Early last year, I came across Hello Beautiful, the newest book by bestseller author Ann Napolitano. Her previous book Dear Edward was incredibly popular and the synopsis for this new book sounded interesting as well. It only took me until the final weeks of 2024 before I finally picked it up, and only because I was triggered by a remark in an online book club for Jandy Nelson’s When the World Tips Over. Did this book live up to the hype?

About the book

Hello Beautiful Published by Penguin on July 13, 2023
Pages: 400
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, General fiction

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 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.

My review

Before reading

I’ve read Dear Edward years ago, after hearing a lot about it. Many people enjoyed this author’s debut, but I ended up a bit disappointed. Somehow, this book didn’t really click with me, and I still can’t put a finger on why not. I therefore was a bit hesitant to pick up Hello Beautiful, because what if this book won’t click with me either? The synopsis gave me the impression that this would be a book right up my alley: character driven with depth and serious themes and accompanying emotions. These expectations have been partially met.

Characters

In this book, we follow multiple characters at once. The novel opens with an introduction to William Waters, one of the main characters. His passion for basketball is something that immediately stood out, as well as his family situation. I was wondering why we got introduced to him and that’s partially my fault, I didn’t reread the synopsis before reading. Soon after, we got introduced to the Padovano family, with the main focus on Julia. She became William’s wife after all. It was clear from the start that this family was tight knit, but that they welcomed William with open arms. Charlie was the absent and drunk father, Rose the mother and household runner. Once the story progresses, we learn more about Charlie and get more insight in how beloved he was – and still is – by his daughters. To me, the introduction to the cast of characters felt a bit chaotic and therefore it took me a while before I understood everyone’s role in the story. The struggles this family is facing are written well. However, I didn’t feel much of a connection to any of the characters, as I felt like I didn’t get to know them that well. This changes in the final part of the book however, then everything comes together and starts making sense. It’s hard to analyse these characters without giving away too much of the story.

Writing

At the start, I definitely had to get used to the writing style. This novel is relying very heavily on POV switching and that sometimes confused me. Once I progressed into this story, I found the book reading pretty easily. Napolitano tells the entire story from third person’s POV, which can feel rather distant at times. For this story however, it works best since we follow multiple characters at once and each of them is connected to someone else in one way or another. I also liked the time jumps. These are necessary as well and are clearly indicated. This makes Hello Beautiful the family saga it’s aiming to be.

Plot

As expected, this book is very character driven. The plot follows the characters from a young age till well in their forties. They come of age once they grow older, and they have to deal with (intergenerational) trauma and devastating losses along the way. Especially when Alice starts to play a more important role in the book, this trauma and identity questions became more visible. However, it already started with William and the relationship with his parents. This one isn’t the best to say the least and this is something William carries with him for the rest of his live. Furthermore, the Padovano sisters have their own fair share of relational troubles, as there have been multiple fallouts within their strong family throughout this book. However, they still love and care for each other, and welcome William with open arms. Their family bond is very strong for that matter. Together with themes such as grief, depression, loss, sickness and (intergenerational) trauma, this provides a pretty tense yet hopeful atmosphere for this novel. I wasn’t that keen on how some characters deal with certain events, but it all comes together somehow in the end. This book is heavily about experiencing and healing from trauma which was somewhat intriguing. Therefore, the time jumps were logical, as they give a good impression of the healing and accepting process throughout the decades.

Final thoughts

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is a little and simultaneously a big story about family dynamics and relationships, whilst dealing with heavy topics such as intergenerational trauma, loss and grief. The author introduces multiple characters at once, which might be confusing at the start. The writing can be confusing as well because of this. Once I got used to it, I was able to enjoy this book. However, it didn’t fully click with me, I felt quite a distance to these characters. However, them coming of age is a great process to witness. If you don’t mind a challenging, tense but yet hopeful book with several triggers along the way, this book is suitable for you.