Book Review: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
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About The Book
Best friends and sisters, the four Padavano girls bring loving chaos to their close-knit Italian American neighbourhood. William 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, it's as if the world has lit up around him.
With Julia comes her family: 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.
But when darkness from William's past begins to block the light of his future, it is Sylvie, not Julia, who becomes his closest confidante. The result is a catastrophic rift that leaves the family inhabiting two sides of a fault line.
Can they find their way back to each other? Can love make a broken family whole?
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Why We Love It
“She was no longer who she used to be, and she wasn't yet whoever she was becoming.”
Loved it, loved it, loved it! And if ensemble-style family dramas, full of heart and character, are your thing too, you should definitely give this one a go.
Inspired in part by Little Women, Hello Beautiful is a captivating and engrossing story about the intertwining lives of four close-knit sisters growing up in Chicago and about the deeply sensitive young man, William Waters, who marries into the family.
Throughout the course the book, each of the four sisters is on a journey to discover their own unique path and identity, even when that means defying the expectations of their parents and siblings. It's this strong connection between the sisters and the bonds and the cracks in their relationship over time, that drives the storyline forward.
With themes of love, grief and the power of human connection, it’s a book that explores the messy non-linear way that life can be - moments of joy and moments of loss happening all at the same time.
By telling the story from the viewpoint of four different characters, Ann Napolitano explores the idea that how we choose to react to those moments can have far-reaching impacts, in ways we can’t begin to imagine, both for ourselves and for all those around us.
“We’re part of the sky, and the rocks in your mother’s garden, and that old man who sleeps by the train station. We’re all interconnected, and when you see that, you see how beautiful life is”
There are recurring references to depression and anxiety throughout the book, particularly around William who carries a heart-breaking secret from childhood. Despite this, I found it to be a joyful, uplifting novel that highlights how much stronger we can be, how much more fulfilled we are, when surrounded by people who love and support us unconditionally.
To be honest, I just couldn’t put it down and when I reached the end, it was with a sense of disappointment that my time with the Padavano sisters and the wonderful menagerie of characters around them was over.
It's the most beautiful story-telling and Ann Napolitano does an exquisite job of capturing all the contradictory complexities of love, loss and family.
