A review by dorhastings
Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin

3.0

I have a really hard time rating this book. I wanted to take into consideration my reading of the entire book. I didn't get really interested until probably the last 20% of the book. Does that 20% override my feelings about the first 80% of the book? I don't think so. Overall the flight was kind of confusing and could have crashed, but the landing was surprisingly good.

I just didn't find that first 80% to be super engaging. And even though I liked the last 20%, I felt the epilogue was wrapped up a little too neatly. In the end, I found the underlying storyline, the reason behind the book, and the stunning revelations, to be interesting and really neat.

Spoiler

I also think there's a larger point to be made about dementia, scary as it is, that's intriguing. I don't know if more direct inclusion of dementia would have been the right call. I just think I appreciate it more at the end, and it perhaps tells me something about my own impatience with the characters throughout the book.

EDIT: After meeting with my book club, I'm adjusting my rating from 2 stars to 3. I still had a difficult time getting through this book, which I think has a lot to do with my own impatience than anything else (which, again, feels relevant to what I mentioned in the spoilers). But I think the main reason I updated my rating is due to the protagonist, who goes to extreme measures to find out about her sister's death. Her preparations fall through almost instantly in a way that makes her seem... relatable and human. She's not perfect, she's not a detective, and she's not a Marvel superhero. And yet her perseverance (while almost over-the-top) is mighty and even a little inspiring.