The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller

This is a Reese's book club pick. Because I usually enjoy her picks, this made it onto my to read list and was in the running for a Cover to Cocktails book. I wish we had picked it because I so badly wanted to discuss the ending with someone! So if anyone reads it and has thoughts on the ending, please let me know!

This book takes place over one day in the summer with lots of flashbacks to the past. Elle has just slept with her childhood love Jonas outside her family's cabin while their family's are inside. She now needs to make a decision, stay with her wonderful husband Peter, who she truly loves, and their three children, or start over with Jonas.

Throughout the book we see flashbacks to the past and see how her love for Jonas formed and what ultimately drove them apart. But as pieces from the past become clearer, Elle finds herself drawn to Jonas and the life they could have had.

Elle's childhood wasn't easy, but she always had the family cabin in the summer. Fondly called the paper palace because of the construction material, most of Elle's best and worst memories happen here. This is where she met Jonas and this is also where they were torn apart. Along with those memories of Jonas are wonderful memories with Peter and her children that led me to root for him far more than Jonas.

But it's the ending that got me....really just the last few pages where I just felt torn and frustrated. I loved the story, despite it's dark sections (rape, incest, neglect, abuse), but the ending hurt and, weeks later, I am having trouble deciding how I feel about it. I definitely recommend reading the book, but please let me know your thoughts on the ending. I have done a bit of googling to try to satisfy myself with how I want it to end and found a few interesting theories. Give this one a try!