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Celeste Ng is an American novelist who is from Pennsylvania. Celeste Ng grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio which is where this novel also takes place. She was born in 1980 and is 39 years old. Celeste Ng attended Harvard University and the University of Michigan. She is known for her writing of the novel, "Everything I Never Told You" which won several awards.

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Great biography of American writer Celeste Ng with a listing of her work and links to summaries of all her amazing books

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Little Fires Everywhere takes place in a town known as Shaker Heights that is carefully planned out in every aspect. Elena Richardson is a mother who plays by the rules. She meets another mother named Mia who is a nomadic artist that is the complete opposite of her. The two families become intertwined until a custody battle divides the town with Elena and Mia on opposite sides.

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Setting: Shaker Heights, Ohio
Time Period: 1990s
Main Characters: Mia and Pearl Warren, Moody, Trip, Izzy, Lexie, Elena, and Bill Richardson
Situation: Elena Richarson wakes up to the fire alarms in her house and realizes that everything is on fire. Someone had started a fire in the center of all of the beds. The day before the fire, Mia and Pearl had stopped renting their part of the house, but everyone started to blame Izzy Richardson. The author then turns to show the backstory of Mia and Pearl Warren moving to Shaker Heights and how they met the Richardson family.

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I chose to read this book because it was written in 2017. I also read the first couple of pages which talked about the burning down of Elena Richardson's house which added some mystery in the beginning. The book also had several supportive reviews and a high overall rating.

Overall, I am excited to see what drives the two families apart and why someone burned down the house in the beginning. I am also predicting that Pearl Warren constant obsessing over the Richardson family will cause Mia to resent them due to jealousy.

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The story takes place in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The town is described as a place where every little detail is planned out. The author explains that the town was expected to be a utopia. The town does everything to make the streets and homes look uniform. A few examples of this are strongly regulating the architectural designs and making garages be separated and behind the houses. The setting also changes between where the Warrens and Richardsons live. The author uses the drastic differences in living spaces to show contrast between the two families. The Warrens live in a small and relatively barren duplex while the Richardsons live in a fully furnished house that leaves Pearl Warren speechless. Personally, I would like to visit the town once to observe how structured it actually is. I've always enjoyed thinking about the idea of utopian societies which would make this visit very enjoyable.

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Little Fires Everywhere uses an omniscient third person narrator. The narration contributes to the overall understanding of the novel by giving equal attention to several characters. The use of an omniscient narrator also keeps out bias from one character which tends to happen with first person narration. The omniscient third person narration also allows for the reader to have a better understanding of the characters' actions and reactions. When a novel is written in first person, the character may not observe these actions and reactions or the character may not describe their own actions such as a grimace or smile.

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Mia Warren is the mother of Pearl Warren and is one of the main characters in the novel. Mia is a nomadic artist who will finish a project after several months and move somewhere else to start another one. Mia is very frugal and also works part time jobs that will help her pay rent and feed herself and Pearl. She appears to be building a slight resentment for the Richardsons because Pearl constantly talks about them as if they were a TV show that she obsesses over. I believe that Mia is becoming jealous of the Richardsons because Mia spends most of her free time with them. Although Mia doesn't appear to think about her daughter much when constantly moving around, she is brought to tears when Pearl asks if she is wanted. Mia did also tell Pearl that they wouldn't be moving around anymore which shows that Mia is starting to list Pearl as a higher priority. Personally, I wouldn't be friends with Mia because she seems to put herself first most of the time and is also much older than myself.

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A text connection that I made is when Pearl is talking to Mia and the book states, "Instead she asked the question that ran below all the other questions like a deep underground river. 'Was I wanted?" I made a connection to his quote because when I was younger I would ask my mother questions similar to this. My mother would also react similarly to how Mia reacts which is to react with emotion and an general yes.

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Katy Perry - Firework

"It's all the same stuff, you know?' she said at last. She waved a hand in the general direction of the Chick-fil-A and the mall behind it. 'Everyone shows up at school looking like clones."

Pearl and Lexie are trying to get to know each other better which leads them to go shopping together at a local mall. Lexie takes Peal to several stores, but Pearl doesn't buy anything. Pearl believes that everyone tries to be the same and prefers to wear clothing that is different and unique. The quote shows Pearl's belief of promoting individualism and being different which is also what Katy Perry is promoting in her song, "Firework".

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Katy Perry - Firework (Official Music Video)

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Andy Black - We Don't Have To Dance

"Pearl, left alone, stood in the corner of the kitchen, nursing a red Solo cup full of Stoli and Coke and looking for Trip."

Pearl attends a big Halloween party with Lexie and Lexie's friend, Serena. However, once at the party, Pearl spends all of her time sitting in the corner alone. She chooses to not dance or talk to anyone at the party. This somewhat anti-social sentiment is shared in the song "We Don't Have To Dance" where Andy Black talks about avoiding people and social interaction.

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Andy Black - We Don’t Have To Dance (Official)

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One Republic - Secrets

"this was a private thing, something that should have been kept between them..." and "But the matter of the photograph lingered in the air like a bad smell, and Pearl tucked questions into the back corner of her mind..."

Pearl finds a photograph of her mother holding a baby in an art museum while on a school trip. Pearl becomes extremely confused and eventually confronts her mother along with her friends. However, Mia avoids answering and giving details about the photograph. Pearl remains curious as to why Mia is keeping this photograph a secret from her and everyone else.

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OneRepublic - Secrets (Official Music Video)

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IU - BBIBBI

"But inside she was furious at the thought of Mia invading what she thought of her space - the Richardson house."

Pearl starts to become very annoyed with her mother after Mia agrees to work for the Richardsons. Pearl spends most of her time there which would give Mia an excuse to keep more tabs on Pearl and the Richardsons. Pearl believes that her mother is invading her personal space and wants her mother to keep some distance. This connects to the song because IU sings about wanting fans and others to keep their distance and that anyone who gets too close is an invader.

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Shawn Mendes - Nervous

"Pearl would drop-unobtrusively, nonchalantly, she hoped-into the seat next to Trip. All her life, her crushes had been from afar; she'd never had the courage to speak to any of the boys who caught her fancy."

Pearl starts to develop a crush on Trip who is one of the Richardsons. However, Pearl struggles to express it or make a move due to being nervous. This connects to the song "Nervous" because Shawn Mendes sings about also being nervous around someone that he likes similar to that of Pearl.

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The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun

"She had drifted through every grade like that, never bothering to get to know anyone. To start a school knowing you'd see these people all year, and next year, and the year after that, was quite different."

Pearl normally was forced to move constantly due to her nomadic mother. This caused her to have to constantly make new friends or just give up on making friends entirely. However, Mia says that they are staying and Pearl is finally able to make friends and enjoy socializing more. This is essentially a new beginning with times of happiness ahead. This new beginning of happiness is described in the song with the repetition of the phrase "here comes the sun".

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RL Grime - I Wanna Know feat. Daya

"Instead she asked the question that ran below all the other questions like a deep underground river. 'Was I wanted?"

Pearl was talking to her friends about her parents and how she actually doesn't know anything about her father. This results in Pearl going to her mother to find out if she was actually wanted when she was born. Pearl wants to know the answer to heavier questions that she has for her mother similar to how the person in "I Wanna Know" wants the answer to questions she has for someone else.

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RL Grime - I Wanna Know feat. Daya (Official Music Video)

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Avril Lavigne - Complicated

"They rode in silence for a while, those words churning in Pearl's mind: upstairs with some girl. She tried to picture it..."

While at a party Pearl couldn't find Trip to ask him to take her home which resulted in her calling Moody for help. Moody tells her that he is still there but probably with a girl which appears to bother Pearl a little bit. Pearl is starting to learn that Trip may not be exactly what she thought which could make her having a crush on him slightly more complicated.

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Avril Lavigne - Complicated (Official Video)

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Throughout the novel, Celeste Ng uses contrast to boost character development and conflicts between characters. The use of contrast causes characters such as Izzy and Mia to be brought together due to other conflicts. The introduction of bonding between new characters brings an interesting change to the novel. It also allows the reader observe different sides of the characters such as Izzy standing up for her friends or being very interested in creating art.

The most prominent contrast that can be seen from the beginning of the novel is the obvious difference between the Warren family and the Richardsons. Mia Warren is described as "some kind of artist,' Mrs. Richardson had said, and when Mr. Richardson asked what kind, she answered jokingly, 'A struggling one." On the other hand, the Richardsons are renting the home to the Warrens but don't worry about Mia not paying rent "Because they did not need the money from the house..." They are from completely different backgrounds and live very different lives. The two families are set up to be the complete opposite of each other which results in the families being curious about the other and sparks friendships. This example of contrast helps to convey the theme that classes do not decide relationships.

Another use of contrast is between Izzy and the town of Shaker Heights. Izzy, one of the Richardson children, is reckless and refuses to conform to the rules and expectations of Shaker Heights. This results in her being seen as "mental" to the point that her siblings think that they (her parents) are going to lock her up in the psych ward..." Izzy's contrast with the entirety of Shaker Heights causes her to find solace in Mia Warren, essentially an outsider, because she believes that Mia is the only who understands her. This example of contrast also helps to convey the message that classes do not decide relationships
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Celeste Ng also uses parallelism throughout the novel with Mrs. Richardson and Shaker Heights itself. There are strong parallels between Mrs. Richardson and Shaker Heights because Mrs. Richardson is a representation everything that Shaker Heights strives to be. Shaker Heights is described as a place that "everything could -- and should -- be planned out, and that by doing so you could avoid the unseemly, the unpleasant, and the disastrous." Similarly, Mrs. Richardson is also someone who strives to keep order and structure and is also very affluent like the town itself. Mrs. Richardson is a direct representation of Shaker Heights and most of the people in the town which allows for the reader to always see the perspective of the average person in the town. Celeste Ng does a great job with not completely forgetting about how the average person of Shaker Heights would view different characters such as Mia, Pearl, or Izzy who are outliers. This use of symbolism also connects to the message that people are a product of their environment.

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Irony is also used throughout the novel to help convey the message that actions speak louder than words. Celeste Ng's use of irony allows the reader to make more connections to the non- chronological order of the story. Mrs. Richardson explains her battle with containing passion out of fear of what it could become. She fears that the flame of passion will grow to much and burn everything down. She states, "Or, perhaps, to tend it carefully like an eternal flame: a reminder of light and goodness that would never -- could never -- set anything ablaze... the key, she thought, was to avoid conflagration." This connected to the beginning scene where her house is being engulfed in flames making her view on passion very ironic. After describing a philosophical view on life, she would fail to keep to it and the very thing she feared would happen. This ties in with the theme 'actions speak louder than words' because Mrs. Richardson told herself that she would follow this view on passion, but her actions did the opposite, resulting in the burning of her home.

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Throughout the novel, Celeste Ng also uses symbolism to represent the state of relationships between characters. The use of symbolism also allows the reader to understand the reasoning behind a character's actions. Without the introduction of this notebook, it would be slightly more difficult to understand how Moody views the state of his relationship with Pearl throughout the story.

An example of symbolism that is used in the novel is the moleskin notebook that Moody gives to Pearl towards the beginning of the story. Pearl uses the notebook to express her personal thoughts which Moody seems smitten by. Moody's love for the idea can be seen in the quote "to know that he'd given her the notebook that was holding her favorite words and thoughts." This notebook is used to represent the state of the relationship that Pearl and Moody have. The relationship appears to take a turn for the worst when Moody finds out that Pearl is writing about his brother, Trip. Moody believes that Trip is using Pearl while also feeling betrayed which results in him ripping up the book along with his relationship with Pearl.  The use of symbolism helps to convey the theme that jealousy can tear a relationship apart

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The use of metaphors is also prevalent throughout the novel. One of the metaphors that stood out the most was "Rules existed for a reason: if you followed them, you would succeed; if you didn't, you might burn the world to the ground." Ng's inclusion of this metaphor allows for another connection to be made to the introduction of the Richardson house being burned down, as well as a glimpse into how the people of Shaker Heights view tend to view rules. The quote reinforces the structure and order that is expected to be followed in Shaker Heights.

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The most prominent theme in the novel is that "refusing to communicate will only bring more disagreements and pain".

Throughout the novel, characters have refused to communicate and caused disagreements or made disagreements worse. An example where this theme is witnessed by the reader is when Moody ends his friendship with Pearl because she was with his brother, Trip. From the beginning, Moody was interested in Pearl but he never spoke about it to Pearl. This inability to communicate would later result in him ending his friendship with someone who he bonded with quickly and effortlessly. Another prominent example is Mia's decision to refuse to explain her history and life story. This brings Mrs. Richardson to constantly investigate Mia's history and family. Mrs. Richardson also uses Mia's past to confront her, and results in her leaving Shaker Heights altogether.Mia deciding the leave Shaker Heights also caused Izzy to run away after burning down the house. If Mia had aired out her past rather than keeping it a secret, then it would not have been sought out with malicious intent, and caused even more issues.

The theme is important to my own life because my ability to communicate thoughts and feelings about issues is something that I continue to work on in my life. In today's world, young boys are raised to believe that they should keep their feelings inside and to not communicate them. This refusal to communicate their feelings usually results in more pain or disagreements because they cannot express themselves.

This novel is very important to read based off of the theme that "refusing to communicate will only bring more disagreements and pain" because it constantly brings up situations that apply to the issue of people of refusing to communicate with friends and loved ones. These communication blocks always result in more disagreements for the characters and eventually leads to the Warren's moving away and Izzy burning down her family's house. The theme is constantly reinforced by the author with the characters' actions and consequences faced by them. This is an issue faced by everyone at some point in their lives and is a lesson that should be learned. The reading of this novel could teach someone the life lesson before they make the same mistake or open the eyes of someone who is guilty of doing it already.