A review by mckayla_haesch
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

This book is a heavy one with sensitive content matter, but I believe it is so important for so many people to not feel alone. Miranda, thank you for creating and publishing this work of art. 
There are five books in one (think of it as one book in five parts), bouncing between then and now. I didn’t find myself getting confused or annoyed by the amount of switching between time periods. It gave crucial insight on specific people when you need it the most. The Paper Palace discusses the complexities and consequences stemming from childhood and generational trauma, and how everything can compound into who you are today. The theme is mainly about loving, losing, and fighting for and with someone that wasn’t yours to love or lose. The prose reads lyrically and has a poetic flow to it that I fell in love with. The imagery it created was fantastic. 
I have a more in-depth review on my tiktok as to why I gave it a 4/5, but it is because of the powerful way a harsh reality for so many of us, plays into our lives daily and our decisions. I can’t say I loved the book (I definitely don’t condone cheating or having an affair), but seeing the “why” behind actions and decisions and where the root of it actually came from, was incredibly insightful. 
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