“She was no longer who she used to be, and she wasn’t yet whoever she was becoming.”
Hello Beautiful is a 2025 New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club penned by Ann Napolitano. This heart-wrenching story explores the complexities of family, love and the bonds between sisters, drawing inspiration from the likes of Little Women whilst offering a fresh, modern twist. Whether you’re drawn to similar stories about complicated relationships, the power of forgiveness or the intricate ties between siblings, there are plenty of novels out there that deliver the same emotional punch. Today at What We Reading, we’re curating the best books like Hello Beautiful – each offering its own moving portrayals of family dynamics, personal growth and the ways joy and sorrow shape us. If you’re ready to dive into more compelling, character-driven stories, that echo the same themes of Hello Beautiful, these picks will keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin
First up on our list of books like Hello Beautiful is Gabrielle Zevin’s 2022 bestseller, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. The story follows Sam Masur and Sadie Green, childhood friends who reconnect in college and set out on a journey to create video games together. Their first game, Ichigo, becomes a global hit, launching them into fame and fortune. Along with their business partner, Marx, they build a game studio; yet, as their careers blossom, their personal relationships grow more complex.
The novel explores themes of love, ambition, disability, identities and the complications of lifelong friendship. Sam and Sadie’s bond is intense and often fraught – filled with miscommunications, betrayals and the ever-lingering tension of unspoken feelings. Through decades of successes and failures, their story is a homage to what it truly means to connect with someone – not just in reality, but also in the infinite possibilities of the digital world.
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Signal Fires – Dani Shapiro
Signal Fires is a poignant, lyrical novel about the long-reaching effects of a sole tragedy and the invisible threads that tie us all together. The story begins in 1985 when a devastating car accident involving the Wilf family upends the course of their lives. Teenage siblings Theo and Sarah, along with their father, Ben, keep the accident a secret, but the effects of that night stay with them for decades.
Like Hello Beautiful, as the book jumps between past and present, readers are given a lens into how this unspoken tragedy moulds the Wilfs and their relationships. Decades on, Ben, now an ageing doctor, forms an unlikely bond with a young boy. Waldo Shenkman lives with a family who have just moved in across the street. Their connection reveals hidden truths and a profound meditation on how moments of crisis define us and how love, even in the smallest of gestures, can offer redemption.
Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead
Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle is an epic, sweeping novel that follows the life of Marian Graves, a daring female aviator who disappears in 1950 whilst attempting a historic flight around the globe. Born in 1914, Marian is drawn to the sky from a young age, fuelled by a restless spirit and a yearning for freedom. Her life is shaped by war, love, and the search for adventure, leading her to defy convention and forge her own path in a male-dominated world.
Intertwined with Marian’s story is that of Hadley Baxter, a modern-day Hollywood actress selected to play Marian in a biopic decades after her disappearance. As Hadley researches Marian’s life, she becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind the pilot’s final flight, blurring the lines between the past and the present. Similar to Hello Beautiful, Great Circle is a beautifully told novel about ambition, identity and the sacrifices made in pursuit of one’s dreams.
Lessons In Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
Despite her undeniable talent, Elizabeth, a brilliant chemist, faces constant sexism in the male-dominated scientific world. When she’s unfairly forced out of her research job, she unexpectedly becomes the host of Supper at Six, a popular cooking show. However, instead of teaching women how to cook dinner, she uses her newfound platform to educate them on chemistry, empowerment and the power of questioning the status quo.
At the heart of the novel is Elizabeth’s unconventional love story with fellow scientist Calvin Evans, as well as her unflinching dedication to raising their precocious daughter, Madeleine, and their dog, Six-Thirty. Blending humour, sharp social commentary and an unforgettable heroine, Lessons in Chemistry is one of the best books like Hello Beautiful for another read that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
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Commonwealth – Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett is one of the best authors like Ann Napolitano, and Commonwealth is a beautiful novel similar to Hello Beautiful that explores the tangled relationships of two families over fifty years. It opens in the 1960s when Bert Cousins crashes a christening party for Franny Keating, the daughter of Fix and Beverly Keating. A single kiss between Bert and Beverly ignites an affair that leads to divorce, remarriage, and the blending of their families.
The six children from both marriages form a complex bond, spending summers together and navigating the upheaval caused by their parent’s decisions. A tragic event in their childhood leaves a lingering impact, altering their relationships and the way they see themselves. Years on, when Franny shares her family’s story with a famous author, their past is thrown into the public spotlight, forcing them all to confront old wounds.
We Are The Brennans – Tracey Lange
We Are the Brennans is a gripping family drama about secrets, loyalty, and the bonds that hold us together. The novel follows Sunday Brennan, who returns home to her close-knit Irish Catholic family in New York after a DUI accident in Los Angeles forces her to confront the past she had tried to leave behind.
Though her family welcome her back, old wounds soon come to the surface – namely with her ex-fiance, Kale, who is now married and helping to run the family business. As Sunday struggles to regain trust, she discovers that the Brennans are all facing their own challenges, including financial struggles and long-buried secrets that threaten to unravel everything. Similar to Hello Beautiful, We Are the Brennans is a multi-perspective story that explores themes of guilt, redemption and the complexities of family ties through compelling characters and emotional depth.
Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You begins with the mysterious death of Lydia Lee, the bright and promising daughter of the Lee family, who is discovered dead in a lake in 1970s Ohio. Her death unravels the carefully constructed lives of her family members as they all wrestle with their grief and the secrets that they have all kept hidden.
Lydia’s parents, James and Marilyn, struggle with their desires and disappointments. James, a Chinese-American professor in a predominantly white town, constantly feels like an outsider; whilst Marilyn, a frustrated academic, projects her unrealised dreams onto Lydia. As the family members reflect on their lives and the roles they played in Lydia’s tragedy, they confront the weight of racial and gender expectations, as well as the complexities of love and belonging. Another one of the best books like Hello Beautiful, Celeste Ng deftly explores family dynamics, race and the longing for connection in this emotionally resonant and beautifully-delivered novel.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
