I formed a new book club this year, and Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere was our first selection. The book topped a number of 2017’s “Best of” lists –People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch- and there was hype all over about it. The book sounded good, and it was a natural choice for our first read.

“In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors 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 teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than 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 status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons 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 unexpected and devastating costs. “

Overall, we all enjoyed the book, but we were a little surprised that it led as many best of lists as it did.  It’s a good story, though parts of it are completely unbelievable.   I thought the adoption controversy would  make up a larger part of the story, but it felt like it came to a plot point pretty late in the story, as almost an afterthought for how it is referenced in the summary and reviews.

What makes a mother is a crux of the story, and that is a worthy part of the discussion. Yes, there is the story of the birth and adoptive mothers, but there’s also Elena Richardson and Mia Warren.  Ng contrasts these women and their approach to motherhood.  Most starkly, she presents Elena as “Mrs. Richardson” and Mia as Mia. That is clearly a deliberate choice and helps set the tone of these two characters and their personalities.  I get the sense Mrs. Richardson chose the safe, perfect, Stepford life and resents parts of the life she didn’t choose.  So I felt a little sorry for her on occasion, but she is motivated by a mean streak that keeps me from really liking her.

All in all, I say this one is worth the read and can spark some conversation.  I’m just not putting it on my “Best of” shelf.