If you loved Little Fires Everywhere, here are 13 more amazing books to get stuck into!
Did you love the book Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng? I feel the exact same way. With complex characters and a thrilling plot, it’s an unputdownable book. But now that you’ve finished it, what will you read next?
I’ve gathered a list of books similar to Little Fires Everywhere: interesting family dynamics, class and racial divides, the relationships between parents and children, and deeply layered, complex characters.
If you’re at a loss about what to read next, add a few of these books like Little Fires Everywhere to your TBR.
And if you’re discussing Little Fires Everywhere with your book club or want to dive deeper into the themes explored, check out these Little Fires Everywhere discussion questions too.
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Books Like Little Fires Everywhere
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Publisher synopsis:
Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee; a girl who inherited her mother’s bright blue eyes and her father’s jet-black hair.
Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue – in Marilyn’s case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James’s case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the centre of every party.
But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in 1970s small town Ohio. Her father is an American born of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous in any setting.
When Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage.
Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable, no matter what the cost. Lydia’s older brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is somehow involved.
But it’s the youngest in the family – Hannah – who observes far more than anyone realises and who may be the only one who knows what really happened.
Why you should read Everything I Never Told You:
An obvious place to other books by the author of Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng. If you like Celeste Ng’s writing, you’ll want to check out her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You. It’s a gorgeous contemporary family drama, with vibrant characters and excellent storytelling.
It touches on racism, sibling dynamics, identity, and the pressure children feel to please their parents. It’s a character-driven novel that will leave you with plenty to think about.
If you loved Little Fires Everywhere, you’re almost guaranteed to like this one too.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Publisher synopsis:
Perfect families, perfect houses, perfect lives.
Three mothers, Jane, Madeline and Celeste appear to have it all, until they find out just how easy it is for one little lie to spiral out of control . . .
Single mum Jane has just moved to town. She’s got her little boy in tow – plus a secret she’s been carrying for five years.
On the first day of the school run she meets Madeline – a force to be reckoned with, who remembers everything and forgives no one – and Celeste, the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare, but is inexplicably ill at ease.
They both take Jane under their wing – while careful to keep their own secrets under wraps.
But a minor incident involving the children of all three women rapidly escalates: playground whispers become spiteful rumours until no one can tell the truth from the lies . . .
It was always going to end in tears, but how did it end in murder?
Why you should read Little Fires Everywhere:
If you liked Little Fires Everywhere and the complicated, tangled family relationships it portrayed then you’ll also enjoy Big Little Lies. Moriarty has great insight when it comes to family dynamics, and this skill is on full display here.
The relationships between Madeleine, Celeste, and Jane (and their respective children) are very interesting. You can enjoy watching each woman attempt to parent their children in challenging circumstances, while the underlying mystery makes it totally unputdownable.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher synopsis:
Ageing and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life.
But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story.
From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love.
Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
Why you should read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo:
Combining both a compelling, outrageous story and complex, likeable characters, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the perfect read to pick up on a rainy weekend: you can settle down, get cosy, and not move until you get to the end.
Like Celeste Ng in Little Fires Everywhere, Jenkins Reid manages to intertwine the lives of the main characters (glamorous movie icon Evelyn and unknown reporter Monique) in unexpected ways, taking two very different characters and exploring their similarities in a way that feels real and very well-observed.
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Normal People by Sally Rooney
Publisher synopsis:
Marianne is the young, affluent, intellectual wallflower; Connell is the boy everyone likes, shadowed by his family’s reputation and poverty.
Unlikely friends, and later lovers, their small town beginnings in rural Ireland are swiftly eclipsed by the heady worlds of student Dublin. Gradually their intense, mismatched love becomes a battleground of power, class, and the falsehoods they choose to believe.
Normal People is a tale of deceptive simplicity, a very accessible narrative of two seemingly mismatched young people who share a profound, inescapable understanding.
Beyond that however is something properly universal, a study of how one person can forever shape and impact another. Marianne and Connell emerge almost shockingly real and deeply vulnerable in their different ways.
Why you should read Normal People:
Sally Rooney is another writer with excellent observation skills. You’ll love the ebb and flow of Marianne and Connell’s relationship, and the way that life events impact the way they interact with each other.
A firmly character-driven story, this lacks the compulsive mystery element involved in some of the other books on this list, but the characters will stay with you afterwards: it’s the kind of story that lingers in your mind. It makes a good book club choice, too.
RELATED: Books Like Normal People
A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Publisher synopsis:
The Center for Women’s Reproductive Health offers a last chance at hope – but nobody ends up there by choice.
Its very existence is controversial, and to the demonstrators who barricade the building every day, the service it offers is no different from legalised murder.
Now life and death decisions are being made horrifyingly real: a lone protester with a gun has taken the staff, patients and visitors hostage.
Starting at the tensest moment in the negotiations for their release, A Spark of Light unravels backwards, revealing hour by urgent hour what brought each of these people – the gunman, the negotiator, the doctors, nurses and women who have come to them for treatment – to this point.
And certainties unwind as truths and secrets are peeled away, revealing the complexity of balancing the right to life with the right to choose.
Why you should read A Spark of Light:
Little Fires Everywhere is a fearless look at a difficult subject. What makes a mother, and who gets to decide where a child belongs?
Similarly, A Spark of Light is a bold take on an emotionally complex issue, but the characters feel real enough to prevent it from feeling like a lecture.
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Publisher synopsis:
It is 1974 and the summer of love is drawing to a close. Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the secondary school social food chain. Then, to her amazement, Tully Hart – the girl all the boys want to know – moves in across the street and wants to be her best friend. Tully and Kate became inseparable and by summer’s end they vow that their friendship will last forever.
For thirty years Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship, jealousy, anger, hurt and resentment. Tully follows her ambition to find fame and success. Kate knows that all she wants is to fall in love and have a family. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and a mother will change her.
They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart. But when tragedy strikes, can the bonds of friendship survive? Or is it the one hurdle that even a lifelong friendship cannot overcome?
Why you should read Firefly Lane:
Firefly Lane is another story about two people with vastly different backgrounds. What happens when your life goes in a drastically different direction than your childhood best friend, and can you relate to someone in the same way if they become wildly successful?
This story is a tender-hearted look at what it means to maintain friendships as an adult, and it’s so well-observed. It’s heartwarming and uplifting, a perfect read if you want a break from darker themes.
It’s an enthralling, unputdownable story about life and death, moving backwards in time to unfold more of each character’s secret. It’s another excellent choice if your book club enjoys tackling divisive subjects.
The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle
Publisher synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Morgan Monetti shocks her parents and her community with one simple act: She chooses to stand by the man everyone else believes has exploited her – popular high school teacher TJ Hill. Quietly walking across a crowded courtroom to sit behind TJ, and not beside her parents, she announces herself as the adult she believes herself to be.
But her mother, Dinah, wants justice. Dinah is a fighter, and she believes with all her heart and soul that TJ is a man who took advantage of her daughter. He is a criminal who should be brought to justice, no matter what the cost to his family.
Rain, TJ’s wife, is shocked that her handsome, loving, respected husband has been accused of a terrible crime. But has her desperation to start a family closed her eyes to the fault lines in her marriage? And can she face the painful truths about herself and her husband?
Told from the perspectives of these three remarkable women, The Whole Golden World navigates the precarious territory between childhood and adulthood, raising questions about love and manipulation, marriage and motherhood, consent and responsibility. It’s a novel both shocking and unforgettable in its power.
Why you should read The Whole Golden World:
One of the best things about Little Fires Everywhere is the way it lifts the lid on suburban perfection, opening our eyes to the flaws hidden behind ‘perfect’ families.
The Whole Golden World has a similar vibe, exploring the way a scandal can divide not just one family, but an entire town.
Riggle explores the way parents and children can deceive each other and the consequences of keeping a devastating secret.
This is another great choice for fans of Little Fires Everywhere who love a good mixture of character development and an unputdownable plot.
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Publisher synopsis:
Ko’s novel is a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.
One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon – and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft.
Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson.
But far from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents’ desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.
Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It’s a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.
Why you should read The Leavers:
At the heart of Little Fires Everywhere is the story of identity. When you have no connection to your past, how can you fully understand who you are? This is the issue at the core of The Leavers, as main character Deming tries to find out who he is, and who he belongs to.
If you love complex, imperfect characters and how they relate to each other, you’ll really enjoy The Leavers. The plot moves at a pretty decent pace, so it’s another good one if you like a book you can’t put down.
Little Broken Things by Nicole Baart
Publisher synopsis:
I have something for you.
When Quinn Cruz receives that cryptic text message from her older sister Nora, she doesn’t think much of it. They haven’t seen each other in nearly a year and thanks to Nora’s fierce aloofness, their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and an occasional email or text.
But when a haunted Nora shows up at the lake near Quinn’s house just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever.
Nora’s “something” is more shocking than Quinn could have ever imagined: a little girl, cowering, wide-eyed, and tight-lipped. Nora hands her over to Quinn with instructions to keep her safe, and not to utter a word about the child to anyone, especially not their buttoned-up mother who seems determined to pretend everything is perfect.
But before Quinn can ask even one of the million questions swirling around her head, Nora disappears, and Quinn finds herself the unlikely caretaker of a girl introduced simply as Lucy.
While Quinn struggles to honor her sister’s desperate request and care for the lost, scared Lucy, she fears that Nora may have gotten involved in something way over her head-something that will threaten them all.
But Quinn’s worries are nothing compared to the firestorm that Nora is facing. It’s a matter of life and death, of family and freedom, and ultimately, about the lengths a woman will go to protect the ones she loves.
Why you should read Little Broken Things:
Little Broken Things is another story centred around difficult family dynamics, this time surrounding the sudden arrival of a young girl. Quinn becomes a parent overnight, trying to navigate keeping a colossal secret while trying to keep the child safe.
It’s an interesting look at motherhood and the cost that comes with trying to hide a family secret. The characters are complex and layered, and the switching perspectives allow you to see right into their relationships.
Such a Fun Age by Riley Reid
Publisher synopsis:
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for ‘kidnapping’ the white child she’s actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events.
Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with a ‘personal brand’ and the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help.
When she meets someone from Alix’s past, the two women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.
Why you should read Such a Fun Age:
Such a Fun Age is Reid’s debut novel, and it explores race, privilege, and the difficulties of modern life. It’s a mixture of wry, observant social commentary and an in-depth look at an unusual relationship.
If you found the way Elena and her children treat Mia and Pearl, with their clumsy attempts to ‘help’ an interesting story point, you’ll find a similar dynamic here with Such a Fun Age. It’s a mature look at what it means to be a grown-up, and the ways we help and hinder each other.
Expectation by Anna Hope
Publisher synopsis:
Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry – and the promise of everything to come.
They are electric.
They are the best of friends.
Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life?
Expectation is a novel of the highs and lows of friendship – how it can dip, dive and rise again. It is also about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel. Most of all, it explores that liminal space between expectation and reality, the place – full of dreams, desires and pain – in which we all live our lives.
Why you should read Expectation:
Expectation is a grown-up look at modern friendships, and how we change as we grow older. It’s a little slower and more character-driven than Little Fires Everywhere, but it’s the kind of novel you can sink right into, disappearing into the lives of the characters.
It has enough twists and turns to keep you reading. Each character is so well-developed and believable, you’ll find yourself caring deeply about them even after you’ve turned the last page.
People Like Them by Samira Sedira
Publisher synopsis:
You sprinted all the way to the river. What were you running from?
Anna and Constant Guillot and their two daughters live in the peaceful, remote mountain village of Carmac. Everyone in Carmac knows each other, leading simple lives mostly unaffected by the outside world – that is until Bakary and Sylvia Langlois arrive with their three children.
The new family’s impressive chalet and expensive cars are in stark contrast with the modesty of those of their neighbours, yet despite their initial differences, the Langlois and the Guillots form an uneasy friendship.
But when both families come under financial strain, the underlying class and racial tensions of their relationship reach breaking point, culminating in act of abhorrent violence.
With piercing psychological insight and gripping storytelling, People Like Them asks the questions: How could a seemingly ordinary person commit the most extraordinary crime? And how could their loved ones ever come to terms with what they’d done?
Lullaby meets Little Fires Everywhere, this intense, suspenseful prize-winning novel explores the darker side of human nature – and the terrible things people are capable of.
Why you should read People Like Them:
People Like Them is inspired by a true story, and it’s incredibly well-observed. Again, it explores the differences between an insulated local family and new, wealthy outsiders. In this book, the difficulties between the two families, particularly the racial and class tensions, reach a boiling point.
It’s a good mixture of an intriguing, heart-pounding plot, and deep, complex characters. It is unafraid to take a look at the uglier parts of the human heart, with subtle and interesting results.
Rush by Lisa Patton
Publisher synopsis:
Experience the phenomenon from a front row seat…
It’s move-in day for college freshmen on the Ole Miss campus. Nobody wants to fit in more than Cali, a bright, small town girl with family secrets too scandalous for the well-to-do to imagine.
Sorority rush is weeks away and without a pedigree, Cali doesn’t have much of a chance at membership. Her dorm room alone is as plain as a cardigan sweater, while the girls next door have one that would make the finest of designers swoon.
Wilda, Alpha Delta Beta alum and rush advisor, has a daughter rushing in the fall, but Lilith, the well-heeled House Corp President, sees Wilda as a pushover and will stop at nothing to ensure her own daughter’s legacy bid.
Inside the Alpha Delt house, Miss Pearl has been housekeeper and second mother to the girls for years, even though it reminds her of a painful part of her past.
When a chance for promotion arises, Lilith slams her Chimmy Choo heel down fast, crushing Miss Pearl’s hopes of a better future.
But once Wilda and the girls find out, they devise a plan destined to change Alpha Delta Beta—and maybe the entire Greek system—forever.
Lisa Patton’s Rush takes a sharp nuanced look at a centuries-old tradition while examining the complex relationships between women and what happens when they dare to use their voices. Achingly poignant yet chock-full of humor, Rush is an uplifting novel universal to us all.
Why you should read Rush:
Rush by Lisa Patton alternates between the perspectives of main characters Cali, Wilda, and Pearl, each with their own unique spin on events as they begin to unfold.
If you like Little Fires Everywhere, then you’ll also like this heartfelt, compassionate story about friendship and sisterhood. In a similar vein, this book explores the class divide, and the way money and status can influence us.
Rush is a great family drama, and another book you won’t want to put down once you get started.
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There you have it – my top recommendations for books like Little Fires Everywhere. I hope this has inspired you to find your next read!
Megan Bidmead
Guest writer
Megan is a freelance writer based in Somerset, England. When she’s not writing about books, video games, and pop culture, she’s running around after her two kids and trying to squeeze in the occasional walk in the countryside.
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