Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

“My grandmother used to call photographs paper ghosts, the only ghosts everyone can see,” she said. “Keep that to remind you to focus on what’s real.”

- Mim, Paper Ghosts

Sarah Addison Allen’s Paper Ghosts is a novel who, at its core, is about forbidden romance and intergenerational relationships. The story begins with Alice Wester, a reclusive woman, who is raising her granddaughter Willamena, also known as Wills. The townspeople of Hen Town, North Carolina whisper that Alice is a witch and she fosters that rumor by not allowing anyone in her house, dressing all in black and seems to know things about people that she should not. She raises Wills strictly and Wills has no desire to buck her grandmother until her senior of high school when someone new comes into town. The novel than jumps about thirty years when Wills’ son Tug and granddaughter Bailey move in with Wills who has inherited the house and the same fear-filled reputation. History appears determined to repeat itself until it doesn’t.

Sarah Addison Allen is one of a handful of authors whose books I purchase as soon as they become available. I was ecstatic when I realized I didn’t have to wait until September and could read the ARC. As with all her novels, this story is highly engaging. Between the small town setting, emotional pull of the bonds between all the characters, and the touches of magic I couldn’t wait to sit down and read each day.

Paper Ghosts features three strong woman who are fully distinct characters. Watching the relationship between Wills and Bailey develop, how both women want more from the relationship with each other but generational patterns make it difficult to obtain. The other minor characters are well formed with their own background stories. Their connections to Wills and Bailey are relevant and deep and extend the overarching theme of wanting different lives than the ones they started out with. Other themes include grief, family loyalty, and forgiveness.

I also have a new perspective of photographs. Several times they are referenced as paper ghosts and I was struck by how that totally makes sense. Photographs contain people who eventually vanish from our lives, for different reasons, and can only be visited when one views the pictures. And sometimes, depending on the connection, the people in the photos haunt us.

The only reason I give Paper Ghosts four stars instead of five is sometimes I felt the plot points didn’t connect as strongly as they could. There were a couple of instances I was confused by what was happening - the story jumped to next point causing me to stop and think about what was occurring.

Paper Ghosts is available September 1.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.