Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Moderator---Shellie

It's the late 90s and the setting for the novel is Shaker Heights, Ohio.   Shaker Heights is one of the first planned communities in the U.S., laid out in 1912.  Even a duplex is disguised as a single family home to avoid the stigma of renting rather than owning in the upscale community plus it helps keep the neighborhood desirable.  It's the relationship between the renter (Mia Warren) and owner (Elena Richardson) of a duplex on Winslow Rd. that is the center of the story.

The book opens with the home of Elena Richardson, a life-long resident of Shaker Heights, going up in flames.  The firemen on the scene say there were little fires everywhere--not an accident--but arson.  And the family knows it is the youngest daughter, Izzy, who is to blame.

During the course of the story, you meet the four Richardson children, even Izzy, and learn the family dynamics.  Mia Warren, the renter of the duplex owned by Elena Richardson, has one child, a daughter named Pearl.  Pearl becomes friends with the Richardson son, Moody.  He eventually introduces her to the other children in the family.  Her mother Mia is brought into the family as a part-time housekeeper so she can pursue her artistic photography on a more full time level.

Everything seems to run smoothly until you look closer.  Then, the adoption of a Chinese baby by friends of the Richardson splits the family and personally affects Mia and Pearl.  Secrets and suspicions rule the household.  Nothing is perfect, not even in Shaker Heights.  

This best-selling novel will be produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington into a series

 for Hulu.

Food Fair:

Pepperoni, Salami and

Roast Beef sandwiches,

Pretzels, apples and

Bull's eye candies   

"Loved the idea of reading about

an area I was familiar with."—Shellie 👍🏻

"Fires everywhere—literally, metaphorically—everywhere.  Opposite families, harmless town,

yet combustible."—Kim 👍🏻