What a beautiful sweet story about grief and finding yourself and making a life for yourself all alone.

This book is light, sweet, quirky and fun for majority of it dealing with heavy grief. You have your FMC whose entire life is revolved around all the loss she has in her life.

She finally decides to switch her life up and makes a move to the big city of New York getting a job and renting a room in east Village.

You are with her as she navigates her social life while a ghost fish version of her sister also appears and she navigates how to keep this secret and what it means but also build her own life.

A blend of holding on while also moving on. Its a beautiful dance.
The friendship between her and Gabrielle is beautiful full of respect, peace, support and understanding

"Ghost Fish" follows Alison, a 23-year-old orphan, and not just in the literal sense, having lost her mother at a young age and every other immediate family member since, but also emotionally, as someone completely, achingly alone. Stuart Pennebaker’s writing captures her loneliness and isolation with striking clarity. From a small Southern town, Alison relocates to New York City, where she encounters the ghost of her deceased sister; reincarnated, unexpectedly, as a fish.

This novel uses magical realism as a powerful lens through which to explore grief, longing, and the search for meaning after profound loss. I’ve read many books about grief, but none have resonated with me quite like this one. As someone who has also lost all of my immediate family, I felt deeply seen by Alison’s story. The sensation of floating unmoored in the world with no clear “home” left is captured here with raw honesty and beauty.

I wanted to reach into the pages to comfort Alison, to tell her she wasn’t alone. But Pennebaker allows her to find her own way, and I felt honored to walk that journey alongside her and her ethereal sister-fish. This novel is tender, strange, and deeply moving. A beautiful, unforgettable read. I'm really looking forward to whatever Pennebaker does next.

It took quite a while for me to get into Ghost Fish, but I'm glad I kept with it - the payoff was well worth it! I'm not going to lie; sometimes this book was a gut punch, and you just really wanted to pull Alison out of the book to give her a warm hug. It was, at times, a difficult read as it deals with loss and loneliness as well as the depression that often goes hand in hand. But it's also about coping with these difficult emotions, sometimes in unique ways, and allowing yourself the grace to find friendship and support in the midst of that turmoil. Ghost Fish is also about finding the courage to realize that letting go and truly living your life is not forgetting or lessening your loss but honoring it.

I would definitely encourage readers to try this book and stick with it; I'm still surprised at how much it resonated with me.

I really loved the concept of this novel, which was a quirky way of dealing with grief - the protagonist's sister reappears to her as a fish she carries around in a jar as she moves to New York City and tries to find her footing in the wake of her sister's death. It seemed like it was going to be a weird book, which are my favourites, yet it was surprisingly somehow not as weird as I hoped/wanted it to be. This is a quiet book and I don't mean that as a negative - it was a relatively quick read and at the end, I felt both the character's grief and closure. I wanted more and got less, and yet less somehow worked in this scenario.

tender, well done, effective story about coping with grief, recovering from loss, and becoming yourself. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Ghost Fish was surprisingly grounded for how fantastical the concept. Such a moving portrayal of grief and finding your place in the world. Our main character, Alison, reminding me so much of myself when I was young. In another review recently I spoke of moving alone to a big city and how scary that can be. But in Alison’s case, she doesn’t even really know if moving was what she wants because she doesn’t know how to live for herself anymore.

Watching her grow over the course of this short and sweet novel brought me to tears more than once. Never did I think I would sob over an empty pickle jar!

I was not prepared to tear up over an empty pickle jar.

This was a captivating and heavy story of grief. I was overwhelmed by its portrayal of how we cope and who we confide in. It centers so heavily around the loneliness we feel when we've lost someone we love, and the things we'll do to bring ourselves comfort. I don't think I relate much to Alison's character, but anyone can empathize with the weight of loss. And then I cried over a pickle jar.

This was the sweetest story. I thought when I first started reading it, that it wasn't going to be one I would finish. I usually like long, complicated novels. This one was just too magical and sweet.
For a simple but loving story , I definitely recommend.

A bit too simplistic for me but loved the overall concept, I think this author has a lot of talent and I’d be curious to see what she writes next.

I love magical realism and was immediately hooked by the premise of this book. At first I thought it might be a bit silly (the main character quite literally sees a ghost fish materialize by her front door and somehow it immediately reminds her of her sister), BUT it was such a touching story about grief, sisterhood, and letting go.. I cried at the end. The story itself has a simple enough plot & resolution, but the sense of loss, the desire to belong, and the love between siblings are all so well-written that I didn’t need a complicated plot to be fully invested.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

When Alison moves to New York City, she's flailing. She's grown up without a father, lost her mother at a young age, and is still reeling from the loss of her younger sister who drowned when taking a swim at sea a year ago. Despite having no plan though, she's able to find a tiny, cheap apartment in the Lower East Side to move into with roommates, and is able to get a job as a host at The June, a hotel restaurant. But when she returns home one night after work, Alison encounters an unexpected apparition: a faint, almost illusory image of a fish floating in front of her, who she immediately believes is the ghost of her younger sister and keeps in a pickle jar filled with tap water.

As months pass, Alison becomes more and more convinced this ghost fish that no one else can see is truly her sister, having conversations with it and hearing her sister's voice echo back in her head. It poses a slight impediment in her day-to-day life however, as she frequently carries the pickle jar with her, including when she leaves for work. Surprisingly for Alison though, her host job becomes more than just a means to pay the bills as she grows closer to her coworkers, including Gabrielle, who works as a server at The June. Despite her best attempts, Alison can't help but be drawn in by her character and personality, including the unknown story of Gabrielle's apparent wealth despite her job. All the while, Alison continues to hold the secret of her sister to herself - until it becomes too heavy of a burden to bear alone.

I have to say for a debut novel, I was blown away by Stuart Pennebaker's storytelling. The novel is told from Alison's first-person perspective, and despite the initial detachment she seemed to have for her own life and situation, her voice quickly grew and me and started to evolve as the novel continued. Pennebaker so accurately captures the gritty, unglamorous life of moving to NYC as a young 20s something woman, especially without money or connections, and the expedited maturing and coming to terms that it entails, especially with the people we keep. I loved as well her use of magical realism to capture a representation of grief and loss, and the letting go that's required when accepting the death of a loved one.

Very much a recommended novel when "Ghost Fish" is published in August 2025!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A woman navigates life alone after she lost her sister.

This was a delight to read. It is a fairly simple and intriguing premise—a grieving and lonely young woman suddenly sees her dead sister as a ghost fish—that is executed well. The writing is lovely and Alison is an endearing character.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Amazing debut and absolutely gorgeous, will be lining up for a copy on release day. Writing and characterization was strong, and I appreciated how simply some actions and decisions were described. I was so impressed with the whole thing and how it came together. Really looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Ghost Fish.

I was intrigued by the premise because:

1. Ghost of a sister as a fish
2. A story about sisters
3. See #1

Sadly, this didn't live up to my expectations because:

1. Alison is a boring, uninteresting character. Like some main characters, she's neither interesting or intriguing. Why should I care about her?

2. Ghost Fish is the title just Alison doesn't interact much with the ghost. I get it, how do you interact with a ghost fish?

I expected the presence of a ghost fish would have supernatural or otherworldly abilities or add a touch of that spiritual and/or existential element to the narrative.

Instead, we get Alison shuffling through life, making friends, drinking, clubbing, all the stuff a young adult does. It's all boring.

3. I understood Alison is lonely and grieving, but her mannerisms and way of speaking made me wonder if she was on the spectrum at first.

After reading reviews from previous readers, now I wonder if parts of the narrative was written by A..I. or the author's distinct writing style?

Food for thought.

4. I enjoy narratives about sibling relationships but I didn't feel the bond between Alison and her sister.

We get flashbacks from their youth as they time together but I never felt their rapport and chemistry.

5. There's not much suspense or urgency since Alison spends most of her time working, hanging out, and worrying about her sister fish.

I wanted interactions between Alison and her sister fish. What does it mean to manifest as a ghost fish?

There's no end date when it comes to sorrow and grief so why does her sister appear now?

I wished Alison was better developed and the narrative focused more on her and her sister fish.

Well, I am disappointed. Very much so.

I thought this was going to be a completely different sort of book. One with a deep exploration of grief. And well, personally, that's not what I read.

Moreover, the writing was odd? I am against giving books one star as it feels too mean, but two is the best I can do for this one.

ghost fish is a visceral and punching book that reflects heavily on grief. anyone who has a sibling, especially one they’re close to, will probably understand the chaotic and frantic inner thoughts of the protagonist, alison, after her sister dies by drowning. alison feels alone and is still trying to deal with the loss of her sister when a ghost fish suddenly appears to her. while at first she recognizes it can’t possibly be real, she begins to feel a duty to protect the ghost fish, as she feels she couldn’t protect her sister.

whereas some novels with purple prose get lost on me, this one shines through. the poetic and flowery writing reflects the mind of our protagonist. to me, it reflects alison’s slow descent into what can only be described as “madness”.

this novel is a great testament to how grief can impact us, it can change our lives and make us feel and do things we didn’t think were possible. the loss of a person so important to you is unthinkable until it happens and pennebaker encapsulated that perfectly.

the concept is really out there and there’s aspects of magical realism that reel you in and keep you on the edge of your seat. it is a short book but i think it started to drag a bit in the middle; there’s only so much you can do with the concept of a grieving woman seeing and taking care of a ghost fish. but either way, this is an astounding debut from pennebaker, and i’m looking forward to future novels from her.

thank you to little, brown and company for an ARC of this novel provided through netgalley!

This remarkable book brought me to tears. I won’t describe the story, which is so beautiful and so beautifully written that another reader must experience it for themself. In a nutshell, it’s a rumination and meditation on grieving, surviving, and ultimately thriving. And a young woman who realizes that she is not alone and how wonderful it is to be cherished.

Ten huge stars. Stuart Pennebaker has written a beautiful novel. I hope she writes more, because I would gobble them up.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the pleasure and privilege of reading this advance reader’s copy.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me. The writing style was just not for me. It was overly descriptive and flowery. I got bored and it just felt overly wordy to me.

I really just couldn’t get into this one. I hope others love it.

Ghost Fish captured my attention right away. I felt the grief come off the page as we meet the main character for the first time. I could also feel her bravery through Stuart's well-crafted words. When it comes time to introduce the Ghost Fish, I was ready for the turn the story took. I thought the book reminded me of Shark Heart, and I loved that title. I think this will be an excellent book club choice. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.