Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

8 reviews

writersrelief's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

A decades-spanning family saga, Ann Napoliano’s heart-wrenching, lovely novel HELLO BEAUTIFUL takes more than a page from another American classic, Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN. 

 

HELLO BEAUTIFUL begins with William Waters, whose wealthy parents’ bereavement over the untimely loss of William’s older sister causes them to withdraw. Neglected and unloved, William finds solace on the basketball courts, but a knee injury makes a professional career unlikely. During college, he meets the bright and ambitious Julia Padavano—along with her three sisters Sylvia, Cecelia, and Emeline. Over the next few decades, the family confronts devastating loss, depression, and riffs that tear them apart. When one of the sisters fall ill, will the Padavano family finally be able to reunite? 

 

Like its inspiration, HELLO BEAUTIFUL is a tearjerker that wears its heart on its sleeve. While some readers may feel their emotional buttons being pushed a little too aggressively, it is still easy to emotionally invest in the characters, their individual journeys, and how their family dynamics change over a long period of time. This is because Napolitano draws her characters with carefully coordinated and nuanced strokes. These aren’t characters that readers will always like or agree with—Julia, specifically, makes several understandable mistakes in the aftermath of a traumatic event—but their motivations are always clear. Readers familiar with LITTLE WOMEN will have an especially fun time observing the parallels and reversals, but will probably feel impending dread when one of the characters states “I’m Beth” (if you know, you know). 

 

An emotionally compelling story of an ever-changing and evolving family, HELLO BEAUTIFUL is a lovely, luminous book for readers of character-driven fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Lesbophobia

sarah_simpkins's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death, Abandonment, Cancer, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Child death, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

kaylanoellesims's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5 ⭐️! so breathtakingly beautiful and heart wrenching - this book so perfectly walked through the difficult emotions of love and heartbreak and human suffering and family trauma. taking off half a star because it did almost send me into a depressive episode with all its utter sadness 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cancer, Lesbophobia, Classism, Death of parent, Child death, Death, and Medical content

lillieb130's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Alcoholism

Minor: Infertility, Car accident, Terminal illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Body shaming

rosegoldeen3's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

lemonysea's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer and Lesbophobia

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A really beautiful family saga, a touching (if slow-moving) homage to LITTLE WOMEN. Humans are a messy and complicated bunch, and yet! We choose to love them and love them hard. The whole book made me want to hug my own parents and siblings tight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy

Minor: Lesbophobia

drraytay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Child death, and Sexism