Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Hello Beautiful

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

113 reviews

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

This book grew on me slowly until it became one of my favorites in recent memory. Ann Napolitano immediately takes us into the chaotic, loving, all-encompassing world of the Padavano siblings, and getting William's perspective right away allows us to understand how different William's upbringing is and sets the stage for his struggles and growth throughout the book. Although the book spans decades, it feels grounded, and it takes its time building out the emotions and key relationships and moments. I felt very moved by the sisters' bond and how they tried to stay together despite huge changes and obstacles. This book is loosely based on Little Women, and it gave me a lot of emotions as when I saw Greta Gerwig's rendition: filled to the brim with affection for the characters and their relationships, buoyed by the narrative's revelations about independence and love and family and mental health, and all together profoundly touched.

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reeccees's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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

3.75

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dejah_sowells's review against another edition

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sparklefarm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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jcinf's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

At first I really wasn’t drawn into this book. As another reviewer put it, I felt like the heavy emotion was a bit contrived — like not natural maybe? Almost like when you meet someone new and they try to trauma dump to expedite the process of making a friend. So, I didn’t know if I would end up DNFing. But I kept reading. I’m glad I did.

Characters:
I really loved the depiction of the sisters. Their different strengths and ways they stepped up to contribute to the family unit. It made me wish my sister and I had a relationship like that.

I liked William and the complexity of his personality. As he evolved as a character, you got to see more of his personality. And I really enjoyed it. I liked who he was.

Julia did annoy me, at times. I felt like she was a little intense to say the least. lol. But that’s how my sister is: planning things down to a T, to a point where reality is distorted based on what’s “supposed to” be.

Ugh, Charlie. I loved Charlie.

Sylvie I related to so much. Free spirited and introspective. Lots of love to keep. Fiercely in pursuit of what lights her up. It was a joy to read a character so similar to myself.

Plot:
Slow to start, but I ended up enjoying it. Stories that span such a long amount of time aren’t typically for me. I read them, but I tend to get bored. But this one held my attention for the most part. It does feel slightly like a soap opera with one or two of the events that happen, but it was well written enough that it mostly just came across as a messy, yet (full and authentic portrayal of) life.

Favorite quotes below. Not really spoilers at all, but I like to be surprised about quotes lol.

“You’re too young to really understand that life is short, but it is. I didn’t want to stop you when you were walking away from something that didn’t matter to you to do something that did. You and I are cut from the same cloth, baby girl. Neither of us would expect to school or work to fill us up we look out the window for something more. You know that you’re more than a librarian’s aide and a college student, right? You’re Sylvia Padavano. It’s because you know that more is possible that you’ll always see the pointlessness and following a stupid rule or clocking in and out of a boring class. Most people can’t see that distinction, so just do as they’re told. Of course, this makes them bored and irritated, but they think that’s the human condition. You and I are lucky enough to see it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“I’m giving a bit of a speech aren’t I? Well, so be it. We’re not separated from the world by our edges. We’re part of the sky, and the rocks in your mother’s garden, and the old man who sleeps by the train station. We’re all interconnected, and when you see that, you see how beautiful life is. Your mother and sisters don’t have that awareness. Not yet, anyway. They believe they’re contained in their bodies, in the biographical facts of their lives.”

“She was no longer who she used to be, and she wasn’t yet whoever she was becoming. She was grateful her father prepared her for this type of hard, lonely ground. Because of him, Sylvia knew she could exist outside the boundaries of her past and future selves, for a little while, anyway. Even though it hurt.

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sammyemma's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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 beautiful exploration of love, grief and forgiveness. This book was perfectly inspired by Little Women without being a modern-day rip off. My only critique was that I wanted more. I would have loved to hear from Cecelia and Emeline’s perspectives to truly round out the novel.

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