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A review by julies_reading
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
5.0
Told over the course of decades, we follow the Padovano sisters and those who fall into their orbit. Julia, determined to have the perfect life, plucks William from his isolated life to be her husband. Sylvie is a librarian dreaming of a sweeping romance. Along with the twins, they're each others whole worlds. A send-up to Little Women, we see the women love and hurt each other.
I read this in my latest vlog, where I read the favorite 2024 books of the booktubers with the most taste in common with me. Watch the video here: Reading Booktubers Best Books of 2024
It's been a while since a book has, from cover to cover, so sucked me in. This book is filled with such vivid characters that sometimes I forgot I was reading. I was so immersed in this family making tough decisions for themselves, always choosing the brave option if not always the one kindest to others. Everyone makes decisions that hurt other people, but we always see them do what they think is best - whether you agree with them or not. I thought that the structure and pacing of this story did itself a service. The structure of having longer chapters of each perspective that end up overlapping, telling the reader something that happens and then going back to explain it, was well-constructed and increased intrigue. I'm not usually a fan of books that skip through time a lot, but this felt perfectly paced; not a scene was out of place or felt missing. The representation of depression in this was one of my favorite parts. Hopelessness and listlessness consumes the perspective in a way that felt very true to life, and it was great to see someone come away from that but know it's going to be a part of their life forever. I think my only real want from this would've been seeing more from the twins rather than most of the focus being solely on the two eldest sisters.
As far as its inspiration, I think calling this a "tribute" / "send up" to Little Women (rather than a retelling, etc.) is a very accurate depiction of the work, so good on the publisher. It was fun to pick out where bits and pieces of the story came from - one's an artist, writing about the family's story, the shifting love interest, how intertwined the sisters are - but this is definitely its own work. There's not a one-to-one sister comparison, and the book even points that out when the girls discuss Little Women. There's obviously the modern-day update, which changes the plot and stakes for the characters, but there's a lot that is original here. I think it was just the right amount of Little Women and its own thing.
Overall, this was a book that really captured me. Loved all the personal arcs and the way it pays tribute to Little Women while still standing on its own!
I read this in my latest vlog, where I read the favorite 2024 books of the booktubers with the most taste in common with me. Watch the video here: Reading Booktubers Best Books of 2024
It's been a while since a book has, from cover to cover, so sucked me in. This book is filled with such vivid characters that sometimes I forgot I was reading. I was so immersed in this family making tough decisions for themselves, always choosing the brave option if not always the one kindest to others. Everyone makes decisions that hurt other people, but we always see them do what they think is best - whether you agree with them or not. I thought that the structure and pacing of this story did itself a service. The structure of having longer chapters of each perspective that end up overlapping, telling the reader something that happens and then going back to explain it, was well-constructed and increased intrigue. I'm not usually a fan of books that skip through time a lot, but this felt perfectly paced; not a scene was out of place or felt missing. The representation of depression in this was one of my favorite parts. Hopelessness and listlessness consumes the perspective in a way that felt very true to life, and it was great to see someone come away from that but know it's going to be a part of their life forever. I think my only real want from this would've been seeing more from the twins rather than most of the focus being solely on the two eldest sisters.
As far as its inspiration, I think calling this a "tribute" / "send up" to Little Women (rather than a retelling, etc.) is a very accurate depiction of the work, so good on the publisher. It was fun to pick out where bits and pieces of the story came from - one's an artist, writing about the family's story, the shifting love interest, how intertwined the sisters are - but this is definitely its own work. There's not a one-to-one sister comparison, and the book even points that out when the girls discuss Little Women. There's obviously the modern-day update, which changes the plot and stakes for the characters, but there's a lot that is original here. I think it was just the right amount of Little Women and its own thing.
Overall, this was a book that really captured me. Loved all the personal arcs and the way it pays tribute to Little Women while still standing on its own!