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A review by chrissie_whitley
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
5.0
William escapes his tragic childhood by earning a basketball scholarship to college, where he meets Julia Padavano and her three sisters. When darkness from his past threatens their future, a catastrophic family rift ensues, testing their loyalty and changing their lives for generations.
Napolitano has crafted a beautifully moving story filled with love, hope, strength, and loyalty. The narrative is masterfully paced, pushing along with a steady, rhythmic beat as it weaves through the lives of William and the beloved Padavano sisters. Despite all the turbulence in William's life, Napolitano delivers a peacefully understood story — like a dependable train on a serpentine track, wending its way through the lives of its passengers picked up and dropped off along the way.
Welcomed as a reimagining of [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642] by [a:Louisa May Alcott|1315|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1200326665p2/1315.jpg], I also caught glimpses of another classic, [b:Stoner|166997|Stoner|John Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320600716l/166997._SY75_.jpg|1559207] by [a:John Williams|51229|John Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519832171p2/51229.jpg]. The serenely gorgeous, yet ordinary, life of William Stoner meets William Waters and is made vibrant with a deeply felt and complex family.
Napolitano has created such painfully human characters — each filled to the edges with life while never completely outshining the others. Such a balance in a tightly woven narrative is difficult, but the importance of each and every character to William and the character of William himself never felt like a competition — either for limelight or love. And yet, these are all deeply flawed and wounded individuals — each distinct with their own breath and heartbeat.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.
Napolitano has crafted a beautifully moving story filled with love, hope, strength, and loyalty. The narrative is masterfully paced, pushing along with a steady, rhythmic beat as it weaves through the lives of William and the beloved Padavano sisters. Despite all the turbulence in William's life, Napolitano delivers a peacefully understood story — like a dependable train on a serpentine track, wending its way through the lives of its passengers picked up and dropped off along the way.
Welcomed as a reimagining of [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642] by [a:Louisa May Alcott|1315|Louisa May Alcott|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1200326665p2/1315.jpg], I also caught glimpses of another classic, [b:Stoner|166997|Stoner|John Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320600716l/166997._SY75_.jpg|1559207] by [a:John Williams|51229|John Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519832171p2/51229.jpg]. The serenely gorgeous, yet ordinary, life of William Stoner meets William Waters and is made vibrant with a deeply felt and complex family.
Napolitano has created such painfully human characters — each filled to the edges with life while never completely outshining the others. Such a balance in a tightly woven narrative is difficult, but the importance of each and every character to William and the character of William himself never felt like a competition — either for limelight or love. And yet, these are all deeply flawed and wounded individuals — each distinct with their own breath and heartbeat.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.