Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how
Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around
the bend and burned the house down.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland,
everything is meticulously planned — from the layout of the winding
roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its
residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more
than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principal is playing by the
rules.
Enter Mia Warren — an enigmatic artist and single mother — who arrives
in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a
house from the Richardsons.
Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson
children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with
her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to
upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a
custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town — and puts
Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives,
Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her
obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost ...
This week's book is Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and we'll be meeting at Ye Olde Cocke on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury — contact us for details.
