Discover thought-provoking Little Fires Everywhere book club questions here. This #1 New York Times bestselling Reese’s book club selection has topped many “best of the year” lists and offers so much to talk about, from the meaning of motherhood to family and identity. You’ll foster meaningful discussion and get free printable book club questions to use as a book club resource at your in-person meeting. Let’s get literary!
Quick Little Fires Everywhere Summary With Themes
- #1 New York Times bestseller
- A Best Book of the Year by several outlets
- Reese Witherspoon book club pick
- One of the AAPI books, best family drama books, best character-driven novels, and best books about mothers
Published by Penguin Press, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is the contemporary fiction story of the Shaker Heights, Ohio, planned community during one year in the 1990s. At the center is Elena Richardson, the matriarch of a white upper-class family with four teenage children: Lexie, Trip, Moody, and Izzy Richardson.
The novel begins with the burning down of the Richardson home. Then, it dives into how the characters got there.
Elena is a tightly wound rule follower who sees herself as a “do-gooder,” renting a duplex to a Black single mother, Mia Warren, and her teenage daughter, Pearl Warren.
The two families bond, particularly the children, but the mothers begin to clash when a heated custody battle in their community involving Bebe Chow, a Chinese immigrant, and her daughter, May Ling Chow, places them on opposing sides of the aisle.
Dark secrets are revealed, and Elena’s and Mia’s families are jeopardized. As the reader knows from the first page, the results are explosive.
Little Fires Everywhere is a good book club pick for discussing such themes as class, privilege, motherhood, parenting, identity, community, belonging, secrets, lies, rare, inequality, choices, consequences, judgment, and cultural tensions.
Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere: Book Club Questions
The novel starts out by telling the reader a home has burned. Did you like this early reveal of what was to come, or would you have preferred to learn of this as the action unfolded?
By the end of Little Fires Everywhere, the reader knows the literal significance of the title. Discuss the figurative significance.
How is the theme of motherhood explored through the characters?
How is the theme of race explored through the characters?
How is the theme of class explored through the characters?
How are these themes explored differently through the adults versus the teenagers in Little Fires Everywhere?
Discuss the similarities and differences between Mia and Elena.
Discuss the positive and negative character traits of Mia and Elena.
Discuss the similarities and differences between the four Richardson children: Lexie, Trip, Moody, and Izzy.
Is Izzy a “bad” child?
Why does Pearl gravitate toward the Richardsons?
Why does Moody gravitate towards Pearl?
Why does Izzy gravitate toward Mia?
Discuss the role of art in Little Fires Everywhere.
Did you empathize most with the storyline of one particular mother in this book?
Is motherhood based more on biology, love, money, or something else?
How does the time period of the 1990s affect the storyline?
Discuss Shaker Heights (a planned community) and its importance as the setting for this story.
Are the mothers in Little Fires Everywhere bound by their pasts?
What point(s) do you think this novel is trying to make about secrets?
Was Mia right in keeping secrets from Pearl?
Could this story have happened somewhere other than a planned community?
How much right does a community have to become involved in the lives of its members?
Did you favor either side in the custody battle case between Mirabelle McCullough and May Ling Chow?
Discuss Mia’s and Elena’s perspectives on the case and what shaped them.
Discuss Elena’s relationship with each of her children and why they differed.
Discuss the difference between the intention and the impact of the characters’ actions.
Did your perspective on any of the characters change by end of this novel?
Do you leave the novel feeling sympathy for any of the characters?
What are the lessons or lessons to be learned from Little Fires Everywhere?
Do you think the characters will leave these events as changed people for the better?
What do you think may happen next in the lives of these characters?
Author Celeste Ng created this Spotify playlist for the book. What 1990s songs do you think most reflect Little Fires Everywhere? What songs do you think the characters may add?
Did you watch the Hulu adaptation and, if so, what were your thoughts about it?
Compare and contrast Little Fires Everywhere to the other books by Celeste Ng.
Printable PDF Reading Guide of the Discussion Questions
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Book Club Ideas for Food and Activities
- Eat a classic 1990s American supper, such as meat and potatoes, or eat Chinese food.
- Watch the Hulu TV series adaptation.
- Listen to the Spotify playlist for the book.
Watch the trailer for the Hulu TV adaptation starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon on Youtube:
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remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
Where can we get the answes to these questions?
There are no specific written answers. The questions are meant for book club discussion.