Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
A beautiful novel about a small town community in CT, and the lives of the people dealing with various issues. Greg and Freddie, in love with a young daughter, Addie, are devastated when Greg is diagnosed with cancer. His boss, Alex, is kind and understanding, but also has an issue - he fathered a child years ago after his own child was killed and he was emotionally destroyed because of it. His wife didn't want to ever see the love child, so he secretly met with Iris and was a part of her life. Darcy Crowley lost her beloved husband and is worried about the choices her son, Luke, has made. Ginger, his ex-girlfriend returns to town for a short stay and they see each other briefly before tragedy strikes.
An emotional novel filled with heartache but also with healing and hope.
An emotional novel filled with heartache but also with healing and hope.
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy
Moderate: Drug abuse, Infertility, Violence, Car accident
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Reminded me a lot of feast of love. Took me a bit to get into it but I really enjoyed it
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Addiction
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Little Hope had elements I love in a novel: interwoven characters, introspection on life & how we cope with what is thrown at us, meditations on loss and grief. It was a meandering, thoughtful book-- a lovely end of year read.
But sometimes I felt pulled out of the narrative by the word choice, a turn of phrase that felt stilted & out of place for the character or scene. Like when Ginger (in her early 30s) refers to her ex-boyfriend's widowed mother as "gutsy." It felt like the right sentiment... but the wrong presentation. I found these little jarring bits sprinkled throughout the book, and it made me conscious of the act of reading, when really I just wanted to introspect along with the characters.
There's a lot of digging into the nature of loss and grief in this book. And each character deals with the process in messy ways. Which kept me reading. I felt like I was stumbling onto unexpected slivers of truth here and there. And I wanted to know how it all resolved, if it did at all. (It both does & does not--much like real life, which I appreciated)
Some aspects of the characters felt too neatly wrapped up. For instance, before Greg gets sick, he seems so one-dimensional: the perfect provider, strong, a bit stoic, ambitious. But people are more complex that that. He develops some complexity later on, as he grapples with his illness. But it came too late for me to really invest in that character.
At first, I was irked but the presentation of women as either very dependent (Freddie & Darcy during her marriage) or as cold (Darcy with her son, Kay after her son's death). And there are some pretty strong gender stereotypes that pop up (Luke as the boy that needs to be saved, Greg as strong provider, Von as tough, guy's guy)--but I think that Ethan Joella was attempting to unravel those for the reader. There are men in the novel who are more tender than women--or who shift to supporting roles emotionally or logistically. There are men who long to be seen. I just couldn't shake the feeling that gender stereotypes were inadvertently reinforced in an effort to eventually unravel them.
Ultimately, for me, this was a charming little vacation read. It made me think just enough about life, the way I respond to loss, the way I move forward (which is ultimately what the novel is about: forgiving and moving toward life) to pull me toward that end of year introspection that I cherish this time of year.
But sometimes I felt pulled out of the narrative by the word choice, a turn of phrase that felt stilted & out of place for the character or scene. Like when Ginger (in her early 30s) refers to her ex-boyfriend's widowed mother as "gutsy." It felt like the right sentiment... but the wrong presentation. I found these little jarring bits sprinkled throughout the book, and it made me conscious of the act of reading, when really I just wanted to introspect along with the characters.
There's a lot of digging into the nature of loss and grief in this book. And each character deals with the process in messy ways. Which kept me reading. I felt like I was stumbling onto unexpected slivers of truth here and there. And I wanted to know how it all resolved, if it did at all. (It both does & does not--much like real life, which I appreciated)
Some aspects of the characters felt too neatly wrapped up. For instance, before Greg gets sick, he seems so one-dimensional: the perfect provider, strong, a bit stoic, ambitious. But people are more complex that that. He develops some complexity later on, as he grapples with his illness. But it came too late for me to really invest in that character.
At first, I was irked but the presentation of women as either very dependent (Freddie & Darcy during her marriage) or as cold (Darcy with her son, Kay after her son's death). And there are some pretty strong gender stereotypes that pop up (Luke as the boy that needs to be saved, Greg as strong provider, Von as tough, guy's guy)--but I think that Ethan Joella was attempting to unravel those for the reader. There are men in the novel who are more tender than women--or who shift to supporting roles emotionally or logistically. There are men who long to be seen. I just couldn't shake the feeling that gender stereotypes were inadvertently reinforced in an effort to eventually unravel them.
Ultimately, for me, this was a charming little vacation read. It made me think just enough about life, the way I respond to loss, the way I move forward (which is ultimately what the novel is about: forgiving and moving toward life) to pull me toward that end of year introspection that I cherish this time of year.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
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:
Complicated