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marissaumble's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Abortion
katy_bee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I have really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting and well drawn and the plot threw up ethical questions of what makes someone a parent, interracial adoption, privilege & class, our right to judge others and finding the right place in the world. At times it seemed Mia was a little too perfect in guessing what teenagers want and need but she's an interesting character. All the other characters are as well and the family dynamics were well drawn
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
leof555's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Sexual content and Abortion
schlady's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
A well written and thought provoking story that explores topics of privilege, race, family, and motherhood. The setting was strikingly accurate even in its littlest details, myself having grown up around the same real places in the Cleveland area. The various characters and their stories are interesting & compelling while still easy to keep track of, written in a seemingly effortless way while taking a few unexpected turns. The ending wrapped up a tad too quickly for me, but overall another great book by Ng that I just couldn't put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Infertility, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
charlmh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Child death and Miscarriage
jkamler's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Racism and Cultural appropriation
mr_cain's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, and Deportation
ada_elisabeth's review against another edition
dark
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Little Fires Everywhere, or Bad Things Happening to Pregnant People for Three Hundred and Thirty-Six Pages.
I would have LOVED this book if it had just been about the boring lives of the Richardsons. Reading three hundred pages of Lexie or Trip or Moody or Izzy or Mr. or Mrs. Richardson's everyday existence would've been so nice. The first few chapters were somewhat like that, but then the plot got plot-y-er, and I didn't really like that.
First of all, there are like four hundred million different storylines happening in this novel. Pearl, Mia, all of the Richardson children, the Richardson parents, and random other people from the ensemble of characters all narrate bits and pieces of this story, starting off when it's convenient and dropping out when their personal stories are over for the moment. There were bits I liked, but I really, strongly did NOT enjoy Mia's whole backstory.
Honestly, I kind of hated Mia. A surrogate who essentially steals the child is somehow the best mother in the world because she calls her kid 'my darling' a lot? Yeah, I don't buy it.
While I tolerated her character in the beginning, her struggling artist thing was not winning her any pity points by the second half of the story. Also, potential hot take, but I think Mrs. Richardson was right and Pearl would've been better off with the Ryans. No offense to Mia, but I don't think what she did was right at all.
And what was up with Lexie using Pearl for everything? Although Lexie was probably my favorite character, I did not support the ways in which she used Pearl. Not v. nice. Come to think of it, Moody was the only one who was even remotely respectful of Pearl. Yes, she a Lexie were 'friends,' but what kind of friend makes you write their college essay and books an abortion appointment under your name?
What the heck was up with Izzy? Was she just a very angsty teenager, or did she need some sort of therapy? What kind of sane person burns down their own house? I have many questions. Love the fact that she plays the violin dramatically and stomps around in (I assume) Doc Martens, because I can relate to both of these things.
Anyway, as I've already mentioned, like, 90% of the bad things that happened in this book was because somebody got pregnant and didn't want to have a baby or wanted to have a baby but couldn't get pregnant. Almost all of the various plots involve babies and/or the lack of them in some way.
A final thought: What is Moody's real name? I'm pretty sure Trip can be a name, but I really don't think anybody in their right mind would name their child Moody. Especially when their other children have normal names like Alexandra (Lexie) and Isabelle (Izzy). Alas.
While Little Fires Everywhere refers to the 'little fires everywhere' Izzy started in her house, I think it mostly refers to the small ripples of destruction a single person can cause. 4.25/5 stars.
I would have LOVED this book if it had just been about the boring lives of the Richardsons. Reading three hundred pages of Lexie or Trip or Moody or Izzy or Mr. or Mrs. Richardson's everyday existence would've been so nice. The first few chapters were somewhat like that, but then the plot got plot-y-er, and I didn't really like that.
First of all, there are like four hundred million different storylines happening in this novel. Pearl, Mia, all of the Richardson children, the Richardson parents, and random other people from the ensemble of characters all narrate bits and pieces of this story, starting off when it's convenient and dropping out when their personal stories are over for the moment. There were bits I liked, but I really, strongly did NOT enjoy Mia's whole backstory.
Honestly, I kind of hated Mia.
While I tolerated her character in the beginning, her struggling artist thing was not winning her any pity points by the second half of the story. Also, potential hot take, but I think
And what was up with Lexie using Pearl for everything? Although Lexie was probably my favorite character, I did not support the ways in which she used Pearl. Not v. nice. Come to think of it, Moody was the only one who was even remotely respectful of Pearl. Yes, she a Lexie were 'friends,' but what kind of friend
What the heck was up with Izzy? Was she just a very angsty teenager, or did she need some sort of therapy? What kind of sane person burns down their own house? I have many questions. Love the fact that she plays the violin dramatically and stomps around in (I assume) Doc Martens, because I can relate to both of these things.
Anyway, as I've already mentioned, like, 90% of the bad things that happened in this book was because somebody got pregnant and didn't want to have a baby or wanted to have a baby but couldn't get pregnant. Almost all of the various plots involve babies and/or the lack of them in some way.
A final thought: What is Moody's real name? I'm pretty sure Trip can be a name, but I really don't think anybody in their right mind would name their child Moody. Especially when their other children have normal names like Alexandra (Lexie) and Isabelle (Izzy). Alas.
While Little Fires Everywhere refers to the 'little fires everywhere' Izzy started in her house, I think it mostly refers to the small ripples of destruction a single person can cause. 4.25/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death
isareader's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Starts off as a story that you feel like you’ve heard/read before - a nice neighborhood has people who are a little different from their neighbors move in and shake things up, but this book transforms into so much more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s not often that I find the telling of a story to capture so many complexities and intimacies of characters and issues as well as this story did for me. I thought this book introduced and tackled many of them quite exceptionally (A lot of times in TV shows, movies, or other books, I think, “There could have been more details about this” or “I didn’t like how this issue/conflict was brought up and then resolved without much discussion”, and I didn’t feel this way with this book!).
All of the characters remind me of someone I know or knew and the moral dilemmas they all face ring a painful truth of how difficult decisions don’t always have a clear right or wrong way to the answer. I especially loved Ng’s attention-to-detail writing style and the mystery of the story (and ending) that keep you hooked. Minus .25 because I think chapters could be organized better with character anecdotes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Pregnancy
skyba3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury