Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Little Fires Everywhere

Finally got around to this book, and it definitely impressed me. The writing sort of turned me off at first as a little pretentious, but it grew and became really rich as Ng delved into the stories of the characters.

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schrammanda's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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vannahcabana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

This book really surprised me. It’s quite mysterious and not at all what I expected! It begins with the end of the book and then goes through the storyline. Lots of twists and turns! At first it was a little complicated to keep up with all the characters and their stories, but I finally understood the differences after several chapters.

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niamhbereading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

shit bro this book broke my brain.

the characters were very resonant, but not loveable, which is a fantastic thing. each character, from the rich shaker heights folk to the lower class, is so well-rounded, w/ organic flaws that drive the plot but also genuine positive traits that make each character unique. celeste ng doesnt bother trying to make you (the reader) like the characters, let alone love them. these characters have too many dimensions for any reader to love them. i think, if these characters were more loveable, this book wouldnt hit as hard, because the whole POINT is that they're ALL fucked up.

this book is essentially about motherhood: what makes a mother? is someone your mother simply bc you came out of their womb? or is it because they love you? does the amount of love your mother is able to give determine if they're a good mother? can you measure motherly love? bruh. idk. i came into this book w/ answers to these questions (tho i never thought much about them), but this book undid all of that. it made me angry when these questions were wrestled w/ & then it made me feel dumb for not having all the answers, which made this book such a gripping read. the central debate of this book (

Spoiler

a white couple struggling to conceive adopts an abandoned asian baby, but the baby's bio mom wants the baby back. who gets the baby: the bio mom who abandoned her baby & left her sick & starving, or the adopted couple who gave the baby a healthy & wealthy home?

) scrambled my brain & i'll be thinking about it for the rest of my life.

i loved how this book felt like a spider web. everything was connected, from characters parallelling each other to asides from previous chapters coming back to bite you in the ass later in the book. i REALLY want to know what celeste ng's planning for this book looked like LOL.

the back of the book said celeste ng grew up in shaker heights, which is the same community this book is set. i'm amused by how she wrote a book depicting the worst parts of her hometown & published it. yeah girl good for you get that check LMAO.

i'd recommend this book to fans of small-town tv dramas, anti-rich ppl, & quirky artists.

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