Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

108 reviews

susan_and_shep_13's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I originally gave this book 5 stars but thinking back this is probably more of a 4 star for me.  At the time of reading, though,  it is exactly what I wanted...a good old fashioned family saga. The publisher has likened it to a "Little Women" "retelling" or influenced by Little Women. That is not accurate at all. It is a story of 4 sisters but beyond that the similarities end. Some of the characters are infuriating and others are more in the background but still quietly having an influence. There is part of the story that revolves around one character that has made her choices and her stubbornness to rethink some of them for the sake of her daughter is tiresome. Overall a good book...but not great. I read this for my IRL book club, The Page Turners. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Cancer, and Death

Minor: Death of parent

vanessatombolini's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Child death, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Pregnancy, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Abandonment, Child abuse, Homophobia, Classism, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Sexual harassment, War, and Infidelity

imustich's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy

jenmtnbike's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Cancer, and Death

megrum22's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer and Suicide attempt

megreads12's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment and Lesbophobia

Minor: Child death and Car accident

flowchelle's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I didn’t know what to expect with this book but I’d seen it on a ton of reading lists. Having read it now, I’m not sure why it is so popular. Is it because of the nod to little women? I enjoyed the flow of the story through multiple characters perspectives but got bored often with the lack of actual happening besides giant family drama moments. I wanted there to be some more meat to who these people were and some more dimension to their lives! But overall, I did enjoy the weaving of their lives and eventual promise of love that they all eventually come to know! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, and Abandonment

tiredfangirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was so torn about how to star rate this book. The themes were incredibly well developed looking back from the end, but I think as I was reading it felt like a lot of stuff was going nowhere. 

In terms of the characterization, I didn’t like any of the characters for about the first half of the book. I get that it was building towards the larger themes, but it meant that I wasn’t really enjoying reading it. I also really felt like for a book with such complex characters otherwise, Julia and Rose got very one-note characterizations.

I’m more forgiving of Charlie’s 2-note characterization because I think it makes a point about how we idealize people after death, but I wish she had DONE something with that.

Despite all that, I couldn’t seem to put it down. So… 4/5 I guess? But definitely 5/5 at times and 2/5 at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction

katewhite77's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A Family Saga Inspired, In Part by Little Women.

I loved this book and felt so seen within it's pages. It  tells the story of the Padavano sisters, an Italian American family from the late 70s to late 00s, from late teenagehood to early middle age.

It is a beautifully rendered portrait of what can happen when a families supply of glue suddenly stops and things begin to fall apart.  However it also shows how if the family unit is strong enough it can stitch itself back together again into a different shape. 

One of the big themes of this book is truth, both in terms of being honest and lieing.

If this doesn't make it into my top books of 24 I will be surprised.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

jsavan17's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse