It’s been a year since the fire that ended Dale Jepson’s death ended his chance to go to the karaoke Nationals. Crow Valley and its citizens are still trying to recover, and tonight, at the Crow Valley Karaoke Championships, they just might find a way out of their grief. Or at least, they can honor his memory by belting out their favorite karaoke song and try to win their own chance at the national competition.

Roxanne hasn’t been the same since she lost her husband. Everyone had loved Dale for his easy charm and friendliness, but since she lost him, Roxanne has been lost. She’s been carrying his ashes around in a thermos and wearing a miner’s helmet on her head. She’s been forgetful and neglectful in her job for the mayor, so she forgot to order the chairs for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, she forgot the signs to close the bridge so they can start work on it next week, and she forgot to put up a sign about the possibility of a bear in the area. And she’s here, at the karaoke competition for Dale, as one of the two judges to pick a winner. But her trouble focusing has been so bad that she forgot to bring the man himself, Dale, to the karaoke contest that’s in memoriam to him. Will she ever be able to concentrate again, or will she lose her job and possibly her mind?

Val is a prison guard at the same place Dale worked. And she’s struggling. She and her husband Brett are having problems. He slept with someone else, and she was medicating her pain with alcohol. Now she’s 40 days sober and trying desperately to make it to 41. But it’s tough. And the way the French prisoner has been flirting with her is starting to tempt her. He’s a murderer, he’s crass, and he’s all she has going for her aside from checking all the spots she once hid alcohol to see if she can find anything. And with Brett distracted by the karaoke contest, trying to honor the man who had been his best friend, she needs something to help her out.

Molly is a woman with a secret. She had four sons and runs the town’s daycare, but she is completely exhausted by motherhood. She was the reason Dale had stopped a year ago, to help her out. She’d told him her car had run out of gas as she’d tried to get around a big tree that had fallen across Main Street, so he grabbed her gas can and headed for the gas station. What happened next certainly wasn’t her fault, but the lies she told that night were. And the secret of what she’d been doing there is something she still carries with her. Tonight, at the karaoke competition, she’s ready to give her song her all. She has a beautiful, expensive, sparkly dress, and she’s been practicing. But when she forgets the lyrics, right before someone in the audience announces that there is an escaped prisoner, she wonders if it’s possible to get a second chance.

This year’s Crow Valley Karaoke Championships is a chance for everyone in the town to come together and celebrate the life of beloved citizen Dale, to let loose and sing, and to try to make it to the national championships. But when the competition gets sidelined by an escaped prisoner, a stolen truck, a bear, a child with a broken leg, a man impersonating a police officer, an angry porcupine, and a karaoke miracle or two, the people of Crow Valley have the chance to stand together and find the meaning they’ve been missing in the dark days since the last competition.

Ali Bryan’s charming story of small town people all dealing with their own emotional damage is a little bit hilarious, a little bit heartbreaking, and completely life-affirming. These characters come through for each other in sweet and surprising ways, even while they struggle to deal with their own pain. The Crow Valley Karaoke Competition tells the story of the small town we all want to live in, where everyone knows everyone else, the kids are a little out-of-control, and the adults are just doing the best they can with what they have. It’s the story of how small steps can turn out to be giant leaps toward healing, which is the kind of encouragement we all need in our lives.

Egalleys for The Crow Valley Karaoke Competition were provided by Henry Holt & Company through NetGalley, with many thanks.