15.1k reviews for:

Hello Beautiful

Ann Napolitano

4.14 AVERAGE

gertie60's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

polkaduck115's review against another edition

4.25

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

ilsebruls's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

coralhels's review against another edition

4.0

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3.5 stars. I loved the first half of the book but the second half was hard work. For me it felt too idealised, sentimental and simplistic (eg Sylvie and William’s perfect relationship, the twins’ perfect shared lives). I felt the author was just saying the same thing again and again but with slightly different multitudes of words.

sara_tea's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

tmc_cramer's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

anna_wie's review against another edition

3.0

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Begint traag, daarna leest het wel lekker door. Ik vond het verhaal en de thema’s wel interessant, maar de auteur geeft steeds opsommingen van “wat er allemaal gebeurd is” in plaats van de moeite te doen je er als lezer een beetje in mee te nemen. En ik vond de personages wat vlak.
Maar het heeft me wel geinspireerd om weer wat meer intergenerationeel drama als genre op te zoeken (maar dan meer zoals het werk van Jane Smiley, en/of misschien wil ik A Little Life herlezen)

erielmc's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

kelleighst7's review against another edition

3.75

inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book took me over a year to read. Very slow 

doughastings's review against another edition

3.0

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Very well written, but the john Irving disease (what’s the worst thing I can do to this character?) in the final act was unnecessary and weakened the book for me. 

And she would repeat the most insightful or interesting things about the characters, which sort of irritated me.  Yes, we know  William stood over Alice’s crib and listened to her breathing, you already told us that.  

So, ditch the John Irving plot points, and edit the heck out of this book, and it’s absolutely a four star book.  Fantastic characters.  

Not everything has to go to s**t or go to an emotional 11 to be a good literary fiction novel.  

I mostly listened to this book.  Maura Tierney is a good narrator.