Goodnight, Beautiful

by Dorothy Koomson

Book Overview

Nova Kumalisi would do anything for her closest friend, Mal Wacken. She owes him her life. So, when he asked her to be the surrogate mother for him and his wife, in spite of her fears about how it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385344260
• ISBN13: 9780385344265
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.9" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

I originally gave this only 3 stars

If the author didn't use an outline, maybe use one in the future? The storytelling is good, but jumping back and forth in the timeline and between characters was very confusing. It's not a book you can put down and comeback to later, which is what I did several times. Honestly, it was very confusing. Maybe note the character and their age as a chapter heading?

Loved

This book had my crying while reading several times throughout!! Was surprised at how moved it made me feel. Great storyline and one in which you realize it's not always about a happy ending.

Tearjerker

I finished reading Goodnight, Beautiful in one day. I couldn't put it down. It's one of those books that you hope will end a certain way and it doesn't. I feel the need to state upfront this is a tearjerker--this is not a happy book. I was literally bawling during the last 100 pages or so. Blowing my nose, washing my face etc. Koomson is one of my favorite authors. I have all of her books. This books shares common themes with the others--interracial love angle, caring for someone else's child, friendship, betrayal and loss. Nova and Mal have grown up with each other--they know each other better than anyone else in the world. It makes sense that they would ultimately marry and have children. Only that's not the way the story goes. They each marry someone else. However a lot happens between Mal's marriage to Steph and Nova's marriage to Keith. This book covers via flashbacks the events that occured that has led to the present. These flashbacks are slow moving with some poignant moments, but it takes a while to get to the good stuff. I wanted to know how Nova agreed to the surrogacy and then was stuck with the baby. This is NOT a traditional love story. This is a story about the unexpected. NOTHING in their lives has turned out how they planned. Koomson has an ability to take an unlikable character and make them real. I didn't like Steph but I understood her actions, her reasoning for what she did. I don't agree with it but I could understand it. Koomson takes the time to get really get into the heads of Steph and Nova. This is a far cry from The Chocolate Run(my favorite book) but we have witnessed her transition as a writer most apparently in Marshmallows for Breakfast. This book has a similar tone. If you are looking for a love story, this is not for you. This is a story of loss, bad decisions, bad timing, bad everything. But at the core of the book is friendship and the ability to forgive, let go and move on. The main reason this book is so good is because everyone has had a first love, that person you can't quite forget. And we have all done something that we wish we hadn't. This book is about people we could know, people that maybe with different decisions we could be. And I'll take realism over a contrived happily ever after any day.

Pass the tissues!!

I love everything Dorothy K. puts out. She may not give me the ending I was hoping for but thats how life is. I often find myself reading her books with an accent. lol! Amazing writing. I laughed,cried and cussed.I loved how i connected with each character, even if stephanie was a super jerk. I understood where she was coming from; I actually felt bad for her! Even worse, for Mal. He has to many crazy chic's in his life, that stop him from growing and doing the things that his heart really wants to do. Cant wait for Ice cream girls!!!

Enchanting....

I have fallen in love with Dorothy Koomson's books. I become so engrossed in the characters I think about them days after I've read one of her books. The book was in great shape when I recieved it.

Best author in a while

Hands down, one of my favorite "chick lit" authors is Dorothy Koomson. The novels I've read of hers are evocative, and have several different layers to peel back. She doesn't focus on the character development of one central character, but several. The one thing I've found in common in the main characters of the three books of hers I've read is their aloofness resulting from being hurt, and their temerity in letting someone in to hurt them again. In Goodnight Beautiful, Norma was never supposed to be a mother. Especially not to the child of a man she's spent her whole life loving, but relegated only to the status of best friend. But when Mal and his wife approach her and ask her to be a surrogate for them, she can't say no. She knows Stephanie has a history of mental health issues, much like Mal's mother did, but she also knows Mal will be the best father possible. Norma has always loved Mal, and he loved her but the timing has never been right. Mal won't leave his wife because of things that have happened in the past. When Stephanie discovers a text Mal sent to Norma while pregnant that says only Goodnight Beautiful, she changes her mind. She can't be the mother to Norma's child, and so she and Mal walk away without glancing back. Five years later, Norma is married and raising Leo, her son who reminds her of Mal in every way possible. Since the night that Mal told her they didn't want the baby, she has systematically cut her family from her life as they were Mal's family too and the pain is too deep. One day, Leo has a bike accident and apart from a nose bleed seems fine. But the nose bleed persists and only gets heavier before Norma takes him to the hospital. By the end of the night, Leo is in a coma and her entire world has come crashing down. Her family and Mal enter back into her life as she fights to save her baby's life. The whole of this story is heartbreaking. There's not one element that isn't wrought with sadness. The thought on chick lit is that there's always a happy ending. But sometimes there is not. And many times in Koomson's novels there may not be. The talent she possesses is undeniable and there is a power over your emotions within the pages of her novel. Now if only I could learn to leave the waterworks that her stories cause at home, it'd sure be a lot less mortifying to read her on the ride home.

Luv Koomsons books!

This is the second Koomson book I have read. And I loved it. The only disapointing thing to me is the ending. Why? Why couldnt they run off into the sunset at the end after all of that. My favorite part of the book was when Nova accused Mal of never wanting her. His speech after that, the missed opportunites. I agree with the previous review that it was a bit frustrating that they couldnt get hooked up. But overall it is still a great read in my opinion. Stehanie,....hated her!