This book is from my personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: November 16, 2021
Summary:
An “immersive…illuminating” (Booklist) and life-affirming novel following the residents of an idyllic Connecticut town over the course of a year, A Little Hope explores the intertwining lives of a dozen neighbors as they confront everyday desires and fears: a lost love, a stalled career, an illness, and a betrayal.
Freddie and Greg Tyler seem to have it all: a comfortable home, 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. Throughout their town, friends and neighbors face the most difficult of life’s challenges and are figuring out how to survive thanks to love, grace, and hope.
A quietly powerful portrait of small-town life…told with wisdom and tenderness” (Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes) A Little Hope is a deeply resonant debut that immerses the reader in a community and celebrates the importance of small moments of connection.
My thoughts:
I was thrilled when my bookclub decided to read this one back in January – I know I am terribly late getting this review up but life! – I had selected it as a Book of the Month choice and it had just been sitting on my shelf, but was definitely a book I was eager to read. And what a book…I absolutely loved it!
This book is a character-driven story that celebrates the importance of moments of connection. It takes you on an emotional journey – have those tissues at the ready! – but I loved that we see characters in real life situations and while this is heartbreaking at times, it is done with grace and hope, and in a very realistic and relatable way. I felt that at any point I could see myself or someone I know in any of these situations and that made me connect to the characters that much more. Every one of the characters had such depth and I was rooting for them all.
This story is about love, heartbreak, grief, healing and a little hope. It is one that has stayed with me all this time and one that I definitely see myself rereading at some point. While this is a heavy read, I also found it to be a comforting read and one that I see myself coming back to at some point.
Audio thoughts:
I listened to this one and thought Shaun Taylor-Corbett did a great job bringing the story to life. His intonation and pacing was just right and he brought just the right amount of emotion into the story as needed.
