After a lonely childhood spent with an unloving family, William Waters finally feels at home playing basketball at a prestigious college in Chicago. When William meets Julia Padavano, a dynamic and beautiful girl with a tight-knit and loving family, he is quickly embraced by the lively Padavano clan.
Julia is a literal force of nature, always the problem-solver, always the fixer. She has her whole life mapped out and tries to do the same for everyone she loves, too:
“𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙥 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙.“
I liked Dear Edward, but Hello Beautiful is the best book I’ve read so far this year. The beautiful prose, the depth of the characters and the important themes give this book a richness that is on another level. I would describe this as a family saga but this book is so much more. The characters are all relatable and realistic which makes the story all the more satisfying. A compelling, unforgettable story.
“𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙡, 𝘾𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙: ‘𝙏𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.’ 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨—𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩, 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.”
(𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.)
About the Book:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes an emotionally layered and engrossing story of a family that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?
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?
Vibrating with tenderness, Hello Beautiful is a gorgeous, profoundly moving portrait of what’s possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.
