When I requested Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen, I was expecting a similar vibe to Other Birds, one of my favourite books. Unfortunately this was nothing like Other Birds and although it was an okay story, I just didn’t connect with it.
The story is broken into three parts. In the first part we watch a young Willamena Wester as she grows up, then we skip ahead to her as a grandmother when her son and young granddaughter, Bailey, come to live with her. And finally there is another time jump of about 8 years, after which Bailey returns at her grandmother’s request.
I really liked Willamena in part one of the novel. She was a decent young girl, living under her grandmother’s thumb, and trying to please her. When she finally rebels a bit, her grandmother commits a horrible act, but before we can see the fallout the story jumps decades ahead to when Willamena is a grandmother.
The time jump is jarring, and the difference in Willamena’s character even more so. Although we can figure out what happened in the past, it really doesn’t fully explain the huge shift in her character.
Then there is her granddaughter, Bailey, who at first seems to be a likeable little girl, but it soon becomes clear that she is not a very nice person. And after she commits an act that, even though it may have felt somewhat justified, should have left her wracked with guilt, she seemed to have just brushed it off.
Honestly the only people I liked in the story were Jack, Terrance (Willamena’s fiancé), and Tug.
By the end of the book I felt like nothing in the story was resolved, it was just buried, like so many other things in the novel.
If you are into darker stories, maybe this book will resonate more with you than it did for me. I think my experience with Other Birds coloured my view of this book, which may be why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Paper Ghosts will be available on September 1 2026.
Life, Tea, and Everything 