Fire by Kristin Cashore

   Fire is the second installment in the Graceling trilogy although it doesn't actually have much to do with the first book. It is a prequel of sorts, set in an adjacent world. In this world instead of Gracelings there are monsters. Monsters are beautiful creatures whose beauty mesmerizes humans, making it easier for monsters to devour humans. Fire is the last human monster. She is not only beautiful beyond reason, she possesses the power to read and influence people's minds. Men are particularly susceptible to her, repeatedly professing their love for her upon seeing her. Fire resists using her power after seeing her father who had the same power use it cruelly.

As far as plot and tension go, there is an impending war as two kingdoms begin making moves to overthrow the king. In between battles and war planning there are various semi-romantic plots. I say semi-romantic because many of these plots involve men falling in lust with Fire. Nearly every man she comes in contact with wants to possess, use, or harm Fire. It is distressing and annoying in the worse way.

The only connecting character between this book and the first is Leck, the villain in the first book. We get something of his backstory here but it doesn't matter much in the long run. And more to the point, Leck is not character I wanted to learn more about anyway. The book could have done without his story line. The only useful thing Leck provided was an incomplete explanation of how these two different lands exists - one where Gracelings are a thing and another where monsters are a thing - and how these two lands do not know about the other's existence. I wonder if the next book in the series will bring these two lands together somehow.

I am struggling as to whether or not to recommend this book. On the one hand, if you read Graceling and loved it you might love, or at least like this too. On the other hand, the two stories are really not connected.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

  

Little Fires Everywhere begins with actual fires. Dressed only in her bathrobe, Mrs. Richardson watches her family's home burn to the ground. The description on the flap of the hardcover of Little Fires Everywhere emphasizes the dispute over a custody case. A White couple tries to adopt a Chinese baby over the objections of the baby's biological mother. The case splits the town of Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland where everything is perfectly planned. But really, the custody case  is not the most important part of the story, at least not in my opinion.

Long before the custody case erupts there is Elena and Mia. Elena was born, raised, and always dreamed of raising her own family in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. It is an affluent community where things are carefully planned. Perhaps it isn't perfect, because no place is, but for Elena it is pretty close. A happily married mother of four, with a big house, and a job as a reporter at the local paper that is rewarding without being too demanding, Elena has worked hard to build the kind of life she wants. She firmly believes in rules and order and her successful life evidences her prudent choices.

For Mia and her daughter Pearl, Shaker Heights is the latest of a long list of cities they have called home. Mia, a photographer, lives for two things: her art and her daughter. She and her daughter move from city to city because different landscapes inspire Mia's art in different ways. If she can, Mia sells her photos through her New York agent. When making art is not profitable enough Mia takes odd jobs to make ends meet, as a waitress or house cleaner usually. Mia could probably make more money if she took portraits or other types of commission, but that's not what matters to her. She makes the art she wants to make, and if she has to scrub a few toilets in order to put food on the table and pay the rent, so be it.

Mia confounds Elena. What Elena doesn't understand, what she finds contemptible is how content Mia is with her life. To Elena Mia's life is one broken rule after another and Elena does not like rule breakers. Unfortunately, for Elena she has a rule breaker of her own living in her own home. Izzy, Elena's youngest daughter is no more a rule follower than Mia. In Mia Izzy finds a kindred spirit. Meanwhile Pearl begins to build friendships with Elena's three other children - Lexis, Trip, and Moody.

I really enjoyed this. Celeste Ng's writing is beautiful. I don't know how to explain it other than to say it flows. She has a way of getting to the root of what makes a person tick and how they work, or don't work, with others and why. I tore through this book. The plot is relatively simple but the characters are deeply drawn. I highly recommend.