Review: ‘Little Fires Everywhere’

Welcome back for another TV series review 🙂

‘Little Fires Everywhere’ is a brand new series, currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon, I was super excited to check it out. This show is full of complicated female storylines, and it is women that are at the very centre of this show. In fact, the majority of the thoughts, actions, and dialogue focus on female stories.This show is based in the suburban town of Shaker Heights, an area of Ohio which is known for its “progressive” attitude to race and school integration.

The series focuses on Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) and her four children, a seemingly “perfect” suburban family.In the first episode, Mia Warren (Kerry Washington), a poor, single mother, and her daughter Pearl, move to the area. Elena leases one of her properties to the new family, and suddenly their lives become inextricably linked with the Richardson family. Pearl becomes friends with the Richardson children as she starts her new high-school career, and Mia has a fractious relationship with Elena and her husband, Bill.

Introduced alongside this storyline is the story of a young Chinese woman who works with Mia at the local restaurant. A few months prior she left her child at a firestation, unable to feed her. She later finds out her daughter has been adopted by one of Elena’s friends, sparking a custody battle between the women in this show. This battle is thought-provoking and tense, for everyone involved.

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I loved the twists and turns in this series, which all build up to a dramatic ending. The first scene of the series is the Richardson house on fire, and so the series builds up to how this fire happened, and who was responsible. There are also a lot of dark, hidden secrets throughout the show, and it’s so interesting to follow the twists and turns this series takes.

This series is fantastic, and is packed full of important themes, messages, and questions.The theme of motherhood is central to the show, and what it means to be a mother is constantly questioned. Is motherhood about physically birthing a child? Or is motherhood about doing what’s best for your child, even if that means losing them forever? These are questions the audience must constantly asks themselves.

The themes of race, class, and gender are also central to this show. With Shaker Heights held up as a “progressive” town, it is clear that not everything is what it seems. With Elena trying her hardest to be progressive and “PC” about race, she actually ends up going the other way, and there are some very cringe-worthy statements that come out of her mouth.

I also liked that all the characters in this show were flawed.

Lexie Richardson (Jade Pettyjohn) is the “perfect” eldest Richardson daughter. Headed to Yale, but haunted by a tough secret, no one considers the struggles she faces as she aims to achieve perfection. Elena Richardson can’t help but wish for a different life. Mia Warren tries so hard to help her friend win back her child that she doesn’t always do what’s best for her daughter.These flaws meant that this wasn’t the typical black vs white, rich vs poor, or good vs bad story.

This was real, and honest, and like nothing I’ve ever watched before. There was no right or wrong, and it was interesting to watch something so thought-provoking!

The actors in this show were brilliant, and I loved the actors they chose to play Elena and Mia when they were younger. The young Mia Warren (Tiffany Boone) was particularly talented, as she managed to imitate Mia’s mannerisms and way of speaking perfectly.

This is one of the best shows I’ve watched in a while, and it was definitely made better by watching it with my mum, as it sparked many questions and debates between us.This series is based on the book ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng. I’d really like to give the book a go, as I think some of the under-developed aspects of this series are probably discussed in a lot more detail in the novel.

I’m so excited to try the book soon, so I’m going to pick up a copy soon!

Have you read this book? Did you enjoy the series? Would you like to give it a go?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy reading x

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73 thoughts

  1. I loved this series so much! I haven’t read the book yet, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it and that’s why I ended up watching the series. I really wanted to read the book first, but I was worried spoilers for the show would get posted before I could get a copy of the book. It’s still definitely on my list of things to read. 😊

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  3. I slowly made my way through the first few episodes of this series and then quickly powered through the rest. Overall, I liked it, but I still dont know what to think about how events transpired. It’s one of those stories where there is no right answer, just a bunch of characters caught in tough situations where mistakes and consequences are inevitable.

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  5. Ooh I didn’t realise it was on Hulu too, I’m glad you enjoyed both the book and series- I can’t wait to try the book 🙂 yes i love the flaws characters, and I agree the discussions and debates are fantastic, thank you for commenting 🙂

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  7. I tried the book, but I was just not in the mood for it. So I am thinking I will first watch the show (if Netflix has it) and then maybe give the book another shot. I have heard a lot of good about the show. 🙂

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      1. Ah, Amazon, that is a shame. That means I cannot watch it as you need that subscription for it. 😦 Guess I will just have to give the book a go then. 😛

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      3. I am still waiting for Amazon here to add kindle unlimited to make it a bit more worthwhile to get a subscription. Mm, they tend to do that, I will just cross my fingers and hope it pops up either on tv here or Netflix. 🙂

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      5. Haha, yeah. I got til Sunday before the book needs to go back to the library (already extended the loan once and now I can’t), so I got a couple of days. 😛

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  8. Great review! I completely agree with your comments on it being real and honest. Few series have explored such difficult themes in the same way. I also loved this series and really want to read the book!

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  10. Thank you for sharing this review! I haven’t personally watched it, but my mum was up until 5am the other night binging the series so it must be good! I haven’t read the books either, but it is something I really want to watch. Thank you for your honest review!

    Em | http://www.loveemblog.com

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  12. I absolutely loved this show! Reece Witherspoon can do no wrong in my eyes!

    I can’t wait to read the book, I bought that and another of Celeste Ng’s and I have high hopes.

    Brilliant review or a great series x

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  15. I really want to watch this show and read the book! The show has been on my watchlist for awhile, and I didn’t know until recently that it was a book too! They both sound so good

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  16. I was just saying last night that I needed to find a new show to watch. I’m going to have to check this out. I love having something playing while I’m doing the more monotonous blogging tasks like scheduling social media and fixing broken links. I’m going to give this one a try!

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  17. She’s fantastic, I love her! Yeah I think reading the book first sounds like a great idea, ill definitely get on that soon too 🙂 thank you so much Kathryn, it was hard not to give too much away amid my gushing! Thank you, I really appreciate your lovely words 🙂 x

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  18. We canceled our Prime this summer as an experiment (it renewed the same month as both kids birthdays so it was out). Ever since then I have a list in my head of Prime shows I wish I would’ve watched! This one I definitely regret not watching when I could! Maybe I’ll check out the book for now. That usually turns me off the movie/series!

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  19. Nice review AND such a brave choice! I’ve only read the book (and LOVED it). Like you say, there are so many deep themes inter-woven throughout – some which I still don’t know my answer to truthfully. I love how you’ve highlighted their flaws… so pivotal to each character and well, to the character of the book!

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  20. I read this book before the series and I thought they were both great! The show made some changes but I really enjoyed what they did.

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  24. I really want to watch this but I was afraid it would be on the creepy side! As a new mother, who’s constantly judged by her in laws, I think the subject of motherhood SHOULD constantly be questioned. I think a lot more than just “birthing” or “providing” for a child goes into the well being of their foundation.

    Thank you so much for this review! I’m definitely going to start this one asap!

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    1. No it’s not creepy- I wouldn’t have watched it if it was! Yes I agree, there’s so many questions about motherhood and I think that’s so important for entertainment and shows these days. It’s also so interesting to watch. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it 🙂

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  25. After watching this series on Amazon, I thought it was just amazing. Great that it focussed on race, motherhood, and the class divide. I found in one scene where the black woman was a servant to a group of white women and the majority were dismissive of her thoughts on a topic. That was a powerful scene

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  28. I’ve never heard of this show before, but couldn’t the woman apply for financial support to help look after her child or put them up for foster care rather than abandoning their child until they got back on their feet?

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    1. Unfortunately that wasn’t really possible. As far as I could tell, Bebe was an illegal immigrant and so she didn’t have access to ask for support. I think the author wants to show that Bebe is in a desperate situation where she has no other options

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