A Tiny Upward Shove, by Melissa Chadburn

A Tiny Upward Shove is a stunning debut novel by Melissa Chadburn, a rich tapestry that weaves together the stories of innocent lives and dreams torn apart, the disjointed threads of the child welfare system, and real life crime, along with some colorful Filipino folklore and tradition. 

The story is told by an aswang, a shape-shifter being well-known in Filipino folklore, who is presently inhabiting the body of Marina Salles, an eighteen-year old young woman who has just been murdered by a pig farmer named Robert "Willy" Pickton. (He is a real person). The aswang gives us a flashback story into the life Marina started with, and how her life took such a devastating turn.

During her early childhood, Marina Salles lived with her mother, Mutya, and her loving Lola, or grandmother. Marina is very close to her Lola, and the two have a strong bond, but when Mutya decides to follow a man to another county in California, she takes Marina with her. It is obvious, quickly, that Mutya would rather go out and behave like a young, free woman than stay home and spend time with her daughter. And so, Marina is first neglected and soon, behind her mother's always turned back, brutally raped. 

When Marina is taken away from her mother, she is the one who is subjected to punishing hardship. Of course, Marina wants to go back to her Lola, but she is in a different county and there are procedures and bureaucracy standing in the way, seemingly more important than any child's happiness.  Marina is then sent to a group home, which turns out to be a mostly unsupervised warehousing system devoid of stimulation or meaningful education. And the children there are provided with the bare minimum of necessities only. 

While there, Marina does make a friend in Alex, a slightly younger girl with a shocking and heartbreaking backstory of her own. When Marina achieves emancipation early, she promises Alex to help her find the woman who had tried to adopt her. However, Marina has not been well prepared to be out on her own, and with scant assistance, she winds up on the streets. Ironically, her mother has found religion, but not the urge to keep any contact with her daughter, and her Lola is no longer able. She is very much alone. 

The friendship and love between Marina and Alex is intense, memorable, and certainly very important to the story. In the end, the presence of the aswang serves to give meaning and dignity to the life of Marina Salles. This story is written beautifully with a fascinating, distinct style that I very much admire, while it also made valuable statements about violence, both physical and economic. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for this wonderful opportunity.