Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

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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.

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of March 2023:Ann Napolitano took the literary world by storm with her devastating, beautiful, tear-jerker of a novel Dear Edward, which was one of our Best Books of 2020 and is now a TV series. And, she’s done it again with Hello Beautiful. A story of family—the ones we’re born to, the ones we marry into, and the ones we make—and how despite pain and fractured relationships, hope can be found. If you have siblings—you’ll revel in the four Padavano sisters who are thick as thieves—until they aren’t. Napolitano writes with gusto and compassion about the transition from idyllic youth to the complexities of adulthood: love and loss, cutting words and secrets, which both hold people together and tear them apart. Hello Beautiful offers big emotion and that’s exactly what makes it so powerful, and so page-turning. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

Review

“Radiant and brilliantly crafted . . . Napolitano’s [work] resists the easy satisfactions of the sentimental and never settles for simple answers to emotional predicaments faced by her characters.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“This sumptuous family saga is one of those rare novels whose singular characters are so beautifully rendered, it’s as if they’re your best friends, and you’re grateful to be in their orbit.”—Oprah Quarterly

“Hello Beautiful will make you weep buckets because you come to care so deeply about the characters and their fates. . . . [Napolitano] compels us to contemplate the complex tapestry of family love that can, despite grief and loss, still knit us together. She helps us see ourselves—and each other—whole.”—The Washington Post

“A sprawling, hugely affecting novel [filled with] empathetic characters and rich writing . . . [Hello Beautiful] has rightfully earned comparisons to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, with its four close, vibrant sisters and the lonely outsider who infiltrates their circle.”—Shondaland

“This is a warm blanket of a book, one that reminds you of the enveloping power of literature and leaves you very grateful to have encountered it.”—Vogue

“Little Women fans will be endeared by Hello Beautiful's homage to the March siblings, in the form of the four Padavano sisters. Any lover of a sweeping family saga will be moved by the Padavanos’ unraveling.”—Harper’s Bazaar

“Napolitano’s novel will make you think deeply about sisterhood and what we choose to share with those we love.”—Town & Country

“Can love make a broken person whole? That is the simple but compelling question at the center of . . . this engrossing and emotional family drama.”—E! Online

“Absorbing.”—AARP

“Napolitano is a master of examining what binds us to family, what makes family, and how to love in difficult times.”—Literary Hub

“A family drama with echoes of classics and characters who are distinctly written. As a reader, you’ll laugh and grieve with William and the Padavanos as they go through life—soaring as much as they stumble.”—Book Riot

“Ann Napolitano’s new novel, Hello Beautiful, is exactly that: beautiful, perceptive, wistful. It’s a story of family and friendship, of how the people we are bound to can also set us free. I loved it.”—Miranda Cowley Heller, New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace

“A rich, complex family saga, Hello Beautiful is a portrait oflove and grief in equal measure. Napolitano’s prose is so lovely, so keenly perceptive, that it held me captive until I finished. A lot of people are going to love this story.”—Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes

“Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving and propulsive novel about the deepest connections of family and love, trauma and healing. In intricately elegant prose, Ann Napolitano explores both the cost and power of loyalty and honesty. This is a book to treasure and share with friends and loved ones.”—Angie Kim, bestselling author of Miracle Creek

“Hello Beautiful is the work of a great author at the height of her powers. Equally immersive, emotional, and brilliantly crafted, this is an early contender for best novel of the year.”—J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest

“This is a story about family and sisters and storytelling, but it’s also an examination of identity and the consequences of doing love badly and how love can be redeemed. Read this book! You’ll be glad you did.”—Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of It All Comes Down to This

“This is a richly woven story about family, but it’s also a unique take on Little Women. There are no heroes or villains here, only people—flawed and loving and striving like the rest of us. ‘Generosity’ is the word that comes to mind when I reflect on this gorgeous novel.”—Allegra Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of The Cookbook Collector and Sam

About the Author

Ann Napolitano is the author of Dear Edward, which was an instant New York Times bestseller, a Read with Jenna selection, and is now an Apple TV+ series. She is also the author of the novels A Good Hard Look and Within Arm’s Reach. For seven years, Napolitano was the associate editor of the literary magazine One Story, and she received an MFA from New York University. She has taught fiction writing at Brooklyn College’s MFA program, New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and Gotham Writers Workshop.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

William

February 1960–December 1978

For the first six days of William Waters’s life, he was not an only child. He had a three-year-old sister, a redhead named Caroline after John F. Kennedy’s daughter. There were silent home movies of Caroline in which William’s father looked like he was laughing, a sight William never saw again. His father’s face looked open, and the tiny redhead, who pulled her dress over her face and ran in giggling circles in one of the movies, was apparently the reason. Caroline developed a fever and a cough while William and his mother were in the hospital after his birth. When they came home, the little girl seemed to be on the mend, but the cough was still bad, and when her parents went into her room to get her one morning, they found her dead in her crib.

William’s parents never mentioned Caroline while William was growing up. There was one photograph of her on the end table in the living room, which William traveled to occasionally in order to convince himself that he’d actually had a sister. The family moved to a navy-shingled house on the other side of Newton—a suburb of Boston—and in that house, William was an only child. His father was an accountant who worked long hours downtown. With his daughter gone, the man’s face never opened again. William’s mother smoked cigarettes and drank bourbon in the living room, sometimes alone and sometimes with a female neighbor. She had a collection of ruffled aprons that she wore while preparing meals, and she became agitated whenever one became stained or messy.

“Maybe you shouldn’t wear the aprons while you cook,” William said once, when his mother was red-faced and on the verge of tears over a dark blotch of gravy on the fabric. “You could tuck a dish towel in your belt instead, like Mrs. Kornet does.”

His mother looked at him as if he’d spoken in Greek. William said, “Mrs. Kornet, who lives next door? Her dish towel?”

From the age of five, William would walk to the nearby park most afternoons with a basketball, because basketball, unlike baseball or football, was a game he could play alone. There was a neglected outdoor court that usually had a hoop free, and he would shoot for hours, pretending he was a Celtics player. Bill Russell was his favorite, but to be Russell you needed someone else to block or defend against. Sam Jones was the best shooter, so William was usually Jones. He tried to imitate the guard’s perfect shooting form while pretending the trees that surrounded the court were cheering fans.

One afternoon when he was ten years old, he showed up at the court and found it occupied. Boys—maybe six of them, about William’s age—were chasing one another and a ball between the hoops. William started to back away, but one of the boys called, “Hey, wanna play?” And then, without waiting for William to answer: “You’re on the blue team.” Within seconds, William was swept into the game, his heart pounding in his chest. A kid passed him the ball, and he passed it right back, afraid to shoot and miss and be told he was terrible. A few minutes later, the game broke up abruptly because someone needed to get home, and the boys spilled off the court in different directions. William walked home, his heart still rattling in his chest. After that, the boys were occasionally on the court when William showed up with his ball. There was no discernible schedule to their appearances, but they always waved him into the game as if he were one of them. This never stopped being shocking to William. Kids and adults had always looked past him, as if he were invisible. His parents hardly looked at him at all. William had accepted all of this and thought it was understandable; he was, after all, boring and forgettable. His primary characteristic was pallor: He had sand-colored hair, light-blue eyes, and the very white skin shared by people of English and Irish descent. On the inside, William knew, he was as uninteresting and muted as his looks. He never spoke at school, and no one played with him. But the boys on the basketball court offered William a chance to be part of something for the first time, without having to talk.

In fifth grade, the gym teacher at his elementary school said, “I see you out there shooting baskets in the afternoons. How tall is your father?”

William stared at the man blankly. “I’m not sure. Normal height?”

“Okay, so you’ll probably be a point guard. You need to work on your handle. You know Bill Bradley? That gawky guy on the Knicks? When he was a kid, he taped cardboard to his glasses so he couldn’t look down, couldn’t see his feet. And then he dribbled up and down the sidewalk wearing those glasses. He looked crazy, no doubt, but his handle got real tight. He has a perfect feel for how the ball will bounce and how to find it without looking.”

William sprinted home that afternoon, his entire body buzzing. This was the first time a grown-up had looked directly at him—noticed him, and noticed what he was doing—and the attention threw him into distress. William had a sneezing fit while he was digging for a pair of toy glasses in the back of his desk drawer. He visited the bathroom twice before he carefully taped rectangular pieces of cardboard to the bottom of the glasses.

Whenever William felt sick or odd, he worried he was going to die. At least once a month he would crawl under his covers after school, convinced he was terminally ill. He wouldn’t tell his parents, because illness wasn’t permitted in his house. Coughing, in particular, was treated as a horrific betrayal. When William had a cold, he allowed himself to cough only in his closet with the door closed, his face muffled by the row of hanging button-down shirts he had to wear for school. He was aware of that familiar worry tickling his shoulders and the back of his head while he ran outside with the ball and glasses. But William had no time for illness now, no time for fear. This felt like the final click of his identity falling into place. The boys on the court had recognized him, and the gym teacher had too. William might have had no idea who he was, but the world had told him: He was a basketball player.

The gym teacher gave him additional tips that allowed William to develop more skills. “For defense: Push kids away with your shoulder and your butt. The refs won’t call those as fouls. Do sprints: Get a quick first step and beat your man off the dribble.” William worked on his passing too, so he could feed the ball to the best players in the park. He wanted to keep his place on the court, and he knew that if he made the other boys better, he had value. He learned where to run to provide space for the shooters to cut in to. He set screens so they could take their favorite shots. The boys slapped William on the back after a successful play, and they always wanted him on their side. This acceptance calmed some of the fear William carried inside him; on the basketball court, he knew what to do.

By the time William entered high school, he was a good-enough player to start for the varsity team. He was five foot eight and played point guard. His hours of practice with the glasses had paid off; he was by far the best dribbler on the team, and he had a nice midrange jumper. He’d worked on his rebounding, which helped offset his team’s turnovers. Passing was still William’s best skill, and his teammates appreciated that they had better games when he was in the lineup. He was the only freshman on the varsity team, and so when his older teammates drank beer in the basement of whoever’s parents were willing to look the other way, William was never invited. His teammates were shocked—everyone was shocked—when, in the summer after his sophomore year, William grew five inches. Once he started growing, his body seemed unable to stop, and by the end of high school he was six foot seven. He couldn’t eat enough to keep up with his growth and became shockingly thin. His mother looked frightened when he lurched into the kitchen every morning, and she’d hand him a snack whenever he passed nearby. She seemed to think his skinniness reflected badly on her, because feeding him was her job. His parents sometimes came to his basketball games, but at odd intervals, and they sat politely in the stands, appearing not to know anyone on the court.

His parents weren’t there for the game when William went for a rebound and was shoved in the air. His body twisted while he fell, and he landed awkwardly on his right knee. The joint absorbed all of the impact, and all of his weight. William heard his knee make a noise, and then a fog descended. His coach, who seemed to have only two registers—shouting and mumbling—was yelling in his ear: “You okay, Waters?” William generally responded to both the shouts and the mumbles by phrasing everything he said as a question; he never felt sure enough to lay claim to a statement. He cleared his throat. The fog around him, and inside him, was dense and laced with pain that was radiating from his knee. He said, “No.”

Review:

4.7 out of 5

93.85% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing

L.W. · September 27, 2024

WOW… what an emotional story!!! I don’t think there aren’t enough words to describe how heartbreaking this books is. This might be fiction but it’s so relatable in real life.There were some events in the book that were too close for comfort for me in my own life, which is probably why I liked it so much. It resonated with me.These characters struggle with loss, grief and mental health issues. It’s also a story about acceptance, and in seeing all of a person, choosing to love that whole.I LOVED Hello Beautiful!!! My favorite quote: “Adults are idiots. My goal is to grow up and not be an idiot.”

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story but it *hurts*

t. · September 23, 2024

I can't disagree with any of these including the one that says it's a tearjerker because I was bawling my eyes out all through the last few chapters. Prepare yourselves because this is a beautiful book, just not one I think I can handle reading again.I had this book sitting on a shelf since November 2023. I think I read the first chapter and decided it was just not for me. Now, I'm going through my books and trying to decide what to keep and what to give away, but I don't want to toss something before I give it a real chance. So, I sat down and really read this book and I'd probably give it 4.5 stars because it's pretty darn close to amazing. I just can't give it 5 because that's for books I'll probably read again a few months, if not sooner and I'm pretty sure I can't read this again because some parts just hurt too bad. I love these characters who are probably some of the most *real* I've ever read, and the situations are real, too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hello Beautiful is Beautiful!

L.L.M. · October 15, 2024

I laughed. I cried. I loved this book!What a wonderful tribute to family, to flawed people, and to the power of love, connection, and living life. This is a great book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and tragic and hopefull

J. · October 7, 2024

This book was a little slow to start for me, but then I just kept wanting to read. The characters are flawed but likeable. I was frustrated by many of their choices but was rooting for them anyway.

3.0 out of 5 stars Meh...

h.i.m. · October 12, 2024

Overall it was ok, easy to read. Not all the characters were likable, and the complexity of each character could have been developed more. A lot of the same descriptors used (ie Sylvie liked to kiss boys in the library was used repeatedly to explain her personality).My main issue with the book was the way Alice's height was described. The author made her seem like a freak for being 6'1". As a tall woman myself with many tall friends, what the author described is not the experience of being tall. Clearly Ann is short and resents others for their height. Interestingly, I've never met anyone who wishes they were shorter. I've only ever met people who wish they were taller.

5.0 out of 5 stars Book club worthy

M. · October 10, 2024

The writer captured all the different characters of this book and left you asking questions about what you would do in that situation. Well written and a must read .

4.0 out of 5 stars A soft, slow moving but deeply reflective story of family

H. · August 26, 2024

This story is the retelling of so many families lives wrapped into the the Padavano family. A story of love, loss, and self inflicted hurts that refuse to go away even if ignored. It’s a story of how all our lives come full circle at some point whether we choose it or not. This story showcases how the stories we tell ourselves again and again, no matter or often repeated can become unraveled with a single truth. It also shows how love and redemption are possible and sometimes happen even in the time of greatest grief. In the end this story begs the question can a life built on untruths really be more than a grand illusion if so much is lost in its pursuit.

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, Heartfelt, Beautiful

M.G. · September 26, 2024

This book was so touching…I found tears spilling down my cheeks at multiple points in the story, and it both broke and healed my heart in the reading of it. No spoilers, but I do recommend tissues. Anyone who has deeply felt love and loss will relate to this larger-than-life family and the saga of their shared history. Highly recommend!

Entretenido

X. · August 18, 2024

Este libro es fácil de leer, aunque trata algunos temas complicados, la lectura es fácil y entretenida.

Adorei!

A. · May 27, 2024

Gostei bastante do tema deste livro que fala da relação entre irmãos e entre pais mães e irmãos!

A hauntingly emotional tug at the soul

A.C. · January 29, 2024

"Hello, Beautiful" by Ann Napolitano is a hauntingly emotional tug at the soul. While the pace is slow, it feels deliberate, allowing us readers to immerse ourselves in the language of the characters. William Waters is doomed from birth to become a damaged adult, accustomed to tucking his emotions away in order to function in the real world. Growing up in a house full of tragedy, with the sudden death of his sister, made him construct his own world, but it’s not built to last. As a freshman in college, William meets Julia Padavano, with her larger-than-life family, full of powerful sisters. Awkwardly and slowly, he learns to navigate their boisterous, loud family.Julia, driven to succeed, charts a life with William. They marry and have a child, and she sets William on a path to become a professor. But this is Julia’s dream and not one William can sustain. The darkness from William’s childhood swamps him, and the construct of his world collapses, a reality Julia cannot contemplate or deal with. She’s on a fast track to reach her dream, and having a husband have a mental breakdown is not on her list.When William goes off the deep end, it’s Sylvie, Julia’s sister, who recognizes the crisis. This recognition by Sylvie of who William is, and his struggle, sets William and the Padavano family on a new path. To make the path succeed, sacrifices must be made, and it’s Julia who recognizes this and who is determined to live up to her father’s expectations. Julia uproots herself to flee Chicago, where every street holds a family memory, to New York, to start over as a single mother with baby Alice.Decades slowly unravel, and the reader sees the depth of love coating Sylvie and William, the twin sisters Cecelia and Emeline, and William’s vast friendships thanks to his love of basketball.The characters in this novel are richly developed, layered much like Cecilia’s murals all throughout Chicago depicting powerful women (who resemble the Padavano women). This novel unmasks powerful women with tight bonds gluing them together as sisters, who must each learn to stand on their own, often meaning disappointing parental expectations to become truly independent. The male bonds of friendship were wonderful to see as the men in William's life rally around, keeping him afloat in the real world through his initial crisis and throughout the years.I dare any reader not to cry through the last few chapters as the wide gulf that had existed between the sisters is mended through a transformation of life’s expectations, faith, and the powerful love fueled by sisters. This novel will cling to me for a long time, and I highly recommend it as a must-read.

So many stars... be prepared for the feels.

C.l. · September 27, 2024

There is not one bad thing to say about this book. I've been waiting for a read like this for a long time and I would give it 100 stars if I could. It was just written exceptionally well. It was character driven and each and everyone was so well thought out ,with complex layers to their personalities. It shows how flawed they all were , but also how much love can grow and flourish even in less than ideal circumstances. There is so much trauma , pain , hurt and poor decisions that have you rooting for one person one minute, then another the next. It opened up some intense discussions, that I think allowed us as readers to explore why we were feeling certain ways. I know it has made me examine myself during the read and why maybe I swayed towards one character more than the other. It's left me feeling thoughtful and heartbroken all at the same time and it'll be one that stays with me for a long time .

Be ready to jump into an ocean of emotions!

L. · September 11, 2024

"Hello Beautiful" by Ann Napolitano is a masterpiece that gets under your skin. On the surface, its narrative seems to be the modernised version of „Little Women“ by L. M. Alcott. On a deeper level, however, the four Padavano sisters deal with the complexity of love, grief, forgiveness in their family and intricacies over a quarter century.The character development is to the readers‘ utmost satisfaction. The narrative is impeccable and prompts self-reflexion on many occasions. Every person will find a piece in this novel that appeals to her/his heart and mind.It’s a hear-wrenching and hopeful story that reminds us that everything will fall into place and that resistance is in vain.

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Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

Name: Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel
Brand: The Dial Press
SKU: U0593243730
Price: 12.19 BHD
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Rating: 4.4 (13 reviews)

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