Review: Little Fires Everywhere
All her life, she had learned that passion, like fire, was a dangerous thing. It so easily went out of control.
Celeste Ng’s first book, Everything I Never Told You
Rules existed for a reason: if you followed them, you would succeed; if you didn’t, you might burn the world to the ground.
Shaker Heights, Ohio, is a perfectly planned community full of perfectly planned families. Elena Richardson, journalist, mother of 4, wife of 1, grew up in Shaker Heights and returned to start a family right after college. Image is extremely important to her, and she works hard to maintain a shining one. When Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl move to town, looking to start a new chapter in their lives, Elena takes it upon herself to help them out, beginning with giving them a good deal on a rental. But when Pearl and Elena’s children become entwined, Elena starts to wonder about Mia’s mysterious past, and why they don’t really know anything about her. When one of Elena’s friends tries to adopt a Chinese-American baby, Mia and Elena, as well as the entire town, are split on whether or not the adoption should go through. Elena will not stop looking into Mia’s past until she figures out everything, no matter how many lives she ruins along the way.
The first thing that came to mind when I started reading this book was the song Little Boxes. (It was the theme song to the TV show Weeds, and it’s about perfect little box houses all in a row, and all the families looking the same.) Ng’s Shaker Heights is just like the song. Everyone has a large, perfect house, everyone is a doctor, lawyer, or executive, and everyone wants to be the same. Elena’s youngest child, Izzy (who I wanted so much more of), throws a wrench into those plans, and that’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to ruin the plot for you.
This book made me think, and I’m still thinking about it. It made me question my own motives behind the decisions I’ve made, and what kind of judgments I’m willing to pass on people who I’ve never met. Elena wants to be charitable, and she is, but only for certain people who meet certain criteria. She is very quick to pass judgment on other people and their situations, but that judgment changes when she or her family is in a similar situation. Ng really confronts the black and white that most of us use for right and wrong, and delves into all the shades of gray that are in between.
The writing, as usual, is wonderful. Ng moves fluidly between the characters’ past and present, and does so so seamlessly that not only did I not feel removed from the main story, I didn’t even realize it was happening. She is such a beautiful writer. (And I mean that in the best way, not in the, “this book is highbrow and no one can really understand it” way.) It is a brilliant, original story, and I literally hugged the book when I finished it and wanted to re-read it immediately.
Little Fires Everywhere
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ X 1,000
EXTRA!
I have to include my favorite quote here, because it made me tear up when I read it, as a parent and as a fan of Ng’s writing.
“Parents, she thought, learned to survive touching their children less and less. It was like training yourself to live on the smell of an apple alone, when what you really wanted was to devour it, to sink your teeth into it, and consume it, seeds, core, and all.”
Ng is an expert at pinpointing the exact feeling we can all relate to and leaning into it with all her might. If you read this book and don’t feel SOMETHING, well, read it again!
Review: Abigale Hall
In a hidden corner of the Welsh countryside, beneath the dark green hills and stretching deep underground, lies a secret.
This is not the sort of book I would usually reach for, even around Halloween. Maybe especially around Halloween. But Madeleine at Top Shelf Text recommended it so highly that I had to give it a try. I’m so glad I did, because while it was an anxiety-inducing novel, it was a really well-written one. Abigale Hall
17-year-old Eliza and her younger sister Rebecca have orphaned due to various events during WWII. Their mother was killed in the Blitz, their father committed suicide, and their aunt very suddenly and mysteriously decides she can no longer care for them and they are sent to work at a crumbling mansion in Wales. They never see the owner, Mr. Brownwell, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Pollard, is . . . off. Eliza tries to make plans to escape back to London, but when she discovers a book covered in blood, she has to figure out what’s going in the house and why none of the other girls hired in the past are alive.
This book made me nervous when I read it, and I genuinely feared for the safety of the characters. If the plot reminds you of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, it’s for a good reason. There are definite similarities between the two, and if you like Rebecca you’ll probably like this book too. The story is creepy and mysterious, but it’s not gory, so if gore bothers you (like it does me) don’t let that keep you from this one! WWII is the backdrop of the story, but I wouldn’t say it’s a major theme in the book.
None of the characters in the book are completely likable, but it was ok because the story drew me in so much. Eliza, who frustrated me at the beginning of the book, does go through some necessary character changes, and I was completely on her side by the end. I don’t want to say much about Rebecca, because her role in the story is twisted and interesting, but suffice it to say that she definitely adds to the creepiness and mystery!
Abigale Hall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[Top]Review: Lies She Told
To be a writer is to be a life thief. Every day, I rob myself blind.
When I saw that my friend Stacey at Prose and Palate was a guest judge (AGAIN, because she’s amazing) for Book of the Month, I knew I would selecting whatever book she recommended. So there was no question that for September, my choice was Lies She Told
It’s only a story.
Liza is a novelist whose latest book sales aren’t fantastic. Her publisher is giving her one more chance to write a bestseller, and she doesn’t have time to do it. She and her husband are also trying to start a family, and her husband’s best friend and law partner has disappeared. To cope, Liza disappears into her novel, writing about her main character, Beth. Beth has a new baby and a cheating husband. Her plan of confronting him about it goes awry, and before she knows it, she’s pushing the mistress’s body into the East River. Before long, Liza’s and Beth’s lives intertwine, and Liza has to figure out what is the truth, what is fiction, and whose story she’s really in.
I was hooked on this book from the very beginning. The story is told in alternating chapters between Liza and Beth. Holahan expertly writes the Beth and Liza chapters so that they become entwined, and I kept forgetting which woman I was reading about. It wasn’t frustrating, though, and it added to the tension in a really good way. (The font used for each character’s chapter is different, so there’s always a reminder.) She puts just enough pressure on the characters, both real and fictional, that you feel the tension as they try to figure out what to do. The twist was great, and while I did figure it out before the ending, it really didn’t bother me because I was having such a good time reading and going along on the adventure with Liza and Beth.
There were a few editorial misses (a name changed mid-paragraph, some words were left out) that made the editor in me cringe, but I was ok with ignoring that because I had to keep reading!
Lies She Told
Review: Seven Days of Us
Seven Days of Us
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the digital review copy! All opinions are my own!
Perhaps every family should be quarantined together . . .
The holiday season is great. Halloween kicks it off, then Thanksgiving, then we steamroll right into Christmas. (Sometimes Christmas takes over a bit early . . .) Decorations, fairy lights, food, and family. It all seems wonderful. In theory. But what if you were stuck in a house with your entire immediate family, who you don’t exactly get along with, for seven days? And by stuck, I mean medically and legally quarantined. Francesca Hornak explores that idea in her new book Seven Days of Us
Olivia Birch, MD, has been away in Liberia treating people for the deadly Haag virus, which is rapidly spreading to other countries. Upon her return to England, she is required to be quarantined for seven days to make sure she doesn’t display any signs of the virus. Instead of spending Christmas alone, she decides to join her family, meaning they must all be quarantined for a week. Olivia is trying to re-acclimate to first world amenities (and first problems), her sister, Phoebe, is focused on her upcoming wedding, her dad locks himself in his office, writing restaurant reviews, and her mom, Emma, is hiding a secret that won’t stay hidden for long. And of course, there’s a mystery guest who none of them are expecting.
The story takes place over the seven days the family is in quarantine, and is told in short, alternating chapters between each of the family members and the mystery guest. This was a really fun read for me, and perfect for reading before the holidays! (Or perhaps for reading while you’re hiding in your room away from your own family . . . ) It was interesting to see how different the family members were from each other, with the differences being made even more prominent from being stuck together. There are some really funny parts (one laugh out loud for me), and Hornak keeps the suspense going by revealing bits of information throughout the book that the reader knows but not all of the characters know. The fun is in watching them all find out certain things and seeing how they react. (And seeing which secrets each family member chooses to hide, and their actions are misperceived because of that.)
In my opinion, none of the characters were very likeable, because they were written very honestly, but they are all interesting. Whether or not you agree with each character’s opinions or choices, they all remain true to themselves, and the way they behave is informed by their circumstances in life. This is a family, and families aren’t perfect. I loved peeking into their window and watching the drama unfold over a week. There is also an extra little twist at the end of the book, and I really appreciated it over a perfect, gift-wrapped ending.
Seven Days of Us
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[Top]Review: The Graveyard Book
“It will take more than just a couple of good hearted souls to raise this child. It will,” said Silas, “take a graveyard.”
I picked this book up on a whim. I was in the mood for something spooky, something quick, and something a little different. The Graveyard Book
Nobody Owens, a living boy, lives in a graveyard. After his family was murdered (quite violently) when he was 18 months old, he managed to escape his house and wound up in a graveyard. The resident ghosts decided that rather than turn him back to the world of the living, where the killer is still searching for Nobody, they will raise him and teach him how to do ghostly things, in addition to reading and writing. As Nobody grows older, he begins to wonder what lies beyond the graveyard, and gets into some trouble as he tries to discover who he really is, and where he really belongs.
This book is weird. It is also beautiful . . . in a weird way. I love that it takes the trope of a child being raised by animals (Gaiman thanks Rudyard Kipling in the Acknowledgements) and twists it into a story of a child being raised by ghosts in a graveyard. But even with that strange setting, it is still simply the story of a precocious child looking for adventure. His adventures just happen to include ghouls, hellhounds, and a probable vampire.
Older kids will love the graveyard setting and the wild adventures Nobody goes on. Adults will appreciate the deeper story at work here: a child who is growing up and wants to leave him, even as he still feels the pull of staying with his family and what he knows. There’s a particular scene that I just love, when Nobody is complaining to a group of ghouls about how unfair his ghost parents are and how they don’t understand him. It’s proof that no parent can win, no matter how different and cool they seem.
The Graveyard Book