We’re so excited that the day has finally arrived, A Little Hope by Ethan Joella is being published by Scribner in the US.

A Little Hope immerses the reader into a community of friends, family, and neighbours, and celebrates the importance of small moments of connection, and how love and forgiveness can help us survive even the most difficult of life’s challenges. We could all do with a bit of that at the moment.

We’re also delighted that A Little Hope has been selected as this month’s #ReadWithJenna book pick on the Today Show!  Jenna has fallen in love with Ethan’s moving, heartfelt book and we know you will too. The fantastic news keeps on coming as A  Little Hope also received the most wonderful review in the New York Times, where they praised it for being ‘Poignant and quietly powerful’, you can read the full review here.

There has been a whole host of rave reviews:

“Poignant and quietly powerful…Joella is particularly deft at deconstructing quiet moments in small-town life and amplifying their significance…[A Little Hope] impressively balances a cast of thoroughly realized personalities grappling with momentous events…these characters transform over time, make amends and see one another more honestly and fully. Their evolution is inspiring — and more than a tad hopeful.” – New York Times Review

“Joella has an eye and ear for suburban pathos, highlighting tragedy and growth in equal parts. . . . Joella pays particular attention to the aftershocks of loss in the residents’ lives but he doesn’t dwell on the maudlin. . . . readers of Meg Wolitzer will gravitate to this immersive, illuminating novel.” – Booklist

“The residents of a small Connecticut city navigate grief and hope in Joella’s tender debut, a series of vignettes marked by a sense of connection and community…Throughout, the overlapping story lines keep readers turning the pages.” – Publisher’s Weekly

“Joella captures the rhythms of life in Wharton and is skilled at identifying both shifts in the weather and events that mark the passage of time in moments so subtle as to be almost undetectable. Readers who enjoy fiction that reflects the struggles and joys of their daily lives will find much that will resonate here.” – Kirkus

“Wonderfully observed and immensely touching, A Little Hope is a beautiful portrait of the poignant moments in life that change us, move us, and connect us, written in deft and powerful prose. A true gem of a novel that I won’t soon forget.” –Ashley Audrain, author of The Push

“A Little Hope is a sweet and tender take on small town heartbreak, where everybody hurts, and everybody finds some saving comfort, whether in the world or in one another.”  – Stewart O’Nan, author of The Night Country and Songs for the Missing

Read about residents in a small Connecticut town facing everyday fears and desires:

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.

Ethan teaches English and psychology at the University of Delaware and specializes in community writing workshops. His work has appeared in River Teeth, The Cimarron Review, The MacGuffin, Delaware Beach Life, and Third Wednesday. He has published two poetry chapbooks: Where Dads Go and A Prayer for Ducks. He lives in Delaware and Pennsylvania with his wife and daughters.

Congratulations Ethan! We can’t wait for everyone to read this deeply moving story. You can pick up your copy here.