Hello Beautiful

Ann Naplitano’s novel has sentences in it that I read over and over, before re-immersing myself in the drama of four sisters.

It includes references to Little Women, and the four sisters in that novel, and this overlay adds richness but doesn’t directly translate to these sisters. The two older sisters, Sylvie and Julia, each have some recognisable Jo qualities and they are the two protagonists at the heart of this story.

The author dives deeply into these differences – and how they affect how people turn up in relationships. It’s not about picking winners, just exploring those differences and how wounding they can be.

But the novel starts with William, who grew up in an entirely different household from the close, noisy Italian-American one at the heart of this story. It’s also about how he learns to live with who he is, and what happened to him.

But it’s also juicy, joyful and funny as it steadily unpacks insights about people getting along and figuring out how to express who they are in the world.

I raced through it while also wishing it could last forever.