dontjudgeabrooke 's review for:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

3.5

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The Best Friend Reading Challenge: A book set in Ohio or written by an Ohioan

I really enjoyed this book for what it was, especially because I currently live ~15 minutes away from where it takes place and this is one of those books where the setting really does feel like another character.

However, there were several plot points that were implausible enough to take me out of the story a bit

(Bebe catching a last-minute flight to China despite having no money or passport for her baby, Mia refusing money from Pauline, Mia never talking to her parents again after Warren's funeral even though the reason they stopped talking had been her "selling" her baby, Elizabeth conveniently having to leave the room just long enough for Elena to look at the clinic records, Lexie using Pearl's name at the clinic, Mrs. Peters refusing to use the students' bathroom for hours until she soils herself, etc)

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I really appreciated the overall nuance and complexity of the characters and their world; Ng is really talented at creating a fully fleshed-out image. But there were a couple moments in which I wasn't sure I sided with the characters Ng seems to want the reader to side with.

I'm mainly referring to Mia's decision to lie to the Ryans and go on the run with Pearl. There was no indication prior to this decision of Mia having any desire to be a mother; getting pregnant seemed like something she did purely out of financial necessity. Her decision rubbed me the wrong way, and I mostly just found myself hoping the Ryans found a way to have the child they so badly wanted.

Side note: The show is probably one of the worst book-to-screen adaptations I've ever seen. Characters, storylines, and motivations are butchered left and right, especially everything regarding Mia's character. Where the book (mostly) gets its points across with subtlety and restraint, the show clumsily hits you over the head with them.

*Listened to audiobook