Little Fires Everywhere

I went into this book hoping it would be good (because I've read a lot of positive reviews) but prepared to not be impressed at all (that seems to be an issue with large percentage of books for me lately). With all that, my immediate inclination to give this 4 stars was a bit of a surprise.

This is not a fast moving story. Instead it smolders (pun intended), occasionally ignites and then dies back down. It's about characters and emotion. It's not only about how we see ourselves but how others change and color how we see ourselves. There isn't one character who doesn't color themselves in varying forms of grey through out this story, even Elena who like to think in terms of black and white and flawless, perfectly planned outward appearances.

While the overarching story is that of Elena and Mia and their children and what happens to all of them, the secondary story of Bebe and her daughter is really what drives the narrative forward. It's the lit match ready to set so many fires flaring.

If you're looking for high drama and outbursts and racing toward a finish line, you won't find it here. But if you want well written, deep character studies with emotion and true to real life messiness, then give this one a chance.