Little Fires Everywhere: Pre-Reading Discussion

[Winter, Group Reads]

This month we will be reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

This is your space to chat about this month's book selection with other readers. There is no set schedule to follow, and no discussion leader is assigned. Everyone should feel free to post comments, share pertinent articles or interviews, ask questions, share likes or dislikes, etc. Most importantly, enjoy reading together!

This book was nominated by Gina Marie for our monthly theme Mother.

Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town – and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .

[Winter, Group Reads]

What prompted you to join this group read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

[Colin]

I have taken part in the yearly challenge for some time and on a whim decided to take up this book and try to join the challenge. Here goes.

[Beth]

This book has been on my radar for a long time. This seemed like the perfect change to read it.

Never read any of Ng's other books.

[Gina Marie]

I saw the Hulu miniseries before I realized it was based on a book. I haven't read the author before, but I've heard good reviews.

[melanie]

I haven’t been able to fully participate in the group read yet. I read through a bit of the January and April read but didn’t finish them, and couldn’t participate in the discussion element. So I thought this month was the time to give it a shot.

I have read this author before. I read Our Missing Hearts and loved it!!

In Our Missing Hearts I fell in love with how she wrote the characters. The messaging behind her fictional world reflecting parts of our own. I also found the pacing to be perfect. She revealed little bits of information as it was needed without info dumping to the point that you’re bored and can figure it out.