I’d seen Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano circling Bookstagram for almost a year before I read it. This family saga was receiving a lot of hype, and I’ve been disappointed by overhyped books before.
What finally convinced me to read Hello Beautiful were two things: a book recommendation from Just Leave It to the Prose from my writing workshop group, and the fact that the story is loosely based around Little Women.
As you may remember from my Meg & Jo review, I’ll read pretty much anything based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic about the March sisters. So, onto the TBR pile Hello Beautiful went.
Guess what. I have no regrets whatsoever. I really loved Hello Beautiful.
What’s Hello Beautiful about?
Hello Beautiful follows the four Padavano sisters: Julia, Sylvie, Emeline, and Cecilia. We see their childhood with their loving and hard-working parents in the Chicago suburbs. Then, we watch them grow up and meet William Waters, who marries into the Padavano family. From there, the family experiences loss after loss, all the while gaining a sense of who they are and what they want.
Driving this generational family saga is a strong sense of familial love. Hello Beautiful adeptly explores mental illness and childhood trauma, grief and loss, love and family, the power of sibling bonds and the concept of “found family,” which is one of my favorites.
I can’t tell you much more about the book without giving away a lot of the plot details and twists. You just have to experience this one for yourself, folks.
How similar is Hello Beautiful to Little Women?
Hello Beautiful is a great modernized retelling of Little Women. While it’s easy to place author Napolitano’s characters into Louisa May Alcott’s famous archetypes – Sylvie has Jo’s love of books and reading; Cecelia is an artist like Amy; and William clearly is the orphaned Laurie taken in by the Padavano/March sisters – Napolitano mixes things up a lot. A lot of characteristics from Little Women blend together to create the characters in Hello Beautiful. As a result, Julia, Sylvie, Emeline, and Cecelia are empathetic, individual characters in their own right.
Why I loved Hello Beautiful
As I mentioned, I love the theme of found family, and Little Women’s March sisters and Laurie were the original “found family” story. Napolitano brilliantly moves this treasured storyline into modern times with the resilient Padavano sisters and lonely William Waters – with quite a few unexpected twists.
I fell hard for William. How could you not? I loved how he quietly makes his way through the world, how surprised he is as he discovers friendship, love, and loyalty after not experiencing that for the first half of his life.
In contrast, I fuckin’ hated Julia. From the very beginning. Sure, she has some admirable qualities, but her apathy and selfishness just made her unlikable for me. But, she’s an important part of the story, and essential to the sisters’ happiness.
While the story involves all the sisters, the main focus of Hello Beautiful is on Julia, Sylvie, and William. The narratives are told mostly from their POVs, with a few insights into other characters later on in the book.
Lots happens in Hello Beautiful – lots. When you have a story spanning four decades and following five or six main characters, you’re bound to have a jam-packed story. The novel is much more character-driven than plot-driven, but that doesn’t mean it’s a slow read. Napolitano manages to infuse the quiet strength of the Padavano women and William into every nook and cranny of this novel, making even the most intense scenes seem profound and reverent.
Does “Beth die” in Hello Beautiful?
I’m not directly answering the “Does Beth die” question. I will say that I really, really didn’t want to read anymore after a certain point. Because I knew I was going to cry. Okay, not cry – weep. I was going to weep.
But I read. And I wept. Like a fuckin’ baby. You probably will, too. After reading the saga of Julia, William, Sylvie, Emeline, and Amy, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the final chapters of Hello Beautiful.
Should you read Hello, Beautiful?
If you’re into generational family dramas, you should absolutely read Hello Beautiful. I wouldn’t say this is the best book I’ve read in the past year, but it’s pretty darn good.
Obviously, if you’re a Little Women fan, you’ll want to read this story, too. It’s a great re-imagining of story we all know and love, with quite a few unexpected surprises thrown in.
What’s the book-inspired recipe for Hello, Beautiful?
Check back in for the book-inspired recipe: Chickpea Chicken and Quinoa.
