Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel (Unabridged)
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4.1 • 1.1K Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • MORE THAN ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! From the author of Dear Edward comes a “powerfully affecting” (People) family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?
“Another tender tearjerker . . . Napolitano chronicles life’s highs and lows with aching precision.”—The Washington Post
ONE OF THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Washington Post, Time, Vogue, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Post, She Reads, Bookreporter
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. With the Padavanos, William experiences a newfound contentment; every moment in their house is filled with loving chaos.
But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters’ unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?
An exquisite homage to Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic, Little Women, Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Ann Napolitano’s tenderhearted family drama is an exquisite and absorbing listen, made even more affecting by actress Maura Tierney’s lively, character-driven narration. College student William Waters, who used a basketball scholarship to escape his cold, emotionally neglectful home, falls in love with his spunky classmate Julia Padavano. Soon, William’s drawn into Julia’s close-knit band of sisters: independent Sylvie, creative Cecelia, and nurturing Emeline. Loosely inspired by Little Women, Hello Beautiful opens in the late ’70s and spans the next 30 years, giving us an incredible view of how our most treasured relationships can be tested by our personal choices. Tierney’s reading really makes us feel the heartbreaking events that challenge the Padavano clan’s core belief that family love can overcome anything. We just kept listening and listening to find out what would happen to these wonderful characters.
Customer Reviews
Great story, disappointing performance
The story was very moving and demonstrated the reality of complex family dynamics. I was incredibly disappointed with the reading of the story. It was monotone and lacking in the emotion the story warranted.
Don’t waste your time.
I don’t know why this is at the top of the charts. To start, Maura Tierney was so horrible as the narrator that I almost gave up after the first chapter. She has no inflection, no range, no emotion, and sounded like she was bored. Then, there was the disjointed and unsophisticated writing that reminded me of a tenth grade term paper. The only saving grace was the fact that I was invested in the story and wanted to know how it ended. It was a chore!
I was disappointed in this book.
I tried to finish this book. But couldn’t. Characters felt contrived They and storyline felt flat, uninteresting