Little Fires Everywhere

Little Fires Everywhere is the brilliant new novel by Celeste Ng.The book is set in Shaker Heights, a planned community in Ohio, where everyone follows the rules, and all are wealthy. In moves an artist and her daughter who never stay put for long, have very little money, and do things differently. They befriend their landlord's family and all their lives are forever changed.

In the background is the custody battle for a Chinese baby whose mother left her when she was born, but now wants her back. Ng explores so many things in this richly nuanced novel, from cultural identity, to family values, the power of art, questioning the status quo, to finding your own identity, to name just a few. A great read.

Chemistry

Finally a book I loved!

Chemistry is the debut novel by Weike Wang. With deceptively simple prose, Wang explores what it means to succeed in a field full of men. She delves into family loyalty, love, relationships, and the complexities of finding your own place in the world.

Intelligent, witty, funny, honest; a great read.

The From Aways

The From Aways by CJ Hauser is a novel about life in a small town in Maine. Two outsiders who move to town become unlikely friends and work to save the town with the locals from other rich outsiders who threaten to change the way of life in this lobster fishing village.

I wasn't pulled in by the characters, the story or the writing, and it didn't make me want to visit small town Maine, although I know it is lovely there. I found this book disappointing.