A book review of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.  Post contains affiliate links.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin in describing Little Fires Everywhere. I think that it is definitely at the top of may favorite books of the year. The novel opens with a mother, rushing out into the street, clutching her bathrobe as she watches her house go up in flames. Bit by bit, the rest of the family, slowly start arriving, except one daughter is missing, Izzje. We then begin to learn the events that led up to this fire.

The setting of the story is the town of Shaker Heights. It is a planned community, everything perfect. ln this perfect community is a perfect family, The Richardsons. Elana Richardson, the mother of the family, fits perfectly in this community. She has a strong sense of right and wrong and combines her journalist job with carefully watching over her four teenage children. Each child, Lexie, Trip, Moody, and Izzie are well developed characters. Izzie is the most interesting, being a little wild, also with a strong sense of right and wrong, which is usually the opposite of her mother’s.

The Richardson’s have a rental house and Elena is very careful who she let’s rent it. When she meets Mia and her daughter Pearl, they seem perfect. Though Elena doesn’t understand Mia’s nomad lifestyle. Mia is a photographer, who turns her photos into works of art. She and her daughter Pearl rarely spend too long in any town, though Mia has promised that this time they will stay.

Pearl becomes completely enamored with the Richardson family. Their all-American lifestyle so different than her own.

When friends of Elena’s begin to adopt an abandoned Chinese baby, it sets into motion a string of events.

Even though I wouldn’t call this novel a thriller, I read it like a thriller. I literally could not put it down. When some character would do this or that, I would think to myself, “Oh no, this isn’t going to turn out well.” Each event cascading into the next one, like a line of dominos.

I can’t say enough good things about this book, I loved it from beginning to end!