I had limited time to read Little Fires Everywhere (Goodreads) because it was in such high demand at our library.  Instead of the usual 1 month read time, it needed to be returned within 2 weeks.  I tried to blaze through it; however, for me, this book required a slow read.  

Complex and well-carved from stereotypes, the characters in Little Fires Everywhere reminded me of the old 90210, Cleveland style.  The book contains cool teens, “friends” instead of parents, and random references to meeting at high school lockers.  Just when I thought I was making progress on one of the story lines, the entire boat would shift and start rocking in the opposite direction. This wasn’t a bad thing — it just required more attention than my typical reads.  Family drama is at the heart of Little Fires Everywhere, but it impacts the village that raises the kids, too.

The book ends on a rather cliffhanger-ish note.  It’s the type of ending that made me turn the Acknowledgments page, looking for the next chapter.  But nope, that was the end.  It’s enough to satisfy the plot’s major conflicts, but didn’t provide much closure to the rest of the story. Maybe that was the point!

Those who enjoy Little Fires Everywhere might also enjoy No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert.  That book had the same ambivalent effect on me….so maybe it’s me, not the books.  There’s another conversation for another day!

(Note…. Little Fires Everywhere has frequent mentions of alcohol, bedroom scenes, and profanity.)