A review by abbruzzese
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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

4.0

You’ll always be sad about this. But it doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice. It’s just something that you have to carry.

one of the cardinal rules of writing is that the first page—the first sentence, even—is supposed to hook your readers. this book did not do that, but i am so glad i stuck it out and kept going! this book is good! the plot is always moving & it was the perfect subway read because it was easy to pick up wherever i left off. 

now, for the characters...
  • pearl & mia are perfect. i loved them. wouldn't change a thing.
  • lexie & izzy were okay characters, but it def felt like they were plot-movers if not their own people.
  • trip felt sooo forgotten as a character, would have loved to see him incorporated into the plot more. 
  • mr. richardson was replaceable. he had one somewhat important role in the story and even then, it could have easily been written with anyone else & not changed a thing.
  • mrs. richardson made me want to break fucking necks. but i guess that means she was well-written?
  • and finally, moody...
    Spoilergirl what the hell happened? he's a sweetheart, he disappears from the plot, and then he turns back up as an asshole? how does he go from <i>"he would crack dumb jokes and tell stories and dredge up bits of trivia, anything to make her smile"</i> to <i>"i thought you were smarter than the sluts who usually agree to do it with him. but i guess not.”</i> ??? celeste ng, please explain wtf you were trying to accomplish with this regressive development bc i am NOT having it. i could maybe understand moody's bitterness over pearl liking trip if the brotherly conflict arc had been explored  <s>at all</s> a little more, but it wasn't, so this whole sibling jealousy thing comes out of fucking NOWHERE.

anyway, other than my nitpicky critiques of the characters, i enjoyed this book! i might have to take a peek at what else celeste ng has written. 
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