One member said off the bat, that she loved this book as it was different, it was a book that was more modern, in today's world. She said every neighbor has a neighbor who shakes it up and she (Mia) would be an asset to the community. Someone said "Thought the book did a good job of making the adults and the teenagers real. With the kids, you could feel like you were that age again." Another said "the book starts with the house on fire, interesting start!" We said many questions were raised, birth parents, adoption, relationships with mothers.
We talked about the relationship between Izzy and Elena (Mrs. Richardson). Someone shared they felt that anger is the bodyguard of fear. That since Izzy's birth, there has been this fear, which manifests itself in anger in Mrs. Richardson. There were things that Izzy did that were very much like her mother. "The things we dislike most in others are the characteristics we like least in ourselves." - Marian Keyes (Rachel's Holiday). We talked of our own relationship with our mothers and that perhaps, in the book, Izzy was a "spirited child."
Mia and Pearl had a very close relationship. Pearl being an only child, liked the activity at the Richardson's home, especially after moving around forever and never having a connection to others. The focus wasn't just on Pearl, as she had with Mia, as an only child. We wondered, if Pearl was not happy when her mother took the job at the Richardson's, having her mother there often, in the space she so enjoyed. She had freedom at the Richardsons, and now that changed with her mom there, watching. Someone said they, Mia & Pearl, lived in 46 different cities. She finished projects and moved and yet she recognized Pearl's need to stay in one place. When the time came for them to leave again, we wondered why Pearl didn't tell her mother she was going to stay. She could have chosen to not go with her mom.
What constitutes a mother, bringing up the adoption issue. There was discussion, that some parents that are adoptive parents can make it work, others can't. Linda McCullough would have made it work, we felt. BeBe realized that, after a short time, she wanted May Ling/Mirabelle back. She loved that baby so much, but she was in need of so much help, and she did tell the police she wanted her baby back, but was not heard. She didn't know where to get help. We talked about what qualifies a parent to parent, what constitutes a mother? We also talked about Mia leaving with Pearl, not telling the Ryan's that she had the baby.
We brought up the court case of Baby Jessica, click here for more info, as this was a real life instance similar to this situation. With this case, the mother realized in 5 days she wanted her baby back. Someone said they wished that they could have split the custody, but this wasn't an open adoption. Very hard for both mothers.
When the fire happened, and Izzy left, we talked about the change in Mrs. Richardson, especially towards Izzy. The others didn't really care where Izzy was, but Mrs. Richardson did. She would find her. She was a detective reporter, she knew where to get help, look at all she did to find out Mia's past. We thought the artwork of Mia, that was left behind for Mrs. Richardson was very good analogy of her life, was she the bird in the cage? Or was that Izzy? We felt that there was a change now in Mrs. Richardson because of what they just went through. We saw that change, a mothering change in Mrs. Richardson.
We talked about some of the connection to the title of the book -- Little Fires Everywhere.
When BeBe is crying at Mia's house and Izzy stops over, Izzy asks "But is she going to be okay?" Mia answers "I don't know, honestly. But she will. Sometimes, just when you think everything is gone, you find a way." Mia racked her mind for an explanation. "Like after a prairie fire. I saw one years ago, when we were in Nebraska. It seems like the end of the world. The earth is all scorched and black and everything green is gone. But after the burning the soil is richer and new things can grow." She held Izzy at arm's length, wiped her cheek with a fingertip, smoothed her hair one last time. "People are like that, too, you know. They start over. They find a way." (Chapter 18)
Mrs. Richardson was reflecting on her life "All her life, she had learned that passion, like fire, was a dangerous thing. It so easily went out of control. It scaled walls and jumped over trenches. Sparks leapt like fleas and spread as rapidly; a breeze could carry embers for miles. Better to control that spark and pass it carefully from one generation to the next, like an Olympic torch. Or perhaps, to tend it carefully, like an eternal flame: a reminder of light and goodness that would never -- could never -- set anything ablaze. Carefully controlled. Domesticated. Happy in captivity. The key, she thought, was to avoid conflagration." (Chapter 11)
We discussed the "little fires everywhere" and these two instances were noted in the book. It was a great title for the book. We talked briefly about the pregnancy of Elena (Mrs. Richardson's own daughter) that Mia knew about. Elena thought it was Pearl, but it was really Lexie, Elena's own daughter who had gotten pregnant and then abortion. She thought it was Moody, who had been the father, but it was Tripp. We never did hear the final resolution with this issue. Did she find out who really had been pregnant? There were unanswered questions at the end of the book, including did Elena find Izzy? Did Pearl go back with her Mom to see her grandparents. Would they find the Ryan's, as Joseph Ryan was her biological father (we thought that was interesting how he pursued her because she looked so much like his wife). And had Elena changed, would she become a "mother" to Izzy when she found her, as we suspected she would.
