Goodnight, Beautiful

tear jerker!!

Nova Kumalisi and Mal Whacken have been the best of friends for practically all of their lives. Growing up as neighbors, the families embraced each other...with the Kumalisis being the strength that is necessary for Mal and his family, and the hardships that they must endure. Closer than close, Nova is perhaps the first to realize, as a young adult, that what she feels for Mal might possibly be...more

Nova Kumalisi and Mal Whacken have been the best of friends for practically all of their lives. Growing up as neighbors, the families embraced each other...with the Kumalisis being the strength that is necessary for Mal and his family, and the hardships that they must endure. Closer than close, Nova is perhaps the first to realize, as a young adult, that what she feels for Mal might possibly be much more than the love of one friend for another. But when Mal makes it clear that they should be nothing more, each moves on with their life. They both get married...burying and trying to ignore their feeling for one another. Mal marries and loves a woman who from the beginning is suspicious of his relationship with Nova; but the ever-gracious Nova eventually thaws Stephanie, putting her somewhat at ease. When Mal shares with Nova that Stephanie cannot conceive, he also asks of her the unthinkable....wil Nova act as a surrogate for them? After much convincing, Nova agrees. Months later a revelatory text message arouses old suspicions in Stephanie, and she decides that she does not want the baby. Further, she forbids Mal from having anything to do with Nova or her son. And when years later the unthinkable happens, Nova must learn to forgive her friend...and put the needs of her son above all else. A really beautiful story, with a unique plot. I especially loved that the author minimized the importance of color/race within the tale--and dismissed all of the stereotypes. This story was a breath of fresh air. 4 stars only as I found the chapters, moving from character to character confusing, as they weren't titled with said character's names.   hide

I loved this book!! It started out a bit confusing...jumping from present, to the past and back to the present. It was also confusing because the story is told by two different characters and when you start a new chapter it isn't clear which point of view it is being told in right away. Just when I was about to write this book off as an ok story with bad writing, I found myself unable to put it...more

I loved this book!! It started out a bit confusing...jumping from present, to the past and back to the present. It was also confusing because the story is told by two different characters and when you start a new chapter it isn't clear which point of view it is being told in right away. Just when I was about to write this book off as an ok story with bad writing, I found myself unable to put it down. The second half of this book sucked me in and I couldn't stop reading. The author does a great job making you feel as if you know the characters and you can feel the emotion coming off of each page, especially at the end of the book.   hide