Conversation Starters Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

by Daily Books

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng | Conversation Starters


Little Fires Everywhere is the latest novel from bestelling author, Celeste Ng. Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Little Fires Everywhere tells the story of Elena Richardson, a woman who thrives on structure and rules, and her family. When Mia Warren, an artist who has been living a nomadic lifestyle as a single mother with her daughter, Pearl, arrives in town, it threatens everything that Mrs. Richardson has known. Slowly, Mia becomes the enemy of Mrs. Richardson. Meanwhile, in another part of town, close friends of the Richardsons have adopted a Chinese-American baby, which results in a custody battle. When a fire breaks out in the Richardson home, the town is buzzing with their ideas on who the suspect is.


Little Fires Everywhere became a bestseller for The New York Times instantly after its release in September 2017. Author Paula Hawkins has called the novel tender and wise, while author John Green stated that it was his favorite novel of 2017.


A Brief Look Inside:


EVERY GOOD BOOK CONTAINS A WORLD FAR DEEPER than the surface of its pages. The characters and their world come alive, and the characters and its world still live on. Conversation Starters is peppered with questions designed to bring us beneath the surface of the page and invite us into the world that lives on.


These questions can be used to...


Create Hours of Conversation:


• Promote an atmosphere of discussion for groups
• Foster a deeper understanding of the book
• Assist in the study of the book, either individually or corporately
• Explore unseen realms of the book as never seen before


Disclaimer: This book you are about to enjoy is an independent resource meant to supplement the original book. If you have not yet read the original book, we encourage doing before purchasing this unofficial Conversation Starters.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction

ebook

Published November 25, 2017

Reviews

[Gaye Ingram · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like Celeste Ng's earlier book, this one is a page-turner that is nevertheless unsatisfying as a novel. The source of that dissatisfaction lies partly in the flat world she creates. Her characters are types, not individuals. Sinclair Lewis, whose world Ms. Ing in working, never created such flat characters, and he certainly created a few notable ones. And so is the plot stereotypical. You've got the suicide by tranquilizer, the deadening routine of the unbelievably (really: not credible) orderly population of young and old, the rebel who ends up on the doorstep of one of the properest homes in town, the abortion involving a proper family, the inevitable results. No heart beats passionately. Love is everywhere trumped by orderliness. "Peyton Place" might be better. Certainly some of its characters are more fully developed and more human. Ng's is the kind of fiction a teenager might write before she grasped the complexity that inhabits even the most apparently tranquil world. Deeply superficial and a hackneyed theme to which the author brought nothing new or authoritative. If the writer wants to learn how to burn a house down, I suggest she read "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner. She'd also get an idea of how to create a complex character. Yet the fault, I fear, lies not merely in her artistry, but in her view of the world and what appears to be her lack of deep reading and personal experience. She strikes me as one of the batch of young writers who have come out of a series of Writers Workshops, not deeply steeped in the best literature of this or any other nation. I would not read it again, even out of intellectual or artistic curiosity.

[Caity Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me FOREVER to get through. At times found myself wishing I didn’t start it so that I didn’t have to finish it. 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Cheryl Fontes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes boring and difficult to follow. Still can not figure out what the authors main theme is.

Different kind of book.

[Jacqueline Franks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read.

I would not recommend this book. A little shallow. The author has concentrated on the storyline—ensuring that everything fits together—rather than on character development. Maybe I’m just out of touch with teens, but I think the author’s portrayal is superficial.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really couldn't get into this one. I wanted to love it because I haven't seen the TV show yet but I just couldn't figure out what the main plot was and it was kind of all over the place. Still not even sure what the whole point of the book was.

[Salli Martlew · Rating 2 out of 5]

.ok. Interesting characters, but narrative contrived and therefore unlikely,

[Joan Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep, tender dig into a community’s psyche

Once again, Celeste Ng has written a beautifully layered story with a tender, empathetic dive into each of her characters’ minds. Our stars are Mia, a photographer/artist, and her teenage daughter Pearl who come to settle in perfectly planned community named Shaker Heights where the Richardson family lives – a family that will intertwine with Mia and Pearl. Ng’s ability to hop from one point-of-view to another is done so flawlessly that the reader can glide quickly, gathering up the missed connections, the wrong assumptions, mistakes and discoveries of the characters from the delicious vantage point of anticipating their next moves. At the end of the book, I especially enjoyed the little descriptions of insight Ng shares about each character, framed as a mixed-media photographer would create. The photos added another dimension to the rich ground Ng had already prepared for us. I truly enjoyed this book. A terrific second novel from the author of Everything I Never Told You.

[Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of this novel, I figured it was a 3 star book. It was slow and steady, and it was good, but it wasn't shit your pants good. I was wrong. The last quarter of this book had me on the edge of my seat. Ng very carefully built up to the climax, and subsequently ripped your heart right out. The book makes a neat little circle; it begins with "this happened, let me tell you how we got here." So I knew how it would end, and I'd been anticipating it, but I did not consider that it would hurt that bad. Each characters story is fairly interesting, some more than others. Hearing Mia's history had me broken. And Mrs. Richardson's character development, especially at the end. What in the hell??? I would have rated this a 5/5 if more of the book held that kind of intensity, but because it was (strategically, I might add) less exciting for most of the book, we lost a star. I was not disappointed, though. I'm so glad I finally made the time for this novel.

[Gay Kiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was highly recommended to me, and to be honest, the only reason I didn't give it a 5-star rating is because the plethora of characters, at times, overwhelmed me. I would become attached to one individual, and at times, it felt a bit jarring to begin reading about another. However, the author did a meticulous job of creating characters that were so real, I felt as though I was interacting with them as I read the story. I'm more of a characterization fan than plotting fan, but those who adore fast paced storylines are sure to love this book. The other thing I appreciated was the insight into women becoming mothers, and how much pressure society often puts on women to do everything perfectly; sometimes, with very little support from society. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

[C.J. Zahner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story begins with a fire and the mention of Izzy Richardson. Izzy is one of four children who lives in the house burning to the ground. The story also mentions a mother and daughter, Mia and Pearl, who rent one of the Richardsons’ apartments. Mia and Pearl leave the afternoon of the fire, so right away the reader wants to know what’s going on. All four Richardson children have become involved to some extent with Mia and Pearl who seem slightly mysterious.

Enter Beebe and Mrs. McCullough.

There are numerous twists and turns to this story. Who will like it? Read a full review at:
https://cyndiezahner.com/2021/04/15/l...

[Kendra Chubbuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS BOOK! The characters were awesome. . .the author did a great job. I can't wait to have a discussion about this with our book club. So many things to talk about like motherhood, families, and how siblings treat each other growing up, favors being asked, etc. A great read. I couldn't put it down. It was just as great or even better than Where the Crawdads Sing - of course, that is my opinion. I loved that book too.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. This was very good, not nearly as dark as her earlier book. Once Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl become involved with the Richardson family, nothing is ever the same for either family.

[Anniepster · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does a good job of showing the effects of being different and how it affects community.

[Sally Robinson]

Good book, title becomes apparent at end of story.

[Lynn Cieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drags a bit in the middle with all the high school activities but then the author ties it all together. Characters are developed and I love the art tie in especially in the end.

[Zach Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. A good exploration of family life and a clash of opinions. It made me think.

[Marilyn Platt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read! Living near where this book is supposed to have taken place was cool. An intriguing story about life, a mothers love, and growing pains.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plodded through it, didn’t like it. Draggy, not for me. Was so happy when I had to return it to the library in finished