A Tiny Upward Shove: A Novel

"Literary alchemist Melissa Chadburn opens her debut novel with a young woman being strangled and murdered; propels the book through a tale of abuse, heartache and loss; and ends on an affirmation of love. Chadburn transposes her voice as a muckraking investigative journalist into an aswang — a Filipino spirit of the dead. It is the aswang’s job to right the wrong done to Marina, the victim. As narrator, the aswang brings readers into the heart and mind of both murdered and murderer, ripping open the underbelly of American capitalism. The result is gripping, provocative and unforgettable."