Title: A Little Hope

Author: Ethan Joella

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Muswell Press

Publication Date: 28th April 2022

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover:

Summary:

Set in an idyllic Connecticut town over the course of a year, A LITTLE HOPE follows the intertwining lives of a dozen neighbours as they confront everyday desires and fears: an illness, a road not taken, a broken heart, a betrayal.

Freddie and Greg Tyler seem to have it all: a comfortable home at the edge of the woods, a beautiful young daughter, a bond that feels unbreakable. But when Greg is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, the sense of certainty they once knew evaporates overnight. Meanwhile, Darcy Crowley is still coming to terms with the loss of her husband as she worries over her struggling adult son, Luke. Elsewhere, Ginger Lord returns home longing for a lost relationship; Ahmed Ghannam wonders if he’ll ever find true love; and Greg’s boss, Alex Lionel, grapples with a secret of his own.

Celebrating the grace in everyday life, this powerful debut immerses the reader in a community of friends, family, and neighbours and identifies the ways that love and forgiveness can help us survive even the most difficult of life’s challenges.

Review:

A Little Hope is one of those books that could have easily come across as a little overly sentimental, and yet it doesn’t in any way fall into that trap. The sincerity and grace in this book is beautiful and genuine in a way that will get under any readers skin. The story follows a small community of people with interconnected lives and the difficulties and joys that the world has handed them.

I was so moved by A Little Hope. Sometimes when a book has multiple viewpoints it becomes hard to care individually about the characters – but that was not the case here. I found every single character affecting in some manner. This is not a full of action book – rather it takes the things that happen all over the world and shows how people cope, love and forgive each other. At the centre of the story are Greg and Freddie Tyler. Greg has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer which devastates his small and lovely family – their relationship with each other and with their young daughter was so beautiful and heart wrenching. A Little Hope is a relatively short book but it packs a massive emotional punch. I would highly recommend this poignant read.

★★★★.5

I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.