I love a multigenerational novel--I love Napolitano so much. Her ability to craft a story over multiple generations is outstanding--it can be so difficult to keep characters straight and to give them their place in the story, but few do it better than Napolitano.

I fell in love with Ann Napolitano's writing when I read Hello Beautiful earlier this year, so I was delighted to be gifted an advance copy of her "new" release (actually a re-release of her debut novel)! Within Arm's Reach tells the story of three generations of the McLaughlin family, who are trying to navigate their familial relationships while facing the ghosts of the past and the struggles of the present. When eldest granddaughter Gracie gets pregnant outside of marriage, the strictly Irish Catholic family will have to reassess their values, their history, and their relationships.
This is a beautifully written story, with elements of magical realism and relatable family dynamics. Napolitano just has a way of sweeping you into the worlds she creates, and this time is no different; I couldn't put this book down! With six different narrators, it's fascinating to see how each character interprets the events of the story; you get to know each of them well, and find yourself attached to the family--I was sad to leave them behind when I finished the book! It's also interesting to read this after Hello Beautiful; you can really see the roots of that story (and the Padavano family) here. This is the perfect spring/summer read if you're looking for love (in all its messy forms), family drama, and pervasive NJ summer heat that brings everything to a boiling point.

“Perhaps being free feels like flying. Or, like I fear, it is perhaps the most terrifying thing that can happen to a person, because all of a sudden anything is possible.”

Within Arm’s Reach is Ann Napolitano’s first novel, originally published in 2004, and is being republished at the end of April. Napolitano has written two of my favorite books over the past few years, so when I was given the opportunity to read her first book, I was happy to do it.

The story reminded me quite a bit of Hello Beautiful. It’s a multigenerational story about the Irish Catholic McLaughlin family, told from different points of view. They are not close, and there are good reasons for that - they are all struggling with their own issues, including an unplanned pregnancy, a handicap, unhappy couples, and infertility.

Overall I enjoyed the story. There may have been a few too many things going on though, and not everything was resolved at the end. Still I’m glad I read this book, for a debut it’s very good, especially knowing the great books she went on to write.

Thank you to Netgalley and the pubilsher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. [Quote is from the uncorrected review copy.]

I have been a huge fan of Ann Napolitano's work starting with Dear Edward. And I also enjoyed Hello Beautiful but Within Arm's Reach was painful for me. The writing, as always, is solid. The story construction is solid. But this book is an entire bag of downers. I kept thinking that there will be a bit of happy woven in but really the entire thing is depressing.

This is a story about an extended Irish family that lives in New Jersey. The matriarch, Catherine, is of advanced age and is not happy with how her family is interacting. The story mainly focuses on her "oldest" daughter, Kelly, Kelly's husband, and their two daughters. Each chapter is told from alternating POV between these five characters and two additional characters.

The book felt too long and drug out. The ending felt abrupt and sudden without much resolution. I can appreciate that Napolitano wanted to give readers the opportunity to deduce their own conclusion but a little more closure would have been nice in my opinion.

2 stars

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Diving into Within Arm’s Reach was truly an emotional journey. This book was a heavyweight champion of emotional storytelling, but it was beautifully crafted. The character struggles and strength were painted with such delicate brushstrokes that it felt like witnessing a masterpiece unfold before my eyes.

As a Latina, this book felt like discovering a hidden treasure chest of shared experiences. It's incredible how the theme of family secrets, infertility, loss, disabilities and just day to day struggles resonates across cultures—it's like uncovering a universal truth hidden in plain sight. Whether we're from bustling cities, sleepy towns or different cultures, the struggle to keep it all together within our families is a thread that binds us all.

Within Arm’s Reach is more than just a story—it's a reminder that we're all just trying to keep our heads above water in the wild sea of life. With every page turned, I felt a little less alone in my journey, and a little more connected to the hearts beating in every corner of the world.

Thank You! It was a delight to dive into the pages of this gem. I can't wait to hold a physical copy in my hands, to feel the weight of its words and let it take its place among my collection.

This is a hard story to read. The McLaughlin family, who aren’t very close, are forced to examine themselves and their morals and values in the face of their ill Matriarch, Catherine.

There are many events happening, an unplanned pregnancy, a car accident, disability, infertility, and, matters of the heart. These events are complicated by guilt, resentment, religious beliefs, family honour and complete and total dysfunction.

The story is certainly very thought provoking and I was very conflicted while I was reading. However, I don’t feel this was as emotionally gripping as Hello Beautiful or Dear Edward. Nor are any of these characters likeable. Some of them have interesting perceptions.

For her debut novel (this is a re-release), it’s a valiant effort. 3.75 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of a large Irish family told through alternating points of view. The characters were interesting and each one was struggling with something that was holding them back from leading a fulfilling life. There are secrets, lies, and betrayal. The old saying, "You can't pick your family" came back to me often while reading this book. They all share a sense of connection even if they don't really want to.
I was surprised to learn, at the end after reading the Author's Note, that this was one of Ann Napolitano's earlier novels which was re-released.
I enjoyed the novel but I kept waiting for the story lines to get wrapped up and they didn't. I would love to know what happened to the characters in the future as there were too many loose ends.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. Napolitano has a unique way of showing families with flaws and all. This book’s twist of familial connection at the end was something I wasn’t expecting and a nice connection to the beginning of the novel.

Within Arm’s Reach is a book first published in 2004, and did not reach a wide audience at that time. After the success of Dear Edward and Hello Beautiful publishers, decided to re-release this book and I’m glad they did. It follows a multi generational Irish family living in New Jersey. It is very character driven and has multiple themes throughout- Life and death, adultery, mental illnesses, grief, and fear of the future to name a few so it really can target a wide audience. I found it similar to Hello Beautiful in many ways. I really appreciated that there was no one big event that happened in it, but just lots of little ones like life really is composed of. Many of the characters were flawed yet still had redeeming qualities. My complaint was only that I didn’t connect deeply with any of them, so I wasn’t as invested in the story as I think I could have been. I am glad that Random House publishing decided to give readers another opportunity to pick this up and I thank them and NetGalley for my ARC.

I would give this a 3.5. I loved her book Hello Beautiful and was excited to read this early work. However it didn’t grab me the same way. The saga was about a dysfunctional family and I’m sure many readers can find similar characters in their own families. But it moved slowly and I was often puzzled by some of the decisions made. The ending was a bit forced, with everyone seeming to have instant clarity on all their problems. I liked her insight into her family and approach to telling the story from each character’s perspective but overall it wasn’t a favorite for me.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

Ann Napolitano does not shy away from writing about real family dynamics even when this means showing the worst in people. She does not seem to care if the reader likes the characters, because here again is a book where it’s hard to find any one character to really like, but somehow you still want to see this family find happiness. You still want to see the main characters find comfort in one another.

This is the third book I have read by the same author and found it closer to Hello Beautiful in that it really focuses on a large family and their interactions with one another and how when the family patriarch (or matriarch) no longer is around, a lot of binds the hold them together fade away over time.

I appreciate that the grittier side of these family dynamics is shown, that life decisions aren’t always easy to explain even to ourselves. Maybe it’s because I come from a big extended family and can appreciate the complexities in relationships between all the different family facets. Ann does such a good job showing it in a story!

While this is similar to Hello Beautiful, I feel that some of the voices are fully developed as this was Ann’s first novel and I did get confused between Lila and Grace at times when it came to who was narrating the chapter. Although they had different likes and dislikes they sounded the same, and in a way, had the same emotional responses to things.

The ending for me was also too ambiguous. I don’t need everything wrapped up in a perfect bow, but I do feel that there were too many loose ends when the book ended.

Overall I give this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group / Dial Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I became a fan of Ann Napolitano after reading Hello Beautiful. I am so glad that they are republishing her debut novel! I had no idea that she started writing nearly 20 years ago, but am glad that her early works are now getting the attention they deserve

Ann Napolitano does a great job describing families and their relationships. This is a re-release of an earlier book. Her character development is always good. Love when she gives you the inside track to what her characters are thinking. Of course there are always multiple sides to every situation. Happy the editors have re-released the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc!

Not sure why I was under the impression this was a new novel but it seems they wanted to re-release her debut novel from 2004.
While I enjoyed this family drama, I have to say Hello Beautiful is probably one of my favorite novels of all time (partially because it's a reflection of my favorite book Little Women")


Ann writes such complex characters and I did enjoy the quirks and oddities of this family. I adored Catherine and her strong personality and will. Her love for her family was shown in less obvious ways and you can see that in her children and grandchildren.

4 stars!

Well I wish this book would have a sequel but i know it won’t. In reading this, i found myself rooting for certain characters and against others. Although it is the typical “a grandparent has died and family is not the same” type of narrative, i find myself drawn into each of the characters that are brought into the narrative. Overall a very good story that I know i will be thinking about for a while

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Ann Napolitano's "Hello Beautiful", so I was more than excited when her first novel, Within Arm's Reach, was to be re-released.

As I've come to expect, this story revolves around a large and complicated family. Mixing both the past and present, the McLaughlin family is an Irish-American family based in New Jersey. Told in various POV's, this is a story of family, secrets and heartbreak, connections between generations and love. This is a story of love.

I think Napolitano's strength is writing large family dramas that aren't overly dramatic, but more complicated and comfortable. It's easy to imagine yourself in the families that she creates.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Within Arm's Reach is a multigenerational story that revolves around members of the McLaughlin family. The matriarch of the family, Catharine, has experienced significant loss in her lifetime, yet remains a steadfast, strong willed, and proud leader of her extended family. This story unfolds with every character in this extended family navigating their own flawed, emotional, and human experience. I loved this book, and I especially enjoy the way Ann Napolitano depicts what it is like to be part of such a family. Despite the many differences each member of this extended family has, there is the underlying Irish Catholic current that pulls them back toward each other when they need to the most. I enjoyed the varied storylines of the characters, as well as the glimpses into the visions her husband Patrick left her. This is the second book by Ann Napolitano I have read, and I absolutely love the way she writes about family. As a member of a large extended family myself, it is not always easy to put into words for others that pull family can have on you, but I can relate greatly to the storytelling in this novel. I also loved the authors note at the end, explaining her own inspiration for Catharine. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for my copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Hello Beautiful was one of my top 10 reads of last year, so when I saw this title as an arc I was so excited. After getting approved I realized this was actually her debut novel, getting re-released.
Within Arm’s Reach is a book about the three generation Irish- American McLaughlin family. The story is told from one of the branches of that family with various POV’s
The grandmother Catherine, often reminded me of my own maternal grandmother and had me feeling nostalgic.
Fictional characters are often written to either be likeable or unlikeable- and because of that certain traits may be embelished and take away a certain “realness” to them. Napolitano doesn’t do this.
Ann Napolitano has a way of writing such un-likeable characters, that you somehow still manage to root for. I didn’t necessarily like or relate to any of the characters- but they were very real.
The writing was beautiful, but the story didn’t have me rushing to keep reading, or find out what happened.
For me personally this wasn’t as good as Hello Beautiful, but a story that I will likely remember for awhile. The author is so consistent in writing about family connections and very real characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the arc!
3.5 from me

Sometimes an author has an amazing debut but never hits that same height again. And sometimes, as in this case, their work steadily improves over time and reading an earlier book when you are familiar with their current work is disappointing.

Within Arm’s Reach is an exploration of generational trauma through multiple members of one family and one tangentially related bystander. The shifting points of view flow into one another, giving the reader a pretty round view of a season in their lives. Within Arm’s Reach had the same excellent writing that I expected from Napolitano after reading Hello Beautiful, but the story itself felt clunkier and more hopeless. It didn’t seem as though there was any character to root for. The culminating event I was expecting didn’t happen and the one we were given instead seemed like a let down (we’ve learned to express emotions so now everything is hunky dory?).

Maybe it’s just because I’ve spent a lot of time on the subway recently, but the image that comes to mind is the middle of the route. I didn’t see the beginning, and I didn’t see the end, but I saw about five stops in the middle. If you like that kind of story, and characters trying to figure out who they are and what they want without getting all the way there, then this may be for you. Usually that is not me as a reader, but for these very messy characters it actually seemed appropriate. For them to have a tidy bow with the limited growth we’ve seen would be wrong.

I often don’t like reprints of earlier works because some of the attitudes and word choices you hear don’t feel modern. In this case, I found the way one character in particular talked about abortion discordant and moralizing, without any digging in to why she felt that way. I also wished they had changed Indian style to criss cross or tailor style. Didn’t we stop saying Indian style at least 15 years ago?

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. The author is extremely good at providing just enough information, but not too much, so that the reader can fill in the spaces. This traditional Irish catholic family, with their skeletons haunting them are trying to overcome their limitations and build on their strengths. Religion and culture seem to hold back any forward momentum in terms of social, academic, and career success. There is hope, but not very much. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.