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useyourgoodeye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
This book has characters that you will fall in love with and feel their triumphs and tragedies alongside them. Very well written and engaging!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Cancer
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Addiction, Car accident, and Child death
eklinar's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, and Pregnancy
Trigger warning for still birth/infant losskatievh's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Child death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Car accident, and Death of parent
meyink's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death, and Grief
jevanss's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, and Death
serendipitysbooks's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I really loved this slim little volume looking at the intersecting lives of residents in a small Connecticut town. It was both beautiful and melancholic. Loss, grief, want, uncertainly, and the struggle to find happiness or at least contentment permeate every corner of this novel. Unsurprisingly there are plenty of trigger warnings. The Storygraph is a great place to check for these. Or feel free to DM me. Despite the themes I didn’t find the novel overbearingly sad. I found many notes of hope and happiness in the final chapter and overall it felt life-affirming. This quiet, beautifully written novel nudged me to slow down and notice the joy and beauty in the everyday. The ensemble nature of this novel was great at highlighting the range of loss and its universality. Yet it did mean we never got to dig deeply into any one character. It’s unlikely to suit readers who need to know their characters in depth and fully explore their experiences alongside them. But it spoke to me and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Miscarriage and Car accident
genm's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Car accident, Addiction, Cancer, and Grief
jcardenas0618's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use
kaylasshh's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a heart warming story! It was full of every emotion possible. I found myself smiling through tears, and crossing my fingers for a happy ending for this neighborhood of wonderfully crafted characters. The chapters were so engulfing in each characters story. Occasionally, books with many characters will leave me feeling distant and unfamiliar with every, but that is truly not the case. I felt so connected with each and every story teller throughout this book, and couldn’t wait to hear what the next chapter brought them. The final chapter truly brought things full circle and left me smiling as I closed the book. Highly recommend to everyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Terminal illness
bookishjaja's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Don't read A Little Hope if you're not in the mood for a good cry. This book is heavy, and it hits a lot of topics around grief and loss. It's absolutely a tearjerker.
As far as what I liked... I love books that weave together a bunch of characters. We get to see the stories of several people, and it's an extra treat to see how all those stories are connected to one another. The first time I was exposed to this kind of storytelling was with JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, and the style has remained one of my favorite ways to experience a book. It speaks to the writer's creativity, and I enjoy the heck out of it.
But with that said, it's possible to have too much of a good thing. In this case, I think there were just a few too many main characters and not enough pages to tell their stories. There are only 20 chapters - 275 pages of this book - but there are 12 characters (counting off the top of my head) that we dive into. And all the characters are interesting to me, but I didn't get enough of any of them due to the sheer volume.
And even though this book is centered around grief, there's a bit too much of it present for it to be as effective as it could have been. Nearly everyone is experiencing an intense loss, and all of those losses are independent of each other. It's simply overwhelming, and the good intensity I felt at the beginning of the book ended up losing its luster as the story went on. My reaction went from "oh my gosh, wow" to "really...another one?"
So, yes. I liked this book. But I didn't love it. I could have though. I think this could have been a 5-star read had there been less main characters allowing for a deeper dive into the chosen personalities and had there been a more centralized focus for all the grief.
As far as what I liked... I love books that weave together a bunch of characters. We get to see the stories of several people, and it's an extra treat to see how all those stories are connected to one another. The first time I was exposed to this kind of storytelling was with JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, and the style has remained one of my favorite ways to experience a book. It speaks to the writer's creativity, and I enjoy the heck out of it.
But with that said, it's possible to have too much of a good thing. In this case, I think there were just a few too many main characters and not enough pages to tell their stories. There are only 20 chapters - 275 pages of this book - but there are 12 characters (counting off the top of my head) that we dive into. And all the characters are interesting to me, but I didn't get enough of any of them due to the sheer volume.
And even though this book is centered around grief, there's a bit too much of it present for it to be as effective as it could have been. Nearly everyone is experiencing an intense loss, and all of those losses are independent of each other. It's simply overwhelming, and the good intensity I felt at the beginning of the book ended up losing its luster as the story went on. My reaction went from "oh my gosh, wow" to "really...another one?"
So, yes. I liked this book. But I didn't love it. I could have though. I think this could have been a 5-star read had there been less main characters allowing for a deeper dive into the chosen personalities and had there been a more centralized focus for all the grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Death