Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Review

Title: Little Fires Everywhere

Author: Celeste Ng

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Series: Standalone

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

                I bought a copy of this book and reviewed it.

                First of all, happy Easter, however you celebrate! I hope you and yours are happy and healthy and you’re trying to find something to kill quarantine boredom! I’ve been curious about Celeste Ng for years now, so when Hulu announced that it was adapting her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, I was so excited! To be honest, I watched the series before reading the novel, and I have to say that I really feel that the book is better! I’m still not finished with the series, so I’m trying to hold out judgement for it. This book might be one of the best I’ve ever read; I loved it so much. This book might have been my first book by Celeste Ng, but I can guarantee that it won’t be my last! Little Fires Everywhere is the story of two families who live in Shaker Heights, Ohio. But underneath the shiny veneer of equality, rules, orderly houses and cut lawns, secrets teem within the darkness. And when they’re unearthed, no one will emerge from the sparks that ignite unscathed…

                Elena Richardson takes pride in following the rules in her idyllic little town of Shaker Heights, Ohio. She has it all: a great job, a loving husband, happy, healthy children. But when two newcomers come along, Elena generously rents out one of the properties she and her husband oversee. But Mia and her daughter, Pearl have secrets to hide themselves, and once Elena catches wind of it, she will not stop until every stone is unturned, even if it means starting a fire that she cannot contain…

                As I said, the thing that gave me the push to read this book was the Hulu series, and I’m very much looking forward to the end of that, but I’m going to review it as a separate piece of media. The book; I finished it three days ago and I still can’t get it out of my head. I’m from Ohio, and Shaker Heights might be forty-five minutes away from us. This book took place in the late 90s, and at times, it was like looking into a funhouse mirror: familiar, unsettling, more than a little foreign and unrecognizable. This book was filled with such an exquisite sense of dread that I had to put it down more than once. Even so, I devoured it. Even when I wasn’t reading, the book lurked in my mind, my brain churning with questions. I loved all the characters; they seemed so real at times that they oozed off of the page. This might be one of my favorite novels of all time; I loved how it plumbed the meaning of family, love, and most of all, the secrets that we all hope to hide in plain sight. Celeste Ng’s writing is nothing less than electric, able to rend your heart as easily as mend it. I think it’s safe to say that I will never forget this book, not for as long as I live. I loved every beautiful, empathetic, and heartbreaking moment of it, and I can’t wait to see how the show turns out! The bottom line: Rich, searing, thoughtful and emotional, I loved Little Fires Everywhere! Next on deck: Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women!