Ghost Fish - by Stuart Pennebaker (Paperback)

About the Book

"Alison is mired in loneliness and grief. Freshly twenty-three and mourning the loss of her younger sister, who has drowned at sea, she's moved out of her hometown and into a cramped apartment on New York's Lower East Side. Now she's living the clichâe, barely making rent as a restaurant hostess and avoiding her roommates, while watching the bright, busy passersby from her bubble of grief. She doesn't need originality; she just needs to be alive. Then, late one night, she rounds the corner and sees a shape in the air -- a ghost. And how strange, it looks like a fish. What is it? Alison knows, without hesitation: it is her beloved sister, finally returned to her side. Safe in a pickle jar filled with water, the ghost fish goes wherever Alison does: in an alcove at the restaurant; in a tote bag on the subway; in her room at night as her roommates chatter outside. She knows she has to keep her safe from the world, the way she didn't before. She knows that, together, they will never be lonely again. But as Alison's new life in New York begins to grow, and as she navigates the murky waters of dating, friendship, and desire, she must ask: what if her sister is keeping her away from a life outwardly lived?"--

Book Synopsis

Shortlisted for the 2026 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

"A pitch-perfect portrayal of the chaos and heartbreak of sisterhood." --Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Beautyland

A tender coming-of-age novel about a young woman haunted by her sister's death, who starts to believe that her beloved sibling has returned to her--in the form of a ghost fish, for fans of Sweetbitter and Our Wives Under the Sea.

Alison is mired in loneliness and grief. Freshly twenty-three and mourning the loss of her younger sister, who has drowned at sea, she's moved out of her hometown and into a cramped apartment on New York's Lower East Side. Now she's living the cliché, barely making rent as a restaurant hostess and avoiding her roommates, while watching the bright, busy passersby from her bubble of grief. She doesn't need originality; she just needs to be alive.

Then, late one night, she rounds the corner and sees a shape in the air--a ghost. And how strange, it looks like a fish. What is it? Alison knows, without hesitation: it is her beloved sister, finally returned to her side. Safe in a pickle jar filled with water, the ghost fish goes wherever Alison does: in an alcove at the restaurant; in a tote bag on the subway; in her room at night as her roommates chatter outside. She knows she has to keep her safe from the world, the way she didn't before. She knows that, together, they will never be lonely again. But as Alison's new life in New York begins to grow, and as she navigates the murky waters of dating, friendship, and desire, she must ask: what if her sister is keeping her away from a life outwardly lived?

With tenderness and heart, stretching from New York City to Key West, Ghost Fish is a meditation on grief and loneliness, and the strange, kaleidoscopic ways we help ourselves--and those we love--through them.

Review Quotes

"Pennebaker debuts with a haunting and memorable novel...Alison's wry voice carries the book, taking readers along with her and her ghost fish. Pennebaker's compelling prose and unique concept will draw readers of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures (2022) and Emily Habeck's Shark Heart (2023)."--Booklist (starred review)

"Alison is twenty-three and alone in the world. One night she is visited by a ghost in the shape of a fish that bears an uncanny yet unmistakable resemblance to her dead sister. Thus begins Alison's deeply moving, often hilarious--and ultimately life-affirming--journey to confront her grief while also figuring out how to rejoin the land of the living. Stuart Pennebaker's debut is full of tenderness and deep feeling. I loved it."--Laura van den Berg, author of State of Paradise

"For all those wistful fresh-eyed girls trying to find their way in that big rotten apple, Stuart Pennebaker has written the anthem! Ghost Fish demands your utmost empathy as we follow Alison in the city of dreams, a newbie restaurant hostess and lonely heart navigating sketchy dates and striving for reinvention. All while her reincarnated sister-fish shakes her fin! I devoured this whole book in a weekend. It is spooky, heartfelt, tender, and above all, never afraid to go there."--Sidik Fofana, author of Stories from the Tenants Downstairs

"A gorgeous, heartfelt story about a floundering girl trying to start over and the loss that won't let her go. Brimming with hope and yearning, along with a sly dose of absurd charm, Ghost Fish manifests a truly original haunting to lead us gently and lovingly through Alison's grief."--Kerry Cullen, author of House of Beth

"Ghost Fish is a luminous novel of grief, sisterhood, and the necessary magic we need in order to bridge loss and healing. Stuart Pennebaker has written a shimmering, otherworldly exploration of love that persists beyond the boundaries of life and death. A dazzling, original debut that will leave you forever changed."--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot

"An otherworldly exploration of siblinghood, grief, and loneliness, Ghost Fish reminds us there is nothing stranger--or more human--than loss. This book will hang around like a specter, long after you've put it down."--C. Michelle Lindley, author of The Nude

"A refreshingly playful take on magic realism, Ghost Fish turns the idea of a grief novel on its head. With wry humor and real feeling, this wise new writer shows the lengths we'll go to in order to cling to those we love. A pitch perfect portrayal of the chaos and heartbreak of sisterhood."--Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Beautyland

About the Author

Stuart Pennebaker (she/her) is a writer and former bookseller raised in South Carolina. She now lives in the East Village where she works and teaches for Gotham Writers Workshop. Ghost Fish is her first novel.