Little Fires Everywhere cover art

Little Fires Everywhere

'Outstanding' Matt Haig

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Little Fires Everywhere

By: Celeste Ng
Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.35

Buy Now for £14.35

THE NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER

'I am loving Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Maybe my favorite novel I've read this year' John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars

'To say I love this book is an understatement. It's a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears' Reese Witherspoon

The brilliant new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, Everything I Never Told You.

Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned - from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother- who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town - and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost...©2017 Celeste Ng Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction United States World Literature Adoption
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

Little Fires Everywhere is a straight-up thriller...From the beginning, Ng's confident use of the omniscient voice signals that this is a writer in total control...While the plot whisks you breathlessly along, it lays out the bones of a debate about race and parenthood
Just finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and now I feel bereft
Just read it. It's a masterclass in characterisation. Outstanding
To say I love this book is an understatement. It's a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears
The book of the moment
I am loving Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Maybe my favorite novel I've read this year
Little Fires Everywhere is already setting America ablaze...it held me completely, from start to finish - held me in the sense that even when I wasn't reading it, some part of my head was straining to find out where it would lead next...what will absolutely ensure the success of this book is that while the plot whisks you breathlessly along, it lays out the bones of a debate about race and parenthood - a debate in which Ng deftly, dutifully ensures that everyone has a point
A burning house sparks tensions within an all-too-perfect suburban community in a story exploring race, identity and family secrets...She manages the impressive feat of allowing us simultaneously to sink into the world she creates and boggle at its naivety and self-satisfaction...At the same time, the pace and structure of the story keep us turning the pages...This is a novel that convinces and compels; it's a pleasure to read
A free spirit shakes up a complacent community in this wry, beautifully observed novel...One of Ng's strengths is that she makes virtue and normality as fascinating as venality and eccentricity...It is beautifully written
It's hard to sum up in this limited space just how fabulous this book is - but trust us, you do not want to miss it. It explores mother-daughter relationships, teen angst, race, love and more, and there's a rumbling corker of a plot twist....Totally unforgettable
The must-read: Take a break from screen time with the hot (literally) new release from Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere. About the arrival of a mysterious mother-daughter duo to white picket suburbia, it's a bona-fide page-turner
The story is brilliantly told, Ng's bright prose glowing with warmth and wisdom as she delves into the complexities of motherhood, convention and creativity
All stars
Most relevant
A highly readable, wonderfully absorbing tale about motherhood, secrets and lies, set in the affluent, verdant perfection of Shaker Heights - a purpose built suburb on the edge of Cleveland, Ohio.

The plot centres around two families, the well-heeled, comfortably complacent Richardsons - mother, father and four children - and the hard-up Warrens, single mother Mia and her daughter Pearl, tenants of the Richardsons with little known past. In between is a tug-of-love court case surrounding an abandoned Chinese baby adopted by friends of the Richardsons. This sparks high and conflicting emotions in Shaker Heights, forcing the town to take sides between the baby's birth mother, a desperate Chinese immigrant, and the McCulloughs. It leads nearly into the unwanted revealing of well-concealed secrets for both the Warrens and the Richardsons.

The story is skilfully told, weaving various narratives together. It is a character-led tale, well observed. The novel opens at the end, as the Richardsons' perfect home burns to the ground then takes us back to the beginning when the Warrens first arrive. The plot picks up pace as events take their toll and deeds have dire consequences. Lives begin to unravel and skeletons are revealed, and perfection of the family structure splits apart. It is a multifaceted novel full of interesting dimensions.

An evocative and complex portrait of suburbia

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s an alright read, but it is a little self indulgent in places. All the characters felt faceless, vague and often unbelievable. And their world is hard to get lost in. Mostly I didn’t really care that much about anyone. Considering the good reviews I’d seen, I felt disappointed overall.

Average

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had to listen to this before I watched the TV series. I prefer to use my imagination for people and places and didn't want the TV to taint my experience. My daughter-in-law was in ecstasy over the series, so I knew I had to get a wiggle on and listen to this quickly. I'm so thrilled I moved this up to the top of my 'to-be-listened-to' list. It was an all encompassing, engrossing book. The characters drawn so exquisitely, their personalities so detailed that I'm sure I could pick out every member of the Richardson family in a room full of strangers. Mia and Pearl's unconventional lifestyle was the perfect paradox to Elena Richardson. It's a book about perception and whether style over substance can ever be better. Cleverly done and without realising it we are listening to a modern take on an Aesop fable. It's what is in your heart that matters, not what's parked in your driveway. A beautiful moral, delicately and compellingly told.

Gorgeous

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderfully narrated. Engaging characters and story. Listening to the audio book really enhanced my enjoyment of this story.

Very enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
beautifully engaging but left wanting more. The story captivated and turned quickly. The themes intertwined with each other, I just felt that I needed more closure- personal preference.

Beautiful storytelling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews