While reading this novel, I kept thinking back to something Wallace Stegner wrote a few decades ago. He said, “How do you make a book that anyone will read out of lives as quiet as these?”

Wallace Stegner did it in Crossing to Safety - this perfect book about four quiet lives, two quiet loves, and a quiet American town. Ethan Joella does the same, in his own unique style with a wide cast of small town Connecticut characters, all of whom I grew to love and care for.

There’s heartbreak, deceit, and tragedy abound in A Little Hope, but it was so - quiet - that it was eerily reminiscent of real life. So many times I wanted these characters to scream and shout, get down on their knees, throw their hand up in the air and pray. I wanted them to move mountains and take leaps. I wanted them to wear their pain and suffering on their sleeves - lash out, be dramatic, be angry at the world and SHOW it. But instead, they bore it all silently - the pain, confusion, heartache, loss, loneliness, worry, helplessness, regret, guilt, the intolerable weight of living life when others no longer can. They faced their fears and fought their demons with grace, kindness, understanding and each other. All the sorrow in the world didn’t make these people cruel or hateful. Of course, at times they blamed others, and more often themselves for their misfortune, but they didn’t allow it to make them mean. Underneath it all, they had love and hope.

What’s amazing is the way these characters intersected and intertwined so naturally in and around each other’s lives. When times got tough, they all found strength and resilience in each other.

I was so moved by this novel. It really touched my heart. Again, it reminded me of a saying: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” This fictional town is the embodiment of that saying.

In summary,I’m absolutely obsessed with this book. It's the best debut novel of 2021 and in my top 5 reads of the year so far. It’s so good, I cried at the end. Even the acknowledgements after the book made me emotional. I was a wreck. Despite being a somewhat sad book about grief and coping with loss and loneliness, I devoured it. And once I started I didn’t want to read anything else, I couldn’t focus on anything else until I got to the end. 10/10 highly recommend to anyone and everyone who loves character driven novels about small towns and the people that live in them.

Add to your TBR if you love: Wallace Stegner (Crossing to Safety), Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteredge), John Williams (Stoner), Katherine Heiny (Early Morning Riser), Gilmore Girls, stories about people who live in small towns, crying over fictional characters.

Just read this. I truly can't imagine anyone giving it less than 4-stars. It gets a glowing 5-stars from me.

Pub date: Nov 2, 2021
Thank you Scribner, Netgalley and Ethan Joella for providing me a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This novel will not be published until Nov 2021---but put it on your list now so that you don't forget about it! This is a gem. Small town with folks struggling with many things people do--a relationship that slips sideways, an unexpected diagnosis, the death of a child, grief in all its forms. A rough read in many ways, but also life-affirming. It is about resilience, how wounds leave scars we always carry, but also about finding a way through, and how even small connections with others light the path forward, and of course, A Little Hope. This is easily a 5/5 for me. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review. So thankful to have read this!

I initially did not like this book. So much death and grief! However, the author just drew me in until I was fully hooked. He did a great job integrating characters’ lives with each other in a way that didn’t seem contrived. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to remember al the character names., but the author dropped references to past events in a subtle way so that I remembered.

I really came to love the people and was so glad he saved the man who was the cancer victim - and waited until the absolute end to share this plot twist.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read A Little Hope and provide an honest review.

I have seen several reviewers compare Ethan Joella's writing to that of Elizabeth Strout and I couldn't agree more. A Little Hope is a quiet book about normal people leading normal lives and how those lives intersect. I particularly love this type of book, that could be set in virtually any town, with completely relatable characters and circumstances. Joella writes beautifully and evocatively of grief, disappointment, hope and making peace with one's life. I loved this book and look forward to widely recommending it to a variety of readers.

This is a very special book. The author has interwoven little vignettes in the life of a small town in Connecticut. At the center is Greg who has received a frightening diagnosis of multiple myeloma. The author connects to other people in the town and shares their backstories as well. Each character and each vignette is told with exquisite detail that drew me into the lives of the various characters.

Bravo, for creating a novel that can be easily compared to the writing of Elizabeth Strout. I highly recommend this little gem.

Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review. I sat with this book for a few days after reading it. I couldn’t quite decide how to describe it. I spent a good bit of the book feeling sad and emotional about what these characters were going through. Their life situations were so real and relevant. It was like watching a movie of a small town where everyone played a part and touched each other’s lives in a special way. I thought it would be difficult to track all the characters but they were so well written and entwined with each other that it was easy to read. There were some surprises along the way and losses I didn’t expect but, in the end, it really did leave me hopeful and satisfied with all the characters stories. The beginning hit hard with all the emotions but the middle and end really drive home the message of hope and moving on even in the wake of tragedy.

This is a delightful book that shows how connected we are to each other. There were several characters to keep track of but so worth it!

The story really draws you in, making you want to know more about the characters. I felt sad when I finished it, missing the characters.

The ending was very satisfying with things being resolved and not left up in the air. Excellent book!

I thought this book was a light easy to read book. I really connected to the the characters. A good book to read to escape.

A light yet enjoyable read for anyone who wants to detach for a bit and set foot into another world unlike their own. Ethan Joella sets a scene you feel you know intimately.

In the small city of Wharton, Connecticut, lives are beginning to unravel. A husband betrays his wife. A son struggles with addiction. A widow misses her late spouse. At the heart of these interlinking stories is one couple: Freddie and Greg Tyler.

Greg has just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a brutal form of cancer. He intends to handle this the way he has faced everything else: through grit and determination. But can Greg successfully overcome his illness? How will Freddie and their daughter cope if he doesn’t? How do the other residents of Wharton learn to live with loss, and find happiness again?

An emotionally powerful debut that immerses the reader into a community of friends, family, and neighbors, A Little Hope celebrates the importance of small moments of connection and the ways that love and forgiveness can help us survive even the most difficult of life’s challenges.

A Little Hope was so very touching and moving. I enjoyed how everyone's life intercedes. I felt these people so deeply. I've not such a wonderfully written book. I had tissue handy and used them. A brilliant story that will stay with me.

What a beautiful story! This amazing fiction story was a wonderful amazing read!
The characters are real and I think that's what truly hooked me!