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ioanna_reads06 's review for:
Hello Beautiful
by Ann Napolitano
Wow am I glad I grabbed this book at the airport because of how pretty the cover was. I was gripped to the book throughout the whole flight. So rare is it so have a book which follows family drama and love triangles with stunning prose, believable characterisation and perfect pacing.
What a perfect success for an homage to Little Women.
The book is without judgement for the difficult choices characters have to make. Everyone is trying to survive and grow the only way they know how and if for Sylvia that means through loving her sister's ex-husband then that simply is her only way, if for William that is to 'save' his child through keeping her from his depression then that just is the way. All characters are so deeply and vulnerably human and I found myself loving all of them, mourning for all their losses.
My favourite part of the book, however, has to be the characterisation of William. Despite how seemingly unexpected and unfair his decision to walk out on Julia was I felt such a strong wave of sympathy and love for him - a boy who was raised to believe that "it should have been me" and not his sister who died. A boy raised to believe that all he does is harm those around him and who has learnt that his own needs come second. A boy who ultimately felt he had no choice but to take his life to escape the guilt and fear of hurting those close to him. And finally a boy who finally allows himself to open up again to Sylvie and Kent and promises that there is always the possibility of letting people in. Here are a few of my favourite quotes (but let it be said the repeated references to Little Women and Beth also were my favourite moments):
---> "When an old person dies,” Kent said, “even if that person is wonderful, he or she is still somewhat ready, and so are the people who loved them. They’re like old trees, whose roots have loosened in the ground. They fall gently. But when someone like your aunt Sylvie dies—before her time—her roots get pulled out and the ground is ripped up. Everyone nearby is in danger of being knocked over."
---> "Sylvie had read somewhere that the more times a story was told, the less accurate it became. Humans were prone to exaggeration; they leaned away from the parts of the narrative they found boring and leaned into the exciting spots. Details and timelines changed over years of repetition. The story became more myth and less true. Sylvie thought about how she and William rarely told their story and felt pleased; by not being shared, their love story remained intact."
---> "Sylvie wondered if bravery was wedded to loss: You did the unthinkable thing and paid a price."
What a perfect success for an homage to Little Women.
The book is without judgement for the difficult choices characters have to make. Everyone is trying to survive and grow the only way they know how and if for Sylvia that means through loving her sister's ex-husband then that simply is her only way, if for William that is to 'save' his child through keeping her from his depression then that just is the way. All characters are so deeply and vulnerably human and I found myself loving all of them, mourning for all their losses.
My favourite part of the book, however, has to be the characterisation of William. Despite how seemingly unexpected and unfair his decision to walk out on Julia was I felt such a strong wave of sympathy and love for him - a boy who was raised to believe that "it should have been me" and not his sister who died. A boy raised to believe that all he does is harm those around him and who has learnt that his own needs come second. A boy who ultimately felt he had no choice but to take his life to escape the guilt and fear of hurting those close to him. And finally a boy who finally allows himself to open up again to Sylvie and Kent and promises that there is always the possibility of letting people in. Here are a few of my favourite quotes (but let it be said the repeated references to Little Women and Beth also were my favourite moments):
---> "When an old person dies,” Kent said, “even if that person is wonderful, he or she is still somewhat ready, and so are the people who loved them. They’re like old trees, whose roots have loosened in the ground. They fall gently. But when someone like your aunt Sylvie dies—before her time—her roots get pulled out and the ground is ripped up. Everyone nearby is in danger of being knocked over."
---> "Sylvie had read somewhere that the more times a story was told, the less accurate it became. Humans were prone to exaggeration; they leaned away from the parts of the narrative they found boring and leaned into the exciting spots. Details and timelines changed over years of repetition. The story became more myth and less true. Sylvie thought about how she and William rarely told their story and felt pleased; by not being shared, their love story remained intact."
---> "Sylvie wondered if bravery was wedded to loss: You did the unthinkable thing and paid a price."