Scan barcode
jadeneedy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A lovely book that I didn’t want to put down. Such beautiful, deep description that really made the world and characters come to life in my mind. At times, some people’s feelings and situations would be over explained instead of giving the reader space to infer and reflect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
rosegoldeen3's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
hannah_book's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Moderate: Homophobia and Child death
ukponge's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia
amyeicher's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia
nonsense's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
sakisreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was very much inspired, I feel, by ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara. Obviously there’s the Little Women inspiration added to it as well, but my comparison comes from all the pain the characters face. William felt often like Jude to me in almost every aspect (e.g. parents’ love or lack thereof, trouble with finding a perfect partner etc.) 🥲
This was a read for Book Club, and as much as I wanted to give it the 5 stars, it fell as about 3.5 out of 5 for me ✨ I felt myself getting slightly frustrated with the characters throughout, and even the beautiful language couldn’t dissuade me 🫠
I obviously loved their love, but initially when Sylvie chose William I was shouting ‘REALLY?!’ at my screen 😂 I can’t judge because I’ve never been in love like that but still…
I’m looking forward to hearing what people have to say about this one 😊
This was a read for Book Club, and as much as I wanted to give it the 5 stars, it fell as about 3.5 out of 5 for me ✨ I felt myself getting slightly frustrated with the characters throughout, and even the beautiful language couldn’t dissuade me 🫠
I’m looking forward to hearing what people have to say about this one 😊
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
mellowreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Very greatful to netgalley for allowing me to honestly review this book!
This book was not exactly what I was expecting. I have it a 3 because I don’t think it’s absolutely terrible or overall bad, but the themes and characters simply did not work for me, and I did not find the writing to be at all interesting or engaging. Yet, I kept picking the book up. This book does have a slow pace, but I never felt like it dragged.
I absolutely despised one of the main characters from the beginning, I think seeing just how much she could p*ss me off kept me engaged.
This may be a bit spoilery, but my biggest annoyance with the novel (beyond Julia and the prose/plot feeling dull/unnoteworthy) was the theme. Throughout the book, several characters make decisions ranging from questionable to deplorable, cutting one another out of their own lives and hurting one another for selfish reasons. In the last few chapters, everyone suddenly decides to be besties again and the book hammers in the theme that “you just forgive your family no matter what because you need them and that’s what love is.” And all of the characters brush years of neglect and trauma under the rug, without apology or even acknowledgement from other characters, because of this idea. This was not only extremely anticlimactic, but also this philosophy in general just annoys me. Obviously people irl are allowed to forgive on their own terms, but this being the ending sentiment of the book really soured it for me personally.
This book was not exactly what I was expecting. I have it a 3 because I don’t think it’s absolutely terrible or overall bad, but the themes and characters simply did not work for me, and I did not find the writing to be at all interesting or engaging. Yet, I kept picking the book up. This book does have a slow pace, but I never felt like it dragged.
I absolutely despised one of the main characters from the beginning, I think seeing just how much she could p*ss me off kept me engaged.
This may be a bit spoilery, but my biggest annoyance with the novel (beyond Julia and the prose/plot feeling dull/unnoteworthy) was the theme. Throughout the book, several characters make decisions ranging from questionable to deplorable, cutting one another out of their own lives and hurting one another for selfish reasons. In the last few chapters, everyone suddenly decides to be besties again and the book hammers in the theme that “you just forgive your family no matter what because you need them and that’s what love is.” And all of the characters brush years of neglect and trauma under the rug, without apology or even acknowledgement from other characters, because of this idea. This was not only extremely anticlimactic, but also this philosophy in general just annoys me. Obviously people irl are allowed to forgive on their own terms, but this being the ending sentiment of the book really soured it for me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Child death, Grief, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Homophobia
roget's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 out of five stars.
Hello Beautiful follows the lives of the Padavano family--especially Julia, Sylvie, William Waters, and a girl named Alice. Loosely Little Women inspired, this story focuses on the mundane and the deeper emotional revelations that come from living through change, loss, grief, and healing.
I spent most of this book wanting to throttle one or more people for their choices. And yet.
As a family epic, this is profoundly moving. Napolitano is a master of character work, and the voice has a way of calmly relaying both brokenness and strength. Did I like the plot? No. I wanted them to be happy and honest for far longer than they were . Did I like what I was left reflecting on, though? Yes, actually.
So many books bring a vague ideal to the table, and this slams you into a chair, shows you the ugly and the beautiful, and you are left blasted with love too big to wrap your arms around. You're left wondering about the nature of how we handle conflict or mistakes or forgiveness. You're left considering human mistakes and just...humanity in general, really, which is usually a sign that you've read something important. The family here isn't idealized--it's messy and real (though I admit there were some parts where people were a bit more charitable or less charitable than expected, but maybe that's because I'd respond differently in some of those situations).
Still can't decide if I deeply resent William or if I love him. I have no idea what to think.
But Alice--Alice is beautiful to me. I don't know. This book was a lot. Clearly, this is going to be one of the major literary works of 2023. I likely will have more thoughts in the days to come, and may return to this review after a time to add them.
*My thanks to Random House, The Dial Press, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. My thanks to my husband, who sat through a forty-five minute long summary of this novel so I could process it.*
Hello Beautiful follows the lives of the Padavano family--especially Julia, Sylvie, William Waters, and a girl named Alice. Loosely Little Women inspired, this story focuses on the mundane and the deeper emotional revelations that come from living through change, loss, grief, and healing.
I spent most of this book wanting to throttle one or more people for their choices. And yet.
As a family epic, this is profoundly moving. Napolitano is a master of character work, and the voice has a way of calmly relaying both brokenness and strength. Did I like the plot? No. I wanted them to
So many books bring a vague ideal to the table, and this slams you into a chair, shows you the ugly and the beautiful, and you are left blasted with love too big to wrap your arms around. You're left wondering about the nature of how we handle conflict or mistakes or forgiveness. You're left considering human mistakes and just...humanity in general, really, which is usually a sign that you've read something important. The family here isn't idealized--it's messy and real (though I admit there were some parts where people were a bit more charitable or less charitable than expected, but maybe that's because I'd respond differently in some of those situations).
Still can't decide if I deeply resent William or if I love him. I have no idea what to think.
But Alice--Alice is beautiful to me. I don't know. This book was a lot. Clearly, this is going to be one of the major literary works of 2023. I likely will have more thoughts in the days to come, and may return to this review after a time to add them.
*My thanks to Random House, The Dial Press, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. My thanks to my husband, who sat through a forty-five minute long summary of this novel so I could process it.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
Moderate: Medical content, Body shaming, Child death, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Child abuse
Minor: Addiction and Infertility
drraytay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Child death, and Sexism
More...