Shaker Heights is the quintessential quiet town. Until Mia (and her daughter, Pearl) come to town.
The Richardsons have lived in Shaker Heights from the literal moment it was created and they rent out one of their houses to low-income families (such as Mia).
Mia is an artist and throughout Pearl’s life, they’ve traveled from town-to-town as Mia creates art and then sells it.
But this town? It’s different.
For the first time, Mia promises Pearl that they will settle down.
And at first everything is just as Pearl pictured it. She quickly befriends the Richardson kids, school is challenging but satisfying and she even has a crush on a boy.
But then thing take a turn for the worse. Little fires everywhere.
Overall thoughts on this one – DANG it was good.
The way Celeste Ng crafts this gorgeous book hooked me from the start.
The characters were beautifully intricate – they all felt like real people (even the secondary/tertiary ones!).
I loved how my thoughts/opinions on them were constantly shifting. A character that I hated at the beginning turned into one of my favorites, and one that I adored became someone I abhorred.
The plot itself was a juggling masterpiece – so many different subplots constantly held up in the air and I never knew which one I wanted to follow next.
Honestly, I don’t want to say anything more – just pick it up!
Miranda Reads 