Little Fire Everywhere

I gave the book 4 stars since I was expecting more exciting twists after finishing A Fire Sparkling. Little Fire Everywhere, like its name, is a combination set of little fires here and there, slow-going plot where small changes happened, accumulated and quietly left behind grief and remorse.

I love the harmony life in Shaker Heights where order and its father — regulation are the keys. As peaceful as it appears, Shaker Heights, however, has little dynamics occurring in the lives of people living in there. From the burning down of the Richardson’s house to their young daughter’s abortion, and then the unsettling relation relationship between Mrs. Richardson and her daughter Izzy. I got engaged in the lives of the characters and ultimately asked myself: Why so serious? Probably there are rules and regulations to keep things in a good shape, but it is uncontrollable when unexpected little fires happen. A flexible and open mindset might be a good choice to deal with the uncertain.

In addition, the story is gorgeous in depicting family relationships. Here I quote the line I like the most: “To a parent, your child wasn’t just a person: your child was a place, of kind of Narnia, a vast eternal place where the present you were living and the past you remembered and the future you longed for or existed at once.”