Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

59 reviews

theshanana's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

audreyryan11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-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

5.0

I cried a few times in this book. I truly loved it. Though hard to read, each of the characters were relatable in a way and you really grow to love each one in their own way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Self harm, and Pregnancy

peachy_gene's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

luciam's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

morganu24's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

3.5

Perfectly enjoyable, at moments beautiful, family story. Mostly written very plainly with some moments of bigger reflections or poetic prose, but not enough to call it beautiful writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia

jmiles758's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment

maggiestraveledbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

“You were born to two broken people, and that’s part of why you’re here.”

“When your love for a person is so profound that it’s part of who you are, then the absence of the person becomes part of your DNA, your bones, and your skin.”

Rating: 4.5 stars ⭐️ 

Spice: —

I went into this book completely blind, and one hundred pages in, I was very frustrated with the characters. But my goodness, I’m glad I kept reading. What a story.

Overview:

•Literary Fiction - Family Drama

•Alternating POVs

•Spanning multiple decades 

•Sisterhood and familial bonds

•Little Women references 

•Morose tone

This book revolves around 4 sisters, their individual personalities, and their intrinsic link. There are multiple references to the sisters of Little Women, and at times, it did feel somewhat like a modernized retelling or at least tribute to that story. 

I had a hard time for the first half because I tend to enjoy books with wholly lovable characters, and these MCs were making frustrating decisions and putting up questionable barriers. 

However, it was worth the turmoil. What an exquisitely portrayed character-study of how grief and trauma affects us. Every one of these characters was profoundly influenced by their parents’ hardships and losses, and it was heartbreakingly realistic. 

To avoid spoilers, I’ll refrain from commenting on the individual characters - but I was able to find a piece of myself in each of them. 

Overall, this was such a gripping read that portrayed love in all of its many forms, the cost of decisions, and the sheer impact of family - both genetic and found. 

I recommend this book to all readers who enjoy literary fiction stories revolving around family!

CW: suicide

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

lynds_13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

cat_is_turning_pages's review against another edition

sad 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? It's complicated

0.25

Truly Awful

Within my first couple hours of listening to this book, I began to question why the author had written it. Given the high accolades this book has received, I kept an open mind and gave the novel the benefit of the doubt until the very last word of the very last chapter.

This book is slow, depressing, and morally chaotic. The main characters tend to be unlikeable and make stupid decisions that ruin their lives. But instead of teaching these characters any lessons, the author chooses to have one of these characters “meaningfully” declare how proud she is of herself for making her stupidest decision decades after it was made.

The only conclusion I have been able to come to is that this book was written as an apologetic piece for cruel behavior and/or bad decisions. The moral of the story is a combination of “love conquers all” and “you should forgive your family members no matter what they do.” 

Forgiveness can be a wonderful path to freedom. However, it can also be used by selfish people to justify mistreating others. This story contained both types of forgiveness, but tried to pass all of it off as the former. 

The cover and title seem to promise a glimpse into the beauty of the human condition, but Hello Beautiful is one of the ugliest books I have ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Child death, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide

Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness

Minor: Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Incest

Plot Synopsis / Spoilers:

Newly married father attempts suicide while his wife's sister falls in love with him and begins spending every day with him in the mental hospital. The young father divorces his wife and gives up legal parenthood of his infant daughter. The divorced wife, who has just been betrayed three times by being abandoned as a wife, coparent, and sister, moves away and heroically builds a new life for her and her new daughter. Her ex-husband and sister, who never offer a true apology, get married and enjoy life with the sisters' extended family while the ex-wife/sister is made to feel guilty by her extended family for leaving them. Eventually the sister who married her sister's ex-husband dies of cancer and is made to seem like some kind of saint. In the end, the father reluctantly meets his adult daughter only because she tracks him down.

mrsjburgin's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Child death, Grief, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol