Little Fires Everywhere

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

51/30 | Started 11.21.22 • Finished 12.08.22 | 4 stars

A family drama with an apropos title. It was like a bunch of little problems across three families that escalated into something huge.

To a parent, your child wasn’t just a person: your child was a place, a kind of Narnia, a vast eternal place where the present you were living and the past you remembered and the future you longed for all existed at once. You could see it every time you looked at her: layered in her face was the baby she’d been and the child she’d become and the adult she would grow up to be, and you saw them all simultaneously, like a 3-D image. It made your head spin. It was a place you could take refuge, if you knew how to get in. And each time you left it, each time your child passed out of your sight, you feared you might never be able to return to that place again.

I really appreciated the character development in this one, and the relationships between them. I wasn't sure how we were going to get from the beginning to the beginning (you'll see what I mean), but it honestly felt like it was all completely plausible and made complete sense. I loved the descriptions of Mia's artwork and of her process. I initially liked the innocence of Pearl and wasn't a fan of how that evaporated and the lying began. I thought Pearl and Moody had a really genuine friendship and hoped that things would turn out differently for them. Content warning and spoiler alert: there is a scene where one of the characters goes through with an abortion at a clinic. While I wish it hadn't been portrayed so lightly in the book, it was one of the fires that led to the final explosion.

She held this knowledge inside her like a splinter, something she was careful not to touch.

Overall, I think the book was pretty great. I didn't do a lot of highlighting but it's one of the better books I've read where the writing didn't have the wow factor. The loveliness of the book is caught up in the characters and the reality of the storyline. If you like family sagas with some angst and darkness, this one is for you.

The words fell out of Lexie’s mouth like stones.

Roxie and the Hooligans

Roxie and the Hooligans, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

50/30 | Started 11.17.22 • Finished 12.08.22

A cute little story about a girl who befriends her bullies when they find themselves stranded on a desert island. Carolyn enjoyed it though I'm not sure she followed everything that was going on. Illustrations always help too!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

Started 11.10.22 • Finished 12.08.22

"My favorite quote is 'but I don't like wealth one bit!' because it shows that no one should like wealth over everything else. At first, I thought Id' like it because Tom is very adventurous.

The main character is obviously Tom Sawyer. He's adventurous, dangerous, and he often disobeys his Aunt Polly. He really wants adventure. the only obstacle is that he isn't allowed to have adventures, and how he does it is he just disobeys his aunt.

I'd give this book a 5 out of 5. I loved how it was told, and the characters were all great."

Neph, age 12