Little Fires Everywhere

Little Fires Everywhere is a New York Times bestselling novel by Celeste Ng published in 2017. In the town of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Elena Richardson rents her family’s property on Winslow Road to Mia and Pearl Warren, a mother and daughter duo who inspire her sense of charity. Mia is an artist, and her lack of rootedness and intense focus on her art unnerve Mrs. Richardson, who lives an orderly life. Their lives become further enmeshed when Pearl befriends Moody, Mrs. Richardson’s son, and eventually the rest of the Richardsons. As Pearl begins to adopt new teenager habits through her interactions with the Richardsons, Mia grows concerned and agrees to take on a part-time housekeeping job with the family to keep an eye on her daughter.

Meanwhile, the town is swept into the controversy over the adoption of Mirabelle, or May Ling, a baby abandoned by Mia’s Chinese coworker, Bebe, during a bout of postpartum depressive shock after her husband left her. A family in Shaker Heights, the McCulloughs, adopted Bebe’s child after being unable to have children of their own. Bebe confides in Mia about her missing child, expressing a desire to find her again. When Mia hears that the McCulloughs adopted a Chinese baby around the same time that Bebe left her child at the firehouse, she realizes that Mirabelle must be Bebe’s baby, May Ling. When Bebe unsuccessfully tries to get in contact with the McCulloughs to see her baby, Mia intervenes by helping her tell her story to local news channels. With such public uproar over the issue, the custody battle goes into trial.

The town of Shaker Heights is divided over the custody issue, with some people expressing sympathy for Bebe’s circumstances and others insisting that the McCulloughs are the rightful parents. Mrs. Richardson strongly sides with the McCulloughs as Mrs. McCullough is one of her best friends. When she learns that Mia is the one who informed Bebe about the whereabouts of her baby, she feels betrayed and digs into Mia’s background.

Mrs. Richardson learns that Mia is the surrogate for Joseph and Madeleine Ryan, a wealthy couple who could not conceive on their own. Mia became pregnant with Pearl and changed her mind about giving the child to the Ryans. She fled to San Francisco where she changed her name and raised Pearl as her own. The Ryans have lawyers on retainer to find Mia and Pearl. Upon learning this about Mia, Mrs. Richardson uses this information to blackmail her tenant into leaving. Without any choice, Mia and Pearl pack up their car to leave. Mia finally reveals the truth to Pearl about the circumstances of her birth. Pearl expresses loyalty to her mother and a desire to meet the Ryans and her grandparents when she is ready.

Meanwhile, Izzy Richardson, the rebellious youngest child of the Richardson household, is outraged by her family’s unjust treatment of Mia and Pearl. In retaliation, she sets their house on fire and runs away from home in the hopes of joining Mia and Pearl on the road. The Richardson house is so badly damaged from the fire that the rest of the family has to live temporarily at the Winslow house. When they arrive at the house where Mia and Pearl briefly lived, they find an envelope from Mia containing handmade gifts for each of member of the family. Each of the gifts reveals something intimate about their lives.

At the novel’s end, Bebe breaks into the McCullough house and steals back her child. She departs to China and cannot be found. Mrs. Richardson also comes to terms with the loss of Izzy when it becomes apparent that her daughter will not return.