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.

This is definitely a slow burn book- might I say too slow? That I am still conflicted about. It's a story about dysfunctional family dynamics and the journey that comes with dealing with that. Not all characters were particularly likeable, but I did feel like they were pretty fleshed out and I felt like I understood why they were making the choices they were making. What I didn't love was the ending as I felt not all storylines were tied up as well as they could have been.

I've heard good things about the author's other work so I think I'll check those out next.

Thank you to netgalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a re-release of the author’s first book. The large Irish family, loosely based on the author’s own family, has been stoic and dysfunctional for several generations. As such, it was difficult for me to care about the characters or their problems. Some seem to even act out of character. The plot was overly concerned with death and was depressing through much of the novel with little to break that feeling. It was an abrupt ending and didn’t leave me with much hope for the future of this family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press/Random House for the ARC to read and review.

I liked this book. I liked the characters and their individual stories but it was definitely a slow burn and got a little slow at parts for me. The story of a large Irish Catholic Family living in New Jersey, figuring out life, love and identity. Although this was a good read I enjoyed Hello Beautiful so much more.. Ann Napolitan’o’s a very gifted writer and can really write family sagas.

A slow burn that was well worth it. This is a story about family and the messy, complicated relationships within. It explored the ups and downs, secrets, and the wants and needs of the members of the MacLaughlin family. This book so so emotional and the characters felt so real and so very human. A great read!

Thank you to the publisher & Net Galley for my copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dial Press and Ann Napolitano for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Within Arms Reach.
This book was previously published in 2004 and is being re-released April 3o, 2024. I thoroughly enjoyed this family drama with well developed characters and interesting plotline. I found so many connections to my own Irish Catholic family that I needed to read this slowly and think about how similar families can be. I started off laughing at our shared experiences but quickly ended up crying over the tragedies we suffer and how we deal with specific situations.
This story is filled with heartbreak and deep desires while showing no emotion to the outside world. This is how I grew up. Always make it seem like everything is fine, even when it's not. Image was so important and so much was swept under the rug.
I found the relationship of Lila and Gracie to be the most interesting. Sisters who fight their way toward each other but at the same time pull away. Catharine is also one of my favorites as she is the matriarch and is the glue that holds everyone together. All members of the family behave in front of Catharine. She had no idea the power she had.
I wanted to know more about some of the minor characters and how they fit into the family puzzle. There were some loose ends that needed closure. The ending came way too quickly for me. This was a great read and I look forward to more stories from this author.

"Within Arm's Reach" by Ann Napolitano is a poignant and beautifully crafted exploration of family, love, and the ties that bind us together. Set against the backdrop of an unexpected pregnancy, Napolitano skillfully weaves together the perspectives of three generations of an Irish-American Catholic family, offering readers a deeply moving portrait of interconnected lives and the complexities of human relationships.

One of the novel's greatest strengths lies in its richly drawn characters, each of whom brings a unique voice and perspective to the story. From the unmarried, pregnant Gracie to her grandmother, the matriarch struggling with her commitments to both the living and the dead, Napolitano creates a vivid tapestry of personalities and experiences. The depth and authenticity of these characters allow readers to fully immerse themselves in the McLaughlin family's journey, empathizing with their joys and sorrows alike.

Napolitano's lyrical prose and nuanced storytelling elevate the novel, drawing readers into the intricacies of family dynamics and the complexities of human emotion. Through alternating points of view, she explores themes of guilt, love, betrayal, and loyalty, inviting readers to contemplate the ways in which our pasts shape our presents and futures. As the McLaughlins navigate the challenges brought about by Gracie's pregnancy, their personal stories and memories intertwine, revealing the profound interconnectedness of their lives.

The novel's structure, with its multiple perspectives and layered narrative, adds depth and complexity to the storytelling. Napolitano deftly shifts between characters and timelines, creating a sense of immediacy and intimacy that keeps readers engaged from start to finish. The result is a richly textured and deeply satisfying narrative that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.

Overall, "Within Arm's Reach" is a moving and thought-provoking novel that resonates with authenticity and emotional depth. Napolitano's exploration of family, love, and the enduring power of connection is both captivating and profound, offering readers a poignant reminder of the bonds that unite us all.

Within Arm's Reach is Anne Napolitano's first novel which was published many years ago with limited distribution. It is the story of an Irish family living in a small town in New Jersey. The books covers a number of general family topics: unexpected pregnancies, marriages that are growing stale and the aging of eldery relatives. I was so excited to read this book because Dear Edward is one of my favorite books every written. It was difficult to get through this book because it was boring. The writing is good but I would recommend skipping this book and reading Dear Edward instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After the success of her third novel Dear Edward, which my book club loved, and last year’s Hello Beautiful, which I recommended to the book club, we now can read Napolitano’s first novel. It is inspired by her own grandmother and family stories.

Catharine was determined that she would not leave behind a broken family. Each generation carried its scars into the next, each generation putting up barriers and hiding the truth.

Catherine had suffered so many losses– a husband, a daughter, the twins. She never got it right, failing each child. Her daughter Kelly is dealing with a husband broken by grief and guilt after his employee died on the job. He goes through the motions, but is totally closed off. Underneath her hard exterior, she is vulnerable and needy. Her daughters are struggling. Lila was a stellar student in med school, but does not have the patience to deal with real people. And Gracie’s wild life has resulted in pregnancy, and she is determined she will be a single mother. The only family who supports her is her Gram, Catherine, who sees the baby as a second chance for the family, a new generation; maybe this time they can get family right.

Each character tells her story in alternating chapters. This big, dysfunctional, Irish American family is filled with colorful characters struggling with relatable problems. It is a lovely read, compassionate and moving.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.