Reviews with content warning for Racism - Little Fires Everywhere

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

247 reviews

aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

clarelou612's review against another edition

3.5

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and the general plot, but the structure and pacing of this book didn’t work for me. It was hard to tell what the central plot/conflict was supposed to be and the first half was quite slow while the second half was super fast.

Content Warnings

k_squared's review against another edition

4.0

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

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

heim_weh's review against another edition

4.5

emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

My god. I am in awe of this tour de force of a piece of masterful writing. The way Ng so deftly manoeuvred the plot, weaving a web of complex characters. The way she fleshed each and every person out, and somehow make them all loveable and despicable at the same time. Despicable is a strong word, I admit, but it is how I view many of them. They are all flawed, but they are all human. How is it possible that I can understand and love and hate each and everyone of them simultaneously?
I still don’t like Izzy even by the end of the book. It’s not to say her motives are impossible to understand. But she gets on my nerves even more than Mrs McCullough, whose flaws can be summarised in that one almost snarky sentence at the very end of the novel: that she already loves the new baby she’s yet to have with all her heart like she did Mirabelle, the new baby’s birth parents wouldn’t put up a fight, that the new baby wouldn’t have known another mother.
The themes explored in this book are so obviously written by a person of colour and a mother that I kept cringing and laughing with delight. Ed Lim’s ‘lamentations’ (for a lack of better words) really struck a chord with me: is this the world my children are going to live in? Early, yes, but a concern to consider nevertheless. It’s true that the world has improved, and I am fortunate to live in a society/community where I still have my culture around. But - how would the children react, being forced and torn between two often conflicting worlds? And the fact that I can totally relate to both mothers - well, the trio if the meddling (oops) Mrs Richardson is to be counted - shows how much Ng has really considered this morally grey story. I understand that the message is a mother deserves to be with her child, but somehow I feel that in the elaborate and intimate arguments in favour of the McCalloughs, there is a part of Ng questioning the final decision. Obviously at the end, May Ling’s reunion with Bebe shows that Ng is on Bebe’s side. But why not make the other side more hateful, if there is not some sympathy for them after all?
The story is not THAT original, but that’s not a flaw of it. In fact, it’s what makes this compelling story even better. It had me literally on the edge of my seat, and I couldn’t stop reading or thinking about it. It made me uncomfortable because I see myself in them - these beautiful and ugly people. I doubt I’ll read it again because the way it made my toes curl with unease was almost too much to bear. But I can’t wait to read another book by Celeste Ng. Perfect score for a perfect book.

(I can’t resist so here goes: someone tell TJR this is how you write from the POV of a POC - not lecturing, especially about something you wouldn’t have experienced at such a level. I had to say it.)
(And THIS is how you build characters and write a coming of age story.)

Content Warnings

natfoster's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

unusuallyy's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

very well written with an amazing flow between different events. explores regular issues teenagers face, issues adults face (especially women), and provides all sides of multiple stories.

Content Warnings