Books to Borrow Claysburg Area Public Library Recommends

Hello Beautiful is a modern version of Little Women. Charlie and Rose Padavano raised four close-knit daughters. Julia was the oldest. She was the organizer and planner. If there was a problem, they went to Julia. She always had the answers. She had her life and the lives of her sisters all planned out. Sylvie was the second. She worked at the local library. Sylvie dreamed of meeting her soul mate. No ordinary boyfriend would do. Then there was the twins, Emeline and Cecelia. Emeline loved working with children. She was a nurturer. Cecelia was an artist who painted murals in Chicago. Rose insisted that the girls all go to college. She wanted them to do better than she did. Rose was pregnant before she got married and was unable to attend college and she wanted better for her girls.

Julia knew what she wanted to do after high school and beyond. She planned to marry William Waters, a member of the school’s basketball team. William would go on and become a college professor and write a book about basketball. They would be financially comfortable and she would give birth to the first grandchild. That was her plan. Cecelia ruined her plan. She got pregnant while in high school. Cecelia would give birth to the first grandchild. This, of course, ruined Rose’s plans for her daughter as well. Rose kicked Cecelia out of the house. Emeline, her twin, left the house and stayed by her sister. Julia decided that she should get pregnant right away.

William found the family he never had in the Padavano family. His only sibling, a sister, died before he was born. His parents never spoke of her but there was a picture of her on an end table. They showed no interest in William at all. Basketball was his life. An injury ended his ability to play the game.

William’s past cast a dark shadow over his marriage. Julia couldn’t handle the disruption of her plans and her inability to control the situation. Secrets emerged among the sisters which tore the family apart. Will they choose to love each other even when revealed secrets hurt? Will they come together in the end and support one another?