LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE - Celeste Ng
In 1997, the Richardson family’s home in Shaker Heights, Ohio—a perfectly planned, orderly suburban
community—burns to the ground. The youngest daughter, Izzy, is missing, and everyone suspects she set the
fire. The novel then rewinds to events eleven months earlier, tracing how the flames of tension, resentment,
and buried truths were lit.
Artist and single mother Mia Warren and her teenage daughter Pearl arrive in Shaker Heights and rent a
property from Mrs. Elena Richardson, a local journalist. Mia promises Pearl they’ll finally settle down after
years of moving from place to place. Mia takes a part-time job at a Chinese restaurant, while Pearl becomes
friends with the Richardson children—Moody, Trip, Lexie, and Izzy. Moody, who first befriends Pearl, harbors
romantic feelings for her, but Pearl develops a crush on Trip.
Pearl becomes increasingly close with the Richardsons, especially Trip, while Mia begins cleaning and cooking
for them. Mia connects deeply with Izzy, the black sheep of the family, who finds comfort and inspiration in
Mia’s unconventional worldview.
After a Halloween party where Pearl is left feeling abandoned, she calls Moody to pick her up. Shortly after,
Lexie becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Brian and has an abortion—using Pearl’s name at the clinic to avoid
exposure. Meanwhile, Pearl and Trip begin a secret sexual relationship.
Izzy gets suspended for defending a Black classmate from a racist teacher. Mia encourages Izzy to take
action, which leads Izzy, Pearl, and Moody to vandalize the school by jamming staff doors with toothpicks.
The fallout humiliates the teacher and earns Izzy Mia’s admiration.
A major conflict erupts when the Richardson family attends a party for a Chinese baby, May Lin, who had been
abandoned and renamed Mirabelle by her white adoptive parents, the McCulloughs. Lexie mentions the baby
to Mia, who realizes she knows the birth mother—Bebe Chow, a struggling immigrant and Mia’s co-worker at
the restaurant. Mia helps Bebe launch a public custody battle to reclaim her child, which divides the
community and pits Mr. Richardson, a lawyer for the McCulloughs, against Bebe’s legal team. The case forces
difficult questions about race, class, motherhood, and what makes someone a “fit” parent.
Furious that Mia intervened in the custody case, Mrs. Richardson starts digging into her past. She learns that
Mia’s real last name is Wright and that she once studied under renowned photographer Pauline Hawthorne.
Mia’s parents reveal she was a surrogate for a wealthy couple, the Ryans, while in college. However, after her
brother Warren’s death and feeling emotionally attached to the baby, Mia lied to the Ryans and kept the child
—Pearl—fleeing to San Francisco and disappearing from their lives.
When Mrs. Richardson confronts Mia with this information, Mia decides it’s time to leave. She tells Pearl the
truth about her birth and begins packing. Before they leave, Izzy comes to say goodbye and is devastated
when they go without her.
The tension in the Richardson household boils over. Izzy lashes out at her siblings, especially Moody, who
revealed Pearl and Trip’s relationship, and Lexie, who used Pearl’s name at the clinic. Feeling betrayed and
abandoned, Izzy acts on Mia’s earlier metaphor of “burning everything down to start over.” She sets fire to her
family’s beds and disappears, heading to Pittsburgh in search of Mia.
After the fire, the Richardsons move into the rental house Mia and Pearl once occupied. There, they find
photographs Mia left behind—one for each family member, reflecting how she saw them. Mrs. Richardson,
moved by these mementos, resolves to search for Izzy and make amends.
Meanwhile, Bebe kidnaps her daughter from the McCulloughs and boards a flight to China. Pearl and Mia
drive off into the unknown, wishing Izzy had come with them. On a bus to Pittsburgh, Izzy clutches a bag and
hopes the Wrights will help her find Mia and Pearl.
, Chapter 1:
• Key Event: The Richardson house burns down; Izzy is missing.
• Theme: Rebellion, family dysfunction, consequences of control.
• Turning Point: Hints Izzy set the fire; establishes mystery and chaos.
Chapter 2:
• Key Event: Mia and Pearl move into the Richardson rental.
• Theme: Class differences, nomadic vs. structured lifestyles.
• Turning Point: Pearl meets Moody; the two worlds begin to intertwine.
Chapter 3:
• Key Event: Pearl explores Shaker Heights with Moody.
• Theme: Art vs. conformity; belonging vs. displacement.
• Turning Point: Moody introduces Pearl to the Richardsons.
Chapter 4:
• Key Event: Pearl is enchanted by the Richardsons; crush on Trip forms.
• Theme: Envy, desire for stability, idealization of the “perfect” family.
• Turning Point: Mia begins to feel distanced from Pearl.
Chapter 5:
• Key Event: Lexie takes Pearl under her wing.
• Theme: Performance of identity, materialism, manipulation.
• Turning Point: Pearl writes Lexie’s college essay; Lexie exploits her.
Chapter 6:
• Key Event: Pearl chooses Lexie’s party over Moody; gets drunk and stranded.
• Theme: Adolescent betrayal, shifting alliances.
• Turning Point: Mia takes a job with the Richardsons.
Chapter 7:
• Key Event: Mia bonds with Izzy after school suspension.
• Theme: Justice vs. rules, mentorship, rebellion as transformation.
• Turning Point: Izzy finds a role model in Mia.
Chapter 8:
• Key Event: Izzy becomes Mia’s assistant; Pearl deepens her bond with the Richardsons.
• Theme: Growing divides between mothers and daughters.
• Turning Point: Museum photo of Mia holding a baby raises questions.
Chapter 9:
• Key Event: Richardsons attend baby Mirabelle’s party.
• Theme: Cultural identity, motherhood, racial blind spots.
• Turning Point: Mia realizes Mirabelle is Bebe’s daughter.
Chapter 10:
• Key Event: Bebe fights for custody; media frenzy erupts.
• Theme: Motherhood vs. legality; public vs. private life.
• Turning Point: Mrs. Richardson suspects Mia of tipping off Bebe.
Chapter 11:
• Key Event: Mrs. Richardson begins investigating Mia’s past.
• Theme: Control, curiosity as a weapon.
• Turning Point: Mrs. Richardson discovers Mia is not who she claims to be.
In 1997, the Richardson family’s home in Shaker Heights, Ohio—a perfectly planned, orderly suburban
community—burns to the ground. The youngest daughter, Izzy, is missing, and everyone suspects she set the
fire. The novel then rewinds to events eleven months earlier, tracing how the flames of tension, resentment,
and buried truths were lit.
Artist and single mother Mia Warren and her teenage daughter Pearl arrive in Shaker Heights and rent a
property from Mrs. Elena Richardson, a local journalist. Mia promises Pearl they’ll finally settle down after
years of moving from place to place. Mia takes a part-time job at a Chinese restaurant, while Pearl becomes
friends with the Richardson children—Moody, Trip, Lexie, and Izzy. Moody, who first befriends Pearl, harbors
romantic feelings for her, but Pearl develops a crush on Trip.
Pearl becomes increasingly close with the Richardsons, especially Trip, while Mia begins cleaning and cooking
for them. Mia connects deeply with Izzy, the black sheep of the family, who finds comfort and inspiration in
Mia’s unconventional worldview.
After a Halloween party where Pearl is left feeling abandoned, she calls Moody to pick her up. Shortly after,
Lexie becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Brian and has an abortion—using Pearl’s name at the clinic to avoid
exposure. Meanwhile, Pearl and Trip begin a secret sexual relationship.
Izzy gets suspended for defending a Black classmate from a racist teacher. Mia encourages Izzy to take
action, which leads Izzy, Pearl, and Moody to vandalize the school by jamming staff doors with toothpicks.
The fallout humiliates the teacher and earns Izzy Mia’s admiration.
A major conflict erupts when the Richardson family attends a party for a Chinese baby, May Lin, who had been
abandoned and renamed Mirabelle by her white adoptive parents, the McCulloughs. Lexie mentions the baby
to Mia, who realizes she knows the birth mother—Bebe Chow, a struggling immigrant and Mia’s co-worker at
the restaurant. Mia helps Bebe launch a public custody battle to reclaim her child, which divides the
community and pits Mr. Richardson, a lawyer for the McCulloughs, against Bebe’s legal team. The case forces
difficult questions about race, class, motherhood, and what makes someone a “fit” parent.
Furious that Mia intervened in the custody case, Mrs. Richardson starts digging into her past. She learns that
Mia’s real last name is Wright and that she once studied under renowned photographer Pauline Hawthorne.
Mia’s parents reveal she was a surrogate for a wealthy couple, the Ryans, while in college. However, after her
brother Warren’s death and feeling emotionally attached to the baby, Mia lied to the Ryans and kept the child
—Pearl—fleeing to San Francisco and disappearing from their lives.
When Mrs. Richardson confronts Mia with this information, Mia decides it’s time to leave. She tells Pearl the
truth about her birth and begins packing. Before they leave, Izzy comes to say goodbye and is devastated
when they go without her.
The tension in the Richardson household boils over. Izzy lashes out at her siblings, especially Moody, who
revealed Pearl and Trip’s relationship, and Lexie, who used Pearl’s name at the clinic. Feeling betrayed and
abandoned, Izzy acts on Mia’s earlier metaphor of “burning everything down to start over.” She sets fire to her
family’s beds and disappears, heading to Pittsburgh in search of Mia.
After the fire, the Richardsons move into the rental house Mia and Pearl once occupied. There, they find
photographs Mia left behind—one for each family member, reflecting how she saw them. Mrs. Richardson,
moved by these mementos, resolves to search for Izzy and make amends.
Meanwhile, Bebe kidnaps her daughter from the McCulloughs and boards a flight to China. Pearl and Mia
drive off into the unknown, wishing Izzy had come with them. On a bus to Pittsburgh, Izzy clutches a bag and
hopes the Wrights will help her find Mia and Pearl.
, Chapter 1:
• Key Event: The Richardson house burns down; Izzy is missing.
• Theme: Rebellion, family dysfunction, consequences of control.
• Turning Point: Hints Izzy set the fire; establishes mystery and chaos.
Chapter 2:
• Key Event: Mia and Pearl move into the Richardson rental.
• Theme: Class differences, nomadic vs. structured lifestyles.
• Turning Point: Pearl meets Moody; the two worlds begin to intertwine.
Chapter 3:
• Key Event: Pearl explores Shaker Heights with Moody.
• Theme: Art vs. conformity; belonging vs. displacement.
• Turning Point: Moody introduces Pearl to the Richardsons.
Chapter 4:
• Key Event: Pearl is enchanted by the Richardsons; crush on Trip forms.
• Theme: Envy, desire for stability, idealization of the “perfect” family.
• Turning Point: Mia begins to feel distanced from Pearl.
Chapter 5:
• Key Event: Lexie takes Pearl under her wing.
• Theme: Performance of identity, materialism, manipulation.
• Turning Point: Pearl writes Lexie’s college essay; Lexie exploits her.
Chapter 6:
• Key Event: Pearl chooses Lexie’s party over Moody; gets drunk and stranded.
• Theme: Adolescent betrayal, shifting alliances.
• Turning Point: Mia takes a job with the Richardsons.
Chapter 7:
• Key Event: Mia bonds with Izzy after school suspension.
• Theme: Justice vs. rules, mentorship, rebellion as transformation.
• Turning Point: Izzy finds a role model in Mia.
Chapter 8:
• Key Event: Izzy becomes Mia’s assistant; Pearl deepens her bond with the Richardsons.
• Theme: Growing divides between mothers and daughters.
• Turning Point: Museum photo of Mia holding a baby raises questions.
Chapter 9:
• Key Event: Richardsons attend baby Mirabelle’s party.
• Theme: Cultural identity, motherhood, racial blind spots.
• Turning Point: Mia realizes Mirabelle is Bebe’s daughter.
Chapter 10:
• Key Event: Bebe fights for custody; media frenzy erupts.
• Theme: Motherhood vs. legality; public vs. private life.
• Turning Point: Mrs. Richardson suspects Mia of tipping off Bebe.
Chapter 11:
• Key Event: Mrs. Richardson begins investigating Mia’s past.
• Theme: Control, curiosity as a weapon.
• Turning Point: Mrs. Richardson discovers Mia is not who she claims to be.
