Little Fires Everywhere: 10 Differences Between The Book And The Series

Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, based on the book by Celeste Ng, tells the story of two families, the Richardsons and the Warrens, who become intertwined with each other when the latter moves into the quiet town of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

The story is beautifully acted by a stellar cast, led by Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon, all while exploring themes of race, identity, class divide, and motherhood. Whenever a story is being adapted, changes are bound to occur. Whether these changes benefit the story or hinder it is up to the viewer. So here are 10 differences between the book and the series.

10 Mia’s Asexuality

In the show, Mia doesn’t seem to have any opposition to sex, with Pearl telling Moody that Mia has sex with “whomever she wants, whenever she wants.” Episode 2 opens with a flashback of her having sex with a man in the front seat of her car, while a baby Pearl sleeps in the backseat, and in the next episode, Mia is seen having sex with her manager from her job.

In the book, while Mia’s asexuality is never confirmed, it is implied. She had never even seen an adult man naked and, as the book puts it, never “felt that warmth, that electric tension at the nearness of someone else.” This aspect of Mia’s character is completely removed from the show and she has numerous sexual relationships.

9 Izzy’s Sexuality

Due to an incident where she was caught kissing a female classmate at a party, Elena’s youngest, Izzy, gets bullied at school for being gay. When her mom presses her on if the comments are true, she lies and insists that they aren’t.

In the book, Izzy’s sexuality is never brought up. While she is ostracized at school, it is for different reasons. Like many of the show’s decisions, the book’s original author fully supported the change, saying that she thought about doing the same thing for the character but felt like there wasn’t enough room in the book to explore it.

8 Duo

After finding out that Bebe’s lawyer would cost $30,000, Mia reaches out to Anita, her gallerist, to sell a photo of herself titled “Duo”, a decision she struggles with due to its sentimental value. The photo, which we later learn was taken by Pauline, shows a then-pregnant Mia sitting naked in a bathtub.

While the photo seems to have great importance in the show, in the book, Bebe’s lawyer, Ed Lim, makes the decision to represent her for free after hearing about the story on the news. Seeing Mia sacrificing something that she holds so close to her heart only goes to show how dedicated she is to helping Bebe reunite with her daughter.

7 Mia Stealing

It the show’s first episode, we see Mia accept Elena’s offer to come on as the Richardson’s “House Manager” which essentially meant cooking meals for the family, doing dishes and helping out around their home. On account of her new position, she is granted a key and access to the house when they aren’t there, which leads to one of the more confusing changes from the source material.

When the family is away in episode 4, we see Mia going around to different rooms in the house and stealing things. The objects are pretty small and unimportant things, like receipts and measuring cups, which make it even more confusing. This is not something Mia does at all in the books, only making it more peculiar.

6 Jamie

Episode 5 shows us a young version of Elena and introduces us to her old boyfriend, Jamie Reynolds. In the book, Jamie invites Elena to run away to California with him and she declines, deciding to remain in Shaker, despite being tempted to accept the invite. We later find out that Jamie got drafted into the Vietnam War, with his fate after that being left unclear.

In the show, like Elena, Jamie is a journalist but unlike her, he wants to explore the world, despite Elena’s insistence that they return to their pre-planned life, resulting in them breaking up. He eventually goes on to work for the New York Times, even helping Elena in later episodes when she seeks out more information about Mia’s past.

5 Pauline

Episode 6 devotes the majority of the episode to exploring Mia’s backstory. It is in this episode that we get introduced to Pauline, Mia’s photography professor. In the book, Pauline and Mia do share a friendship, with Mia often staying at the home of Pauline and her partner, Mal, but it never goes beyond that.

Just like in the books, Pauline takes Mia in and teaches her. However, in the show, Mal is not present and Mia and Pauline share a more interesting dynamic, one that Mia’s brother, Warren, notices when he comes to visit. Mia’s first sexual experience is with Pauline and the two become lovers, making it even more devastating for the Mia when Pauline dies not long after her brother.

4 First Impressions

One of the show’s first scenes shows Elena, on her way to work, passing by a parking lot where she sees a woman sleeping in her car. When she arrives to work, she calls the police to inform them of the car, insisting she doesn’t want anyone to get in trouble.

So it catches her by surprise when the woman, who we now know as Mia, shows up with her daughter looking for a place to rent, resulting in Elena agreeing to put them on a monthly lease out of guilt. In the book, the Warrens are simply introduced as new residents of the town and no moment like this happens. Having them connect before even meeting really sets the stage for the rest of the story and establishes some tension.

3 The Reveal

In episode 5, we see Elena going to New York and learning everything about Mia’s past from Mia’s parents, including her initially being a surrogate for the Ryans and that Pearl was intended to be their daughter. She later threatens Mia with this information in the next episode in an effort to get her not to speak as a character witness on behalf of Bebe, a plan that ultimately backfires and provides one of Mia’s best moments of the season when she decides to testify anyway.

The episode ends with Elena revealing all the information that gathered to Pearl out of spite before Mia got a chance to, intentionally causing a rift between them.

2 The Culprits

Since the very first scene of the show, there’s been one question hanging over the series: “Who will burn down the house with Elena inside?” In the show’s finale, we finally get our answer and it is one that differs from what happens in the book. In the book, Izzy is the one who burns down the house by setting fire to her siblings’ beds, believing that no one was home.

In the show, Izzy begins dousing her room in gasoline after finding out that Mia and Pearl have left. After she leaves the house following an argument with Elena, Moody, Lexie, and Trip collectively decide to finish what she started by pouring gasoline in their own rooms and striking the match. The kids escape the house, but not before Moody helps get his mother out. The scene ends with Elena realizing that she was responsible, albeit indirectly, and taking the blame for the fire.

1 Race Change

What might be the biggest change from the book is the Warrens’ race. In the book, Mia’s race is never directly stated but we are meant to assume that she is white. Celeste Ng later confirmed this, stating that Mia was written as white since that’s how she felt most comfortable writing the character.

In the show, both Mia and Pearl are black. Mia’s skin color informs a lot of her outlook on life and opinions about other people, specifically the Richardsons. Because of this change, race plays a large part in the themes of the series, adding an extra layer of tension and commentary on top of the other themes the show manages to juggle.

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