Hello Beautiful
By Ann Napolitano
Dial Press
It’s a love story. But it’s also a story of loss, understanding who you are, and coming to terms with the imperfections of family. Will’s parents were never really parents to him—when his older sister died as a toddler, they became shells of themselves and left their baby son to his own devices. So when he makes it to college on a basketball scholarship, he immediately catches the eye of Julia, the oldest of four sisters from a raucous family living on the south side of Chicago. They marry, have a baby, and plan to live a life happily ever after. Until Will disappears, feeling unfit to parent this new little wonder. That’s just the beginning. What happens from there is a life-spanning story of a family with its joys, tragedies, and near misses. Definitely in my top five for the year.