being seen to do the right thing, are just as skilfully handled, with easy answers avoided and the reader left to ponder some difficult questions and make their one decisions.
On closing the book as I finished it I’m not sure there was anything I didn’t like about it, other than the fact it is now over and I miss some of the characters already. ( )

I thought Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ainge, was an incredible story, both in plot and character development. Elena Richardson and her family live in Shaker Heights, pretty much a utopia community with perfectly manicured lawns and a tree in front of every house. Mia Warren, an eccentric artist, and her teenage daughter become tenants in the Richardsons' rental home, bringing with them a mysterious past and alluring the Richardson children. Trouble erupts when a friend of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese baby and a custody battle ensues, putting Mia and the Richardsons on opposite sides. Mrs. Richardson becomes determined to uncover Mia's secret past, with dire consequences for both families.

I thought the characters were very believable and well-developed. They seemed to react to situations in ways I felt like a lot of people might have reacted.

I listened to the audiobook, and I thought Jennifer Lim did an excellent job at narrating the story. She used different voices for all of the characters, in particular, softening her voice when reading Mia and using a firmer tone for that of Mrs. Richardson. She also read the Chinese accent for one of the characters very convincingly. I thought her voice was perfect for this book and she was very pleasant to listen to. She kept up a good pace throughout the story, without reading so quickly that I couldn't grasp the plot. I had no trouble hearing soft voices, and the sound quality was perfect; there was no background noise or latency that I could hear.

Overall I thought this was an excellent story with fantastic narration. Jennifer Lim complimented the book really well. I always looked forward to reading it, and I was both thrilled and sad when it ended: thrilled that I finally got to find out what happened, and sad that this particular experience was over. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting story with an excellent plot and plenty of twists to keep them guessing.

Title: Little Fires Everywhere
Author: Celeste Ainge
Narrator: Jennifer Lim
Publisher: Penguin Audio 2017 (Unabridged)
Length: 11 hours, 27 minutes
( )

I read the first 7 chapters, the last 5 or 6 chapters, and skimmed the middle. I really don't like the thriller style or the plot that attempts to cover multiple issues about motherhood, sex, abortion, and race. They poses to present a lot of meaning, but these seemingly very important meanings she wants to convey are actually based on stereotypical and shallow understanding of the world. For example the case of the Chinese adopted girl. There is a real case in America that she probably based her story on. Did she follow up on how the events evolved, years after the trials were over? Human beings are more complicated than she gives us credit for. And her characters are one-dimensional. ( )

While I enjoyed the author's character development, scene setting and how the characters thought, I struggled with determining exactly who the story was really about. I found myself skipping over unnecessary character filler which often went on for pages. So many characters carried the same weight and there were lots of side stories to boot. I felt the ending was left much to the reader-too many loose ends - reminescent of Aarya leaving on the boat in GoT. Usually it is a safe bet to read any book with tens of thousand's of reviews that still has an average rating of 4.0 or higher. Not this time. I do not understand what people liked so much. My rating is: meh. ( )