A Best Book of the Year: NPR, New York (Honorable Mention)
A Best Book of the Month: Buzzfeed, Nylon
A Most Anticipated Book of the Year: The Millions, Ms. Magazine
A Most Anticipated Book of the Month: Electric Literature, The Los Angeles Times, Alta, Bustle, The National Book Review, Apartment Therapy
"Brilliant and terrifyingly honest . . . A stunning debut novel about the hardest things, drawing on style, study and tough experience to make it impossible for us to look away."
--Bethanne Patrick, The Los Angeles Times
"Wild and ambitious . . . [A Tiny Upward Shove] succeeds because of the exuberance of the aswang's voice and the richness of the details . . . [There is] a joy evident in the writing, something ablaze at its core. It burns."
--Erin Somers, The New York Times Book Review
"Startlingly unconventional . . . A harrowing and utterly unforgettable story."
--Tope Folarin, New York
"Literary alchemist Melissa Chadburn . . . [rips] open the underbelly of American capitalism. The result is gripping, provocative and unforgettable."
--Martha Anne Toll, NPR
"Outrageously ambitious, complex and deeply sorrowful . . . . The prose plunges fearlessly, restlessly, often violent, sometimes playful . . . Ferocious."
--Jackie Thomas-Kennedy, Star Tribune
"Powerful . . . [for] its dagger-sharp voice and Chadburn's startling talent . . . It's extraordinary, propulsive: unputdownable."
--Anita Felicelli, Alta
"Wrenching . . . A genuine, powerful work of fiction that speaks to life for those on society's margins."
--The National Book Review
"[Captures] the mixture of hopelessness, longing, liability, and a base need for love that makes us human . . . A Tiny Upward Shove is as sensational as it is heartbreaking."
--Caitlin Stout, The Chicago Review of Books
"Chadburn inhabits her novel with ease, pulling off blistering fiction while hewing to ugly realities dredged up through her journalism."
--Martha Anne Toll, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Chadburn's debut novel is a magical realism-infused literary feast . . . Her novel deftly captures poverty and victimization of youth in vivid and heartbreaking scenarios . . . Indelible and devastating . . . A haunting tale of grit and fate."
--Adrienne Cruz, Booklist (starred review)
"Unforgettable . . . Bold . . . To categorize the novel is to rob it of its complexity and power. A Tiny Upward Shove is best appreciated by letting its language sing."
--Mara Sandroff, Newcity
"Original, heartbreaking."
--Tomi Obaro, Buzzfeed
"[An] astonishing debut . . . [Chadburn's] poetic language enthralls . . . Electrifying."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Electrifying . . . Writing with remarkable grace, even surprising moments of transporting joy, Chadburn creates a miraculous literary platform to claim these [missing and murdered women's] stories . . . [A] sensational, terrifying debut."
--Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness
"Engaging and heartbreaking . . . A dark, powerful novel."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A Tiny Upward Shove is gloriously voiced, the kind of addictive and headlong novel that makes reading into a wild bronco ride. Melissa Chadburn has it, the spark; her first novel is strange and tender and not to be missed."
--Lauren Groff, author of Matrix
"Every line carries music, emotional weight, philosophical insight, and punk rock glory."
--Amber Dermont, author of Damage Control
"A beautiful and brave novel about powerlessness, longing, and that universal, unavoidable desire to be loved. Let this book happen to you."
--Edan Lepucki, author of If You're Not Yet Like Me
"A novel that grabs your attention and won't let it go--fueled by a wild, jagged energy and an exuberant mixing of cultures and a narrator whose frank, poignant voice will keep echoing in your head."
--Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, author of Likes
"In its verve, vibrancy, and sheer reckless energy, Chadburn's writing recalls a number of wonders: Ondaatje's Running in the Family, say, or Kincaid's At the Bottom of the River. Chadburn's vision, however, her intelligence and empathy, are entirely her own."
--Matthew Specktor, author of American Dream Machine
