Book Review: Little Fires Everywhere (2017)

Synopsis:

Life in Shaker Heights are meticulously planned. From its road, its house color to the successful lives of its residents. Elena Richardson is one of its resident who's really hold her own rules to live her own life. Yet when her last child, Izzy burned their family house and peoples really talked about it. She and Shaker Heights's residents wonder what behind her daughter' actions.

Review:

This book just uniquely written by Celeste Ng. This is the first time I read her book. As other good fiction, this book provoke thought, yet the feelings are involved too. At beginning of one hundred pages, I started to get bored but after almost two hundred pages, things started to get interesting and what's makes this book good is the mystery that intrigue curiousity to whoever read it and this book has surprised ending.

This book is young adult story. It told many things that happens around us, like free sex, abortion, surrogate and adoption things. I think the main individual of this novel focus on Elena Richardson and Mia Wright. Mia Wright just move in to Winslow house, the asset that belong to Richardson family and having Elena as the landlord at first feel like a blessing because Elena gave cheap rent price because she always want to look good in front of peoples. She rent her asset to Mr Yang and Mia Wright.

Mark and Linda McCullough want to adopt chinese baby who originally named May Ling but they changed the baby' name to Mirabelle. The baby itself was found in front of fire station office and because they don't have baby on their own, Linda really want to adopt May Ling. The Richardsons went to Mirabelle/May Ling first birthday party hosted by Linda McCullough, Lexie was really love Mirabelle, how cute the baby is and gushed over the week after. Mia heard her when she's working at Richardson's house and she remembered her friend Bebe Chow who can't remember her baby. She told her the whole thing and tell Bebe to strive for her baby. Therefore, Bebe Chow pursue this case to local trial. Bebe wants to take her baby back, but McCullough who hired Billy Richardson, Elena' husband won't be easily give up the baby.

Elena Richardson did not this let go easily. With her will power, she tried to find out about Mia' dark background and she even asked Elizabeth her old friend to look the list of abortion patients in case that Bebe went of abortion. This request is illegal and Elizabeth rejected her request but somehow Elena still steal a glance at her computer while she's away and this was break their relationship, because Elena seems to asked Elizabeth to pay back her kindness in the past times. Nothing stops Elena, Elena seems try anything possible to make the case win for her husband and her friend, McCullough. She is an ambitious journalist who didn't give up easily and have her own rules to live her own life. She wants everything to be perfect on her own term, good education, good appearance, good husband, a lot of good children, good house and good life that makes her proud in the community.

As we know, something unpredictable can happen in life. Lexie, Elena' oldest daughter went to clinic and use Pearl' name to cover her. Lexie had abortion and asked Pearl to be her company. Trip, Elena's son was secretly screwing over Pearl. Moody, Elena' third child was Pearl' good friend and was dissapointed because he felt Pearl'd rejected his feelings by secretly dated his brother Trip and then Izzy, the last child that always makes Elena worried. Izzy is the most critical girl in the family. Izzy always fight with Elena because Elena is always restrict Izzy from anything yet give the freedom for the rest of her siblings. Yet Izzy feel connection with Mia and she wants to follow her path to be an artist and live in freedom like Mia did. Izzy know the truth about what happens, what her siblings did to Pearl and what her mother did to Mia. She can't stand the ugliness of her family, therefore she burned down their family house because she wants they all start a new life. After this fire incident by Izzy, their neighbourhood in Shaker Height still talking about it. After Izzy's gone, Elena found that beyond her bad attitude towards Izzy, she'll missed her and as mother' instinct, she determined to find her lost daughter.

This story also reminds me of a mother, however bad she is, she won't ever easily give up for her child. Like Elena, will strive to find Izzy. Like Mia who keeps running to different states just to survive with Pearl, her surrogate baby with Mr. Ryan. Like Bebe, who's sneaking at night at McCullough' house to steal May Ling and comeback to China, her home country. I personally think this book could be the best gift to mother on mother's day which just happens yesterday, this book also for everyone that likes young adult novels. This book really blow your mind with the details and ending.

Rating: 4.5/5


Kind regards,

~Selene.