Paper Ghosts: A Novel

The next enchanting novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Other Birds filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won't let you go.

In a small North Carolina town, Wester House has stood in its richest neighborhood for decades, and The Wester women have held the town enthralled for generations. Some folks love them. Some folks fear them. But no one truly understands them. Why does a rainy season cause so much anxiety and dismay among them? Why do they know so much about those who live near and around them? Why is no one allowed inside the house and why does Willamena Wester want to bring her granddaughter, Bailey, back into the fold?

To understand the Wester women, you would have to meet Willamena fifty years before, when a love struck girl made a fateful choice that trapped her in this house forever. The Wester women have always balanced their need for control with their desire for love, and when that balance is off, disaster happens. At age eighteen, Bailey Wester left town amid scandal and heartbreak. But now the pull of family is drawing her back, and old ghosts are stirring to life. Can curses be broken? Do ghosts find rest? And what does it take to become the woman you were always meant to be?

Sarah Addison Allen's lyrical prose, steeped in magical realism, will transport you to a place where enchantment is around every corner, and love finds a way of bringing us home.