A review by amandalorianxo
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I vaguely remember this book being Uber popular even before the idea of a tv show came about. I didn’t know what to make of the premise so I left it alone until recently. First - the plot twist towards the middle ish ? 3/4 of the way in surprised me. So that was interesting. Except ....
if Mia truly believed that May Ling deserved to be with Bebe.... why hadn’t she given the Ryan’s their kid ? Isn’t that... hypocritical ? I also rolled my eyes and gave a sigh of ... not disgust just a really ? when Pearl tells Tripp she doesn’t mind being a secret. Again- I’m 29 so I’m obviously of the mindset where I know when a teenage boy like Tripp (fictional or not) is using someone and the girl just doesn’t see it. I also strongly disliked Elena throughout the entire novel. So... she has Izzy and because Izzy was the painful, no easy child to be pregnant with (not to mention a premature baby) Elena resents her daughter because of this ? This is no way in hell Izzy’s fault ! Izzy of course picks up on the mom’s behavior and despite the fire burning being a little extreme - a part of me doesn’t blame her for doing that. Izzy is fed up with the mistreatment and of course - the trauma would be enough for any teenager to act up. I think that the book is slow paced - I’m glad in the end the background / backstory of the characters took center stage in the first part of the novel to understand their development. Once that got out of the way - the plot picked up quickly. It took me some time to absorb the book in between readings - mostly because I sympathize with Izzy and being a premature baby myself - I understand when a parent is told your child may not be able to do things and then come out doing exactly what they said you couldn’t. Yet - my mom wasn’t like Elena. She didn’t channel her frustration on me because I was early. She fought hard to make sure I had what I needed to grow. So a lot of the sections with Izzy and Elena - I wanted to strangle / slap some sense into the woman. In the case of May Ling - I think visitation should have been granted. Or even a co parent option. I didn’t care / like the McCulloughs either.
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