Rewind for a moment to May 2011 when I attended an award ceremony with Chad Pelley himself. The first I’ve ever heard of this guy and his reading had me impressed. Young Canadian author with a good story to tell and, as amazing as it all was, he seemed as shy as I have been yet blew the crowd away! He read from his first, and then only novel, Away from Everywhere
I went home and bought it at the first opportunity, read it amazingly quickly as time tends not to permit patience, and was still impressed with his ability to seamlessly move through time and emotion like a dolphin in water.
Fast forward a wee bit to August, 2011. Chad was hosting a giveaway for an advanced copy of Every Little Thing on his blog (http://chadpelley.wordpress.com/every-little-thing/) by drawing from people who commented. I got there a bit late and wasn’t eligible but stated “My fingers are definitely crossed and I’m greatly optimistic although I may be a little late for the prize you know I’ll be buying and reviewing”. A comment completely forgotten when I commented on Chad’s recent Facebook status announcing a recent shipment of ARC’s to the media. Fate would have it, I soon got my hands and eyes on a copy and am oh so delighted I did!
On to my review of Every Little Thing
A stand out quote from Every Little Thing
He could never recollect that night as a whole; it was a smashed vase he only saw in pieces.
Cohen is lucky in love and unlucky in life. Lending his new neighbour a toaster is only the beginning of how his life would change. Like bread to toast, his life has the same people expressed wonderfully as characters we all immediately fall in love with, save for one or two, Cohen is mending a literal broken heart when he begins to understand how hard it is to forgive.
A tale of masterful teachings of forgiveness, events unfolding that have this young man learning how to forgive, accept and mend his forever damaged heart, Every Little Thing
What I loved most about this is my almost immediate feeling of being jipped knowing the punch line but it being followed through with a punch line complete with many more punches. Already receiving many rave reviews, Chad Pelley is sure to impress even the grumpiest critic with his ability to have his readers completely absorb themselves in each situation and care deeply for each outcome.
Pelley’s ability to express raw emotion for each character, despite the difference in gender, age, history, etc was phenomenal. It’s obvious this emerging and soon to be best selling author is finely tuned to the characters who live inside his head, and seemingly heart, to portray them exactly like they are. As if they existed in his life and grew up with him throughout his years.
No matter how you judge Cohen, Pelley is definitely guilty of one thing – writing a book you need to read.
And if you can’t wait until next month to understand what I mean, Away from Everywhere
Stay tuned for an interview with Chad Pelley – author, songwriter, photographer, musician, marketer, founder of Salty Ink and Something Daily and many more impressive talents! 2013 winner of Salon Fiction Prize as judged by Alexander MacLeod, Sue Goyette, and Thomas Hood, authors he looks up to.
Thanks for reading and thanks very much for Breakwater Books Ltd for gifting me this wonderful story,
Sarah Butland author of Sending You Sammy
