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Hello Beautiful cover art

Hello Beautiful

By: Ann Napolitano
Narrated by: Maura Tierney
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes a beautifully tender, heartbreaking, and moving story of four sisters over three decades.

Meet the Padvano girls. Best friends and sisters, they are thought of as inseparable by everyone in their close-knit Chicago neighbourhood. Julia, the eldest, is the "rocket" of the family - she always has a destination in mind and clear plans for how to get there. Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book and imagines a life for herself other than the expected path of wife and mother. Cecelia and Emmeline, the twins, are the artist and the caregiver. From childhood, the four sisters complete each other, expecting that their family will always be intact.

When Julia falls in love with William Walters, a history student and college sports star, she's delighted by the way her plans for adulthood are coming together. A husband, a house, a family. But when darkness from William's past begins to block the light of his future, it is Sylvie, not Julia, who steps in to help. Suddenly, things shift. Dynamics and relationships, priorities and secrets - everything that was once a given no longer is.

Rich and vivid, heartbreaking and heart-mending, Hello Beautiful captures the joy, tragedy, trust, and betrayal to ask: what does it mean to be a family? And once shattered, can it be pieced back together?

©2023 Ann Napolitano (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"A rich, complex family saga, Hello Beautiful is a portrait of love 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)

"Like great jazz, Hello Beautiful takes a melody and transforms it. 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)

"Ann Napolitano's writing is astonishing." (Marian Keyes, Sunday Times bestselling author of Again, Rachel)

What listeners say about Hello Beautiful

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Beautiful

Loved everything about this book. I didn’t find it predictable like others have suggested. Well written especially the description of emotions. Sure to be a classic.

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A beautiful and heart warming story !

Such a beautiful book! It shows how people’s stubbornness can cost them lost precious time with the family! Beautifully written to show love and compassion, differences and support amongst the sisters. What I don’t understand is how a mother and a sister goes 25 years without seeing their family and yet living in the same country! Blows my mind.

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Wonderful story

This book was beautiful, narration was lovely. A wonderful exploration of the human condition. You will need some tissues for the last few chapters!!

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A delight

Some characters are annoyingly stubborn but overall I found this to be a really lovely family saga. Great narration.

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Loved this book

Beautifully written and read to me. Have listened to the book twice now. About 18 months apart

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Loved this story

Having sisters is complicated and this story is very relatable to a real family. Love can solve many problems.

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Beautiful Story

I listened to this book after Oprah showcased it more than once over her social media. I hadn't read Dear Edward so I knew nothing about the author. The hype wasn't wrong, the story didn't disappoint, but the narration of this book did. I think it's one for hard copy. Some books are just better 'in the flesh'. I usually return books when the narration isn't doing it for me but, I had to see this one through. In parts in made me cringe at the lack of emotion for these colourfully rich characters and the depth of 'scene' that wasn't given it's full potential. The details lost in translation unfortunately. Such a shame. I'm not usually one for 'bad' reviews, I'm of the mindset 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all', but I'm just so disappointed this book wasn't narrated by a more well known voice, especially given this award winning author. I kept imagining Julia Whelan speaking, and how very different she would have 'delivered' these characters into the world. Hello Beautiful is a wonderful story. I'd listen to it again with a different narrator.

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wonderful family saga

I really enjoyed the performance and how the author gave a voice to each character.

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Beautiful story

I loved this book. I love the journey throughout the years. It is beautifully written. Highly recommend.

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Easy listen and enjoyable storyline

I actually enjoyed listening to this book and often found myself thinking about the characters or their stories as I went about my daily tasks.

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