Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Amy      
Lynnie   
 
fiction, historical fiction

Little Fires Everywhere is the story of two families living in Shaker Heights, OH (which happens to be our mother’s hometown and very familiar to us) and all the drama (aka fires) surrounding the family members.  It begins at the end, with a literal house fire, which is a good way to grab the readers’ interest.  The rest of the novel leads us back to where we started including back-histories of the characters. 

Amy's Review

This novel really held my interest.  The family dynamics were not uncommon or unusual. The characters had both good and bad qualities.  Everything was believable and Celeste Ng drew vivid pictures of the town and the people.  Even though these families only knew each other for the several months described in the novel, they were all forever changed by their interactions. I loved reading about Shaker Heights…as someone who has visited many times and heard my mother’s stories about growing up there. The novel validated several of my impressions.  It was fun for me to recognize many of the names of places mentioned too.

I imagine that the accolades and excitement this book has attracted are largely due to the inevitable good discussions it is bound to generate.  Topics surrounding parenting in general and adoptive parents vs. birth parents are likely to be engaging in many book clubs.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Jennifer Lim.  I thought she did a nice job.  Her voice acting was great and her performances of the different characters’ voices was good. I give her an A. 

Lynnie's Review

While the ending wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be, I generally enjoyed almost all of the characters and how realistically they were portrayed. Ultimately, I thought that Little Fires Everywhere is about relationships and how we judge the people both in our lives and on its periphery.  It was interesting to view the community of Shaker Heights through someone else's eyes and I often found myself smiling at the community descriptions. I could see my grandparents and my mother in several of the characters and their actions. Overall, it's a very thought-provoking and enjoyable book.