Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

A new novel by Ann Napolitano is always a cause for celebration. Now, we have Hello Beautiful. I had a couple of long sunny days in July at the cottage to spend with this book and loved it as much as her others.

Each chapter follows one of the main characters, the first from 1960 to 1978 when we meet William as a young child and then as a college freshman. William meets Julia Padavano, his first girlfriend and a woman who will be part of his life as long as we know it. Julia is the eldest of four Padavano sisters, followed by Sylvie and the twins Cecilia and Emeline. They live with their parents Rose and Charlie in a Chicago suburb.

For William meeting Julia and her sisters is life changing. William is the only surviving child of parents who, in their grief over the death of his sibling, were unable to give William the love he deserved, and needed. I thought of Jill Frayne’s book Why I’m Here and Jill saying that every child needs someone in their life who they know loves them. This William did not have. He does however become part of the loving and messy Padavano family.

What follows is the story of William and the Padavano sisters. William is tall, very tall, and discovers that playing basketball provides him with another sort of family – the boys on the College basketball team. Among them two lifelong best friends, and dozens of others who care for him.

Hello Beautiful is a difficult book to review because the story is revealed chapter by chapter as each of the sisters and William move through the decades, there are graduations and marriages, there are deaths and separations. There are children born. There are misunderstandings and long held resentments and broken hearts. There is drama and reflection. There is forgiveness. I more than once found myself teary.

All in all, Hello Beautiful is a wonderful family saga, a book to fall into during some time off, at the cottage, on a plane or anyplace you can sneak away for some good reading time!