Hello Beautiful

"Oprah's book club 2023"--Jacket.
"William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. So it's a relief when his skill on the basketball court earns him a scholarship to college, far away from his childhood home. He soon meets Julia Padavano, a spirited and ambitious young woman who surprises William with her appreciation of his quiet steadiness. With Julia comes her family; she is inseparable from her three younger sisters: Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book and imagines a future different from the expected path of wife and mother; Cecelia, the family's artist; and Emeline, who patiently takes care of all of them. Happily, the Padavanos fold Julia's new boyfriend into their loving, chaotic household. But then darkness from William's past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia's carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters' unshakeable loyalty to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

. submitted by blondi on June 27, 2023, 8:00am It is a really good book

Chicago's Version of Little Women submitted by ekjensen on August 3, 2023, 3:24pm The lives (i.e., home and careers) and loves of Chicago’s 4 “Little Women” Julia, Sylvie, Cecelia, and Emeline are traced from 1960-2008 including their interactions with each other, their parents, Charlie and Rose, daughters/nieces, Alice and Izzy, as well as the principal male/husband antagonist, William.

Very good submitted by SusanS on August 21, 2023, 4:53pm William marries into a large and loving family very different from his own, with four sisters who compare themselves to the sisters in Little Women. I don't want to give away too much of the plot but soon after the marriage the family ensures a lot of stress and grief and in many ways breaks apart. The characters have to deal with questions like, what happens when life doesn't work out the way you planned? What happens if you try to follow someone else's plan for your life but in the end you can't keep it up? And what happens if life *does* work out the way you planned but that plan has unintended consequences that hurt the ones you love? The characters were very engaging and it was a good story that I enjoyed very much.