Just as when a restaurant critic realizes he made a mistake on a review of a restaurant, I must post a retraction of my 2 star review of Little Fires Everywhere.
I think when I wrote my review I was so determined to hate it because I hated the characters and part of the storyline. I didn’t allow myself to ruminate about how a book that evokes that much emotion can actually be a good book.
At my book club meeting this past week I started off insisting how much I hated it, but as we discussed it I came to the realization that I actually enjoyed it most of it, while still hating the characters.
I really did love how it was written and I greatly appreciated the social commentary of it. I also had a lot of introspection on my childhood and had I thought more deeply about my thoughts I would have rated it 4 stars originally. I greatly thank the members of my book club for opening my eyes to my superficial review and for helping me reflect on the deeper part of this book.

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This is the second time I’m read this, the first time being 3 years ago and I have docked it a full star from the first time. When I rated it back then, I gave pretty much everything I liked 5 stars, so it being less than 4 stars tells me I didn’t like it, but I probably didn’t want to give it something too low. I’ve definitely become more hardcore in my rating scale since then. I knew I didn’t like it going into it this second time, but I couldn’t remember what. I remembered quite clearly about 10% in. I kept dragging my feet to read this, which is always a sign that I’m just not enjoying it. I finished it since it was my book club’s pick for this month.
This takes place in Shaker Heights, OH during 1997 and 1998. The Richardson family, parents Bill and Elena, and kids Lexie (18), Trip (17), Moody (16), and Izzy (15) are very well to do. At the beginning of the school year, Mia and her daughter Pearl (16) move into the duplex the Richardsons rent out and over a few weeks find themselves integrated into the Richardson family. This book covers many deep topics: maternal guilt, abortion, and the question of what truly makes a mother- biology or love.
While I really like the writing style of multiple third person views, forays into the past, and glimpses into the future, I hated all of the characters. I found Elena Richardson to be an abhorrent person, and many times I wanted to reach into the book and shake her. I found the 3 older Richardson children to be entitled, and I found Mia to be selfish. The only character I actually liked was Izzy. It’s hard to enjoy a book when you really can’t stand the majority of the characters.
There isn’t just one story line, rather there are 2 that are interwoven and the second of these had my blood boiling. I remember being upset by it when I read this years ago, so I guess it’s an interesting study to show my morals haven’t changed.
Oddly enough, I really enjoyed the Hulu miniseries, which I wasn’t expecting to, but it brought the characters to life in a way that made them easier to tolerate.
All in all, I am glad I reread this since it gave me an opportunity to write a thorough review, and should it ever come up again, I’ll know immediately not to read it.