I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

This was such an amazing read, I don't think I will ever be able to do it justice. I loved everything about this book: the characters, the story, the style... I am just gushing over this!!

This was the first Celeste Ng book I read, but I'm sure it will not be my last. I adored her writing style: it was clear and detailed enough to make me feels inside the story, but never too long-winded. This was one of those books that I just couldn't put down: I was so drawn into the story that I just had to see what would happen next, where it would all lead.

I'm personally very much into stories revolving around family drama and dark secrets, so the plot of this one was right up my alley. I particularly liked the way in which two very different (if not outright opposing) family units come up one against the other, which led perfectly to deeper reflections on what makes a family "good"? Is it just order and keeping up appearances as Mrs. Richardson would have it, or is Mia's spontaneity and disregard for socially-approved customs the right way to go? Or perhaps neither?

I was fascinated by the characters. True, some were explored much more deeply than others, and I was sorry that we only got snippets of what the men in here were thinking, but women were definitely the main focus here. Both of the two main adult females walk down a path that could potentially lead them to self-destruction - and take their families with them. I loved the way in which the author explored boundaries: just how far can relationships stretch before they break? How far can a mother go to make sure her children stay safe, to keep her worst fears from becoming true? And just how much does she nurture the growth of those fears and their concretisation through her behaviour?

These and many other questions were raised, and most are still circling around my brain the more I think about this book. A story developed on multiple levels, Little Fires Everywhere just keeps on fueling my own reflections on these themes. Definitely one of my best reads this year, this book is now burned into my memory, and I have a feeling it will stay like that for a very long time.
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Omg, this book is so good! Highly recommended. It’s a masterful telling of a story that is so very personal and yet universal. Loved it from start to finish. ( )

This book begins at the ending: Mia and her daughter Pearl have fled; teenager Izzy Richardson has set multiple arson fires in her family home. And so the story unfolds:

Elena Richardson appears to have the perfect life. She lives with her husband and four children in an upscale, tightly regulated suburb of an Ohio town. The kids all attend prestigious schools and have their lives mapped out for success. All that is except the youngest daughter, Izzy, who is a bit of a concern.

Then Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl rent a small house owned by Elena. Mia is the antithesis of everything Elena embraces. Mia is a photographic artist, staying in one place only until a project is completed and then moves on. She has no wish to have the regulated lifestyle Elena embraces.

Youngest Richardson daughter Izzy is drawn to the Bohemian lifestyle of Mia and Pearl. Mia, becomes a very part time housekeeper to the Richardsons. Mia, Pearl and the Richardson children become entwined.

With two such opposite families, ‘the center cannot hold’ as the poet says. Eventually they find themselves on opposite sides of a community controversy involving the adoption of Asian American baby. And one of the Richardson daughters needs help in a way she cannot possibly turn to her mother.

Elena Richardson believes the way to put her family back together again is to find out what secrets Mia Warren is hiding – what drives her to pick up and disappear again and again.

The characters are wonderfully realized. Ms Ng sympathetically reveals both sides of various controversies and why characters act and react the way they do.

I really enjoyed this novel. I can’t help wondering, though, if this falls into a ‘women’s lit’ category. All of the major themes – the fierceness of motherhood, children, pregnancy, surrogacy, abortion, young love, and even what one reviewer calls ‘the tendency of women to police each other’- while certainly involving men, are of more interest to women. I’d love to see some reviews by men and how they felt about this story.

This was the first I have read by Celeste Ng; I am interested in reading more. ( )

Slow at parts but a beautifully told story.

All of the characters were so real and so deeply dimensional. Their situations felt like they could happen to anyone.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the way the story line wasn’t very linear, it felt a little disjointed to me, but all in all I loved it. ( )

A good read. While it took a bit to get started for me, I appreciated how it all came together. It was set in the late 90s and was a very good portrait of the mid-west during that time. I thought the author did a good job allowing you to understand and sympathize with characters on both sides of several conflicts. ( )