Little Fires Everywhere

by Celeste Ng

Literally was one of Lexie’s favorite words, which she deployed even when the situation was anything but literal.

Literally me

it would feel to him that he had always known her name, and that she had always known his, that somehow, he and Pearl had known each other always.

At that moment Moody had a sudden clear understanding of what had already happened that morning: his life had been divided into a before and an after, and he would always be comparing the two.

Perfection: that was the goal, and perhaps the Shakers had lived it so strongly it had seeped into the soil itself, feeding those who grew up there with a propensity to overachieve and a deep intolerance for flaws.