Hello beautiful: a novel

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language
English

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • MORE THAN ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! From the author of Dear Edward comes a “powerfully affecting” (People) family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?“Another tender tearjerker . . . Napolitano chronicles life’s highs and lows with aching precision.”—The Washington PostONE OF THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Washington Post, Time, Vogue, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Post, She Reads, BookreporterWilliam Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. With the Padavanos, William experiences a newfound contentment; every moment in their house is filled with loving chaos.But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters’ unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?An exquisite homage to Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic, Little Women, Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.

Discover More

Excerpt

Loading Excerpt...

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; the subjects "siblings," "sisters," and "family relationships"; and characters that are "well-developed characters."
Both character-driven, moving novels focus on the complicated, unbreakable bonds between a set of sisters. -- Halle Carlson
The dynamics of a tight-knit family are forever changed when an outsider becomes a love interest for one of the siblings in both atmospheric and moving novels. -- Halle Carlson
Readers who enjoy Hello Beautiful may want to explore the inspiration behind the novel -- the moving and character-driven classic Little Women. -- Halle Carlson
Each of these moving, bittersweet novels explores family bonds and the ways they can be irrevocably impacted when someone deals with mental health issues. -- Halle Carlson
These books have the appeal factors reflective, atmospheric, and sweeping, and they have the genres "book club best bets" and "literary fiction"; and the subjects "siblings" and "sisters."
In these moving and character-driven novels, a group of sisters searches for love and belonging while coping with depression and the aftermath of family tragedies. Hello Beautiful is historical fiction; The Ocean in Winter is set in the present. -- CJ Connor
Both moving, character-driven novels center on four sisters whose lives are deeply intertwined. Family Lore includes elements of magical realism that are absent from Hello Beautiful but both are atmospheric reads. -- Halle Carlson
These books have the appeal factors moving and atmospheric, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; the subjects "families," "sisters," and "mothers and daughters"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These books have the appeal factors moving and reflective, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; the subjects "death of sisters" and "grief"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "authentic characters."
These books have the appeal factors atmospheric, richly detailed, and sweeping, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; and the subjects "death of sisters" and "grief."
Though their plots are different, both moving, character-driven novels center on close-knit families and how single decisions reverberate over time and impact each of the characters. -- Halle Carlson

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These authors' works have the appeal factors sweeping, and they have the genre "love stories"; and the subjects "death of sisters," "life change events," and "loss."
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy and haunting, and they have the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "life change events," "loss," and "grief."
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy, lyrical, and sweeping, and they have the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "siblings," "death of sisters," and "family relationships."
These authors' works have the appeal factors incisive and sweeping, and they have the subjects "sisters," "death of sisters," and "pregnant people."
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy and haunting, and they have the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "suicidal behavior," "life change events," and "forgiveness."
These authors' works have the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "sisters," "family relationships," and "mothers and daughters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy, lyrical, and multiple perspectives, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; and the subjects "life change events," "forgiveness," and "loss."
These authors' works have the appeal factors moving, melancholy, and lyrical, and they have the genres "mainstream fiction" and "literary fiction"; the subjects "life change events," "loss," and "grief"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the subjects "happiness," "death of sisters," and "life change events."
These authors' works have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "happiness," "sisters," and "death of sisters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy and bittersweet, and they have the genres "mainstream fiction" and "psychological fiction"; and the subjects "siblings," "happiness," and "death of sisters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy, and they have the genres "mainstream fiction" and "psychological fiction"; and the subjects "sisters," "death of sisters," and "life change events."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

William had a solitary upbringing tinged with grief, so it was something of a relief to marry into Julia's large, boisterous Italian family. Her parents and three sisters were nearly always there for her, physically and emotionally. Julia and her sisters could communicate opinions with a single glance; they were each others' first phone calls in times of triumph or tragedy, and they all seemed to know one another better than they knew themselves. William tried to fit in quickly and absorb the Padavano family shorthand. When a depressive spell sours William and Julia's marriage, he decides that a solitary life may be the only way to keep the people he loves from harm. But when the cloud lifts, William is surprised to find the one Padavano who's still by his side, unable to let go of the strongest connection she's ever felt. Napolitano's (Dear Edward, 2020) sweeping, Chicago-set family saga echoes Cristina Alger's The Darlings, Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You, and Adam Langer's Crossing California. With the vibrant and close-knit Pilson neighborhood playing a supporting role, Napolitano's latest novel investigates the deep, maddeningly frustrating, and ever-present love of family, whether tied by genetics or by choice.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Publisher's Weekly Review

Napolitano (Dear Edward) explores the meaning of love and family with this striking story of four Chicago sisters and the young man who enters their lives. William Waters, a basketball player from outside Boston, enrolls at Northwestern in 1978 on an athletic scholarship. After he starts dating fellow student Julia Padavano, he's embraced by Julia's three younger sisters--Sylvie, a romantic searching for a great love affair; Cecelia, an aspiring artist; and Cecelia's earnest and quiet twin, Emeline--and is delighted to find a loving and loud family so different from his own, his parents having grown taciturn after his older sister's death years before. William and Julia marry, while the unmarried Cecelia gets pregnant at 17, Sylvie presses on with a job at a library, and Emeline works at a daycare where she fosters a crush on a coworker. After one character attempts suicide, the bonds of the expanding family are tested, and the Padavano women reexamine the limits of how much they're willing to sacrifice. The author breathes great life into her characters, and brings insight into their quiet moments as they gradually come into their own. This will move readers. Agent: Julie Barer, Book Group. (Mar.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Powered by Syndetics

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* William had a solitary upbringing tinged with grief, so it was something of a relief to marry into Julia's large, boisterous Italian family. Her parents and three sisters were nearly always there for her, physically and emotionally. Julia and her sisters could communicate opinions with a single glance; they were each others' first phone calls in times of triumph or tragedy, and they all seemed to know one another better than they knew themselves. William tried to fit in quickly and absorb the Padavano family shorthand. When a depressive spell sours William and Julia's marriage, he decides that a solitary life may be the only way to keep the people he loves from harm. But when the cloud lifts, William is surprised to find the one Padavano who's still by his side, unable to let go of the strongest connection she's ever felt. Napolitano's (Dear Edward, 2020) sweeping, Chicago-set family saga echoes Cristina Alger's The Darlings, Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You, and Adam Langer's Crossing California. With the vibrant and close-knit Pilson neighborhood playing a supporting role, Napolitano's latest novel investigates the deep, maddeningly frustrating, and ever-present love of family, whether tied by genetics or by choice. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.
Powered by Content Cafe

Library Journal Reviews

In Berg's Earth's the Right Place for Love, a stand-alone connected to her popular Truluv series, Arthur tries to contain his crush on gorgeous Nola McCollum (who's crushing on his older brother) while steering clear of his violent war-veteran dad; then tragedy upends his family. In debuter Brown's Black Candle Women, three generations of Montrose women must carefully tell sparkling young teenager Nickie that a curse delivered decades ago by a New Orleans vodou sorceress means that anyone she falls in love with will die. In Fedor's debut, Carla is shattered when the man she loves disappears with their baby but heartened years later when a man and child are spotted At Sea calmly treading water—Brandon claimed to be part of a U.S. Special Forces experiment that allowed him to stay longer than humanly possible beneath the waves. Puerto Rican sisters living on Staten Island, Jessica and Nina may finally learn What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, their long-lost little sister, when Jessica spots a look-alike on a reality TV show; from debuter Jimenez, the winner of multiple honors for her story collection Staten Island Stories. In standup comedian Langbein's debut, Hollywood hacks are trying to turn the androgynous, eco-crusading protagonist of Penelope Schleeman's feminist novel American Mermaid into a vampy teen, and creepy things (e.g., threats suddenly materializing in the script) are starting to happen. Following Napolitano's New York Times best-selling Dear Edward, Hello Beautiful features reserved William, who's hamstrung by his upbringing in a household shadowed by tragedy but lucky enough to have found effervescent Julia and gained her sisters' seal of approval—until trouble from his past threatens the relationship. From award-winning poet/novelist Novey (Ways To Disappear), Take What You Need returns Leah to the Appalachian home of her recently deceased stepmother Jean, from whom she had been estranged and who has left her with some surprises. Steel's Worthy Opponents pits Spencer Brooke, now owner of her family's luxury department store in New York and a divorced mother of twins, against overeager investor Mike Weston.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal.
Powered by Content Cafe

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Napolitano (Dear Edward) explores the meaning of love and family with this striking story of four Chicago sisters and the young man who enters their lives. William Waters, a basketball player from outside Boston, enrolls at Northwestern in 1978 on an athletic scholarship. After he starts dating fellow student Julia Padavano, he's embraced by Julia's three younger sisters—Sylvie, a romantic searching for a great love affair; Cecelia, an aspiring artist; and Cecelia's earnest and quiet twin, Emeline—and is delighted to find a loving and loud family so different from his own, his parents having grown taciturn after his older sister's death years before. William and Julia marry, while the unmarried Cecelia gets pregnant at 17, Sylvie presses on with a job at a library, and Emeline works at a daycare where she fosters a crush on a coworker. After one character attempts suicide, the bonds of the expanding family are tested, and the Padavano women reexamine the limits of how much they're willing to sacrifice. The author breathes great life into her characters, and brings insight into their quiet moments as they gradually come into their own. This will move readers. Agent: Julie Barer, Book Group. (Mar.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.