Ghost Town

by Tom Perrotta

From New York Times bestselling author Tom Perrotta, hailed by critics as “the Steinbeck of Suburbia” (Time), “our Balzac of the burbs” (Chicago Sun-Times), and “an American Chekhov” (The New York Times), comes a gripping and darkly nostalgic tale about a tumultuous summer in 1970s suburban New Jersey, from the perspective of a middle-aged writer, looking back on a series of events that changed his life—and the story he finally has the courage to tell.

Jimmy Perrini lives in 1970s suburban New Jersey, a few miles from Manhattan, but a world apart. At the end of eighth grade, after tragedy strikes, Jimmy finds himself lost in a fog of grief that alienates him from friends and family, drifting instead into troubling friendships with two older one a notorious local burnout with a fast car, an endless supply of weed, and a shaky grasp of reality; the other a smart, eccentric girl, whom Jimmy finds himself drawn to as they become entranced by her Ouija board, which may just offer the only salve to their grief.

As a fateful public drama unfolds, Jimmy is torn between the occult beyond and the cold realities of the place he has called home. Narrated by a much older Jimmy, a literary-turned-commercial novelist, Ghost Town reveals how the past haunts the present—the way our ghosts are always with us, even when we think we’ve left them behind.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming Of Age, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Grief, Family

Hardcover

First published April 28, 2026

About the author

Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of nine works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning HBO series. His work has been translated into a multitude of languages. Perrotta grew up in New Jersey and lives outside of Boston.

Reviews

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 9th book of Tom Perrotta's that I've read. It is safe to say that I consider myself a fan of his, especially since I have been consistently reading his work for a quarter of a century now.

I was very excited to be able to get my hands on this novel, especially since it is September of 2025 and the book doesn't even come out for another eight months! I've never been granted access to an ARC before, so this was a fun experience for me.

I wish I had liked this book more, however. Tonally and content wise, this novel seems to have a lot in common with Perrotta's first ever publication, his linked short story collection "Bad Haircut" set in 1970s suburban New Jersey. "Ghost Town" is also set in the same decade, specifically the summer of 1974, in the fictional Creamwood, NJ. It centers Jimmy, a 13 year old who just finished middle school, as he finds his footing in the immediate aftermath of having lost his mother. Aimless, his father and sister absorbed by their own grief and coping on their own, Jimmy tries to make sense of his loss while navigating his own adolescence, heartbreak, new friendships, while looking for his mother's guidance, not wanting to lose sight of or forget her.

While there are elements of Perrotta's greatest strengths in this novel, and hints of the things that have made me love his works in the past, I couldn't help but feel like something was amiss, that the novel was underbaked, and the elements present just didn't come together in a satisfying way. We have hints of a ghost story that remains on the margins of the narrative, as though Perrotta doesn't quite know how to work it all in. We have a story that flirts with wanting to tackle race and segregation but with a timidity that even results in the novel going out of its way to censor itself as though Perrotta feels fully aware that he is not the best candidate to deal with these thematics, and yet a skeleton of the story remains imprinted on the final draft. And we have a coming of age novel with a passive protagonist who is coasting through his experiences, whose memory and impressions are unreliable and frustratingly superficial.

It's a bit of a step back for a writer who has consistently been able to imagine a dark underbelly to pristine suburban living, like a modern day Richard Yates, who has tackled fascinating stories in the past, but who seems to be in a bit of a rut, creatively speaking. It's still a very readable novel that I finished quite quickly, and I don't think it was a waste of time. I just feel like I read a very early draft of something nascent, and not the final version that is about to be published. It's a weird little tale and it doesn't really work, but could have, with a few more passes and a little more courage to lean into the uncomfortable instead of going out of its way to avoid doing so.

[Seawitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished a book with a spiritualist theme so imagine my surprise to pick up another story where someone is trying to contact the spirits of deceased loved ones. It’s interesting how book themes sometimes come in groups. In this one the ouija board makes a cameo with unexpected results.

I had a soft spot for this whole story as it’s set in the 1970s in New Jersey. I grew up there and was about the same age as the protagonist. Seaside, the Garden State Arts Center, Drew University, Rutgers (my Alma Mater) driving past Rahway Prison, Lavallette!!, Menlo Park Mall where I shopped for clothes with my mother at Bambergers… these were the places that were part of my own story. Including the ouija board which was quite popular at sleepovers in those days.

Tom Perrotta must be a Jersey Boy to get all that so right. He also gives a very accurate portrayal of race and the divides at that time.

It’s hard to imagine a boy experiencing what this one did and then finding his way to Princeton and beyond, but if I think about attachment theory he had very secure roots in his loving family. So, maybe?

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My first 5🌟 read for 2026.

I loved Tom Perrotta's Ghost Town. As a reader, I loved how Perrotta blended the unusual combination and nostalga and the supernatural.
I've read homecoming stories that lead back to the hero's adolescence so I thought I correctly predicted certain plot points, but I was dead wrong especially at the story's end. I'm a certified Jersey boy so the references to places such as Menlo Park Mall, spots such as Wildwood, NJ, and The Star Ledger newspaper brought back my own memories growing up in Jersey. I'm thrilled that Tom Perrotta has returned after a decade that solidfies himself as a standout among the current crop authors from the Garden State.

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you so much NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for a review.
I’ll start with what I liked: I finished this book very fast, it read smoothly and kept me engaged.
What I didn’t like: while I was engaged, I kept thinking something more was going to happen and felt a little let down. The characters weren’t all that great. I did have empathy for Jimmy but other than that, no real development that I was invested in. The biggest reason I gave this book the rating I did, I could not do the forced modern day politics thrown in, it was ridiculous, along with a few other elements that turned me off. Overall, this book didn’t give me a positive reaction upon finishing it.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb for this book made it sound a lot more interesting than it really is. Actually, it is a very tepid and shallow coming-of-age story about a young boy whose mother dies at the beginning of the book. Nothing much happens after that until the end of the book when someone else dies. There are also a few chapters dealing with the young boy as an adult author. Those chapters were mostly unnecessary. The book isn’t awful, and it is very short, but I do not recommend this book. 2.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Scott Baxter]

I will just say up front that I was disappointed with this book. I enjoyed Perrotta’s Mrs Fletcher — although I am deeply disappointed that the people at Warner Discovery pulled the miniseries from the Max streaming service before I had a chance to watch it — I enjoyed Perrotta’s story anthology Nine Inches, and the HBO series The Leftovers based on Perrotta’s novel was a discussion worthy show. But I kept waiting for a reason why this book needs to exist as I read and grew increasingly irritated as I failed to find one.

The story is narrated by Jimmy, a man in his fifties, remembering one summer in the 1970s when he was a young teenager in the suburbs of Northern New Jersey. The story is about the transition from childhood to becoming an adult. As the narrator says:

“When you’re thirteen, you don’t know what to think or who to believe. You’re just beginning to realize that adults aren’t as smart as you thought they were, and a lot of things that had been presented to you as facts your entire life are really just opinions or wishes or half-baked theories, like the idea that dead people go to heaven” (location 894).

The basic plot goes something like the following. Jimmy’s mother has recently died and, with the help of his friends — his father and sister are hardly ever at home — he discovers marijuana and the ouija board.

Honestly, I found neither a compelling story nor much humor in this book.

At least in my opinion, it would be better to read one of Perrotta’s other books like The Leftovers, Mrs. Fletcher, or Election. Alternatively, one could find a copy of Stephen King’s collection Different Seasons and read “The Body” or watch the movie version called Stand By Me. That is a coming of age tale with a compelling plot and humor.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Scheduled for publication in the US 28 April 2026

epub. 288 pgs. 19 September 2025

[Janereads10 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect coming into this book, but it kept me glued.

Jimmy's voice hooked me—vulnerable and innocent. The story followed his eighth-grade summer in 1970s suburban New Jersey, a summer rife with tragedy that haunted him into the present. Narrated by an older Jimmy looking back, the way he processed his grief felt genuine to his age.

The 70s backdrop felt true to the era. Jimmy's journey—from troubling friendships with a local burnout and an eccentric girl entranced by her Ouija board to facing what happened—felt honest throughout.

The ending felt freeing. Going back home and confronting what happened in the past allowed Jimmy to finally face his grief, fears, and suspicions.

Perrotta captures grief through a young voice with devastating authenticity.

Thanks to Scribner for the advance copy.

[Patrick Casebeer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this as an ARC and was happy to be able to read it. The story, while it did have a good main character, just lacked the draw to make me really enjoy it.

It’s a good enough story, but felt undeveloped and none of the character had the depth I wanted.

The story also veered into an uncomfortable area of inappropriate relationships with minors and although it never went there it just felt odd and weird.

I’ve not read the author’s works before and I’d love to try another book to see how his other works are, but as for this one, it wasn’t the best.

[Katherine Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

He has the lightest touch even when telling the most heartbreaking story. This was such a good one

[Stuart Rosen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels to me like a departure for Tom Perrotta, all of whose books I've read and enjoyed. Unlike most of his books which feel very contemporary, this is a memory piece of a young teenager's summer in suburban New Jersey. While enormously consequential things happen to him, the book is more focused on the aimlessness of that time - the dirtbag he befriends, the awkward sexual fumbling, the awareness of unvarnished racism in his town, the sudden unspoken loss of friends and the detachment he feels from everyone around him.

It's a precise, sad book, but (as always) Perrotta's eye is true. He's never been enamored with suburbia, though it's the setting for virtually all his books, and this book may not change that, but there's a glimmering of affection for a time that's long gone, with a gratefulness that it's gone as well.

Don't read this for a barreling plot; there is none. But if you want to sink into a sad, wistful, elegiac and always emotionally true novel, grab onto this book.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the advance reviewer's copy.

[Gary Branson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addictive reading experience. Did not want to put it down. Highly recommended.

[Aimee Dars · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1970s New Jersey, during a championship baseball game, thirteen-year-old Jimmy’s unfamiliar older cousin Wayne comes to pick him up with devastating news: Jimmy’s mother has just succumbed to her two-year fight with lung cancer. Though his older sister Denise has been more aware of their mother’s perilous state of health, when she was diagnosed and told Jimmy she wasn’t going anywhere, he believed her, and her death wrecks him.

Years later, now a successful writer, he is invited to his hometown for a ceremony and reading, and the summer after his mother’s death—what had been lost to his memory—roils to the surface. With an insurmountable grief separating him from his friends and the other kids his age, he finds himself entranced by outcast Eddie who roams this town in a Chevy Vega passed down from his uncle and orbiting the brilliant Olivia who introduces him to the occult and the possibility of contacting his mother in the beyond. He also observes the conflicts over the Vietnam War and the simmering racial tensions over Wayne’s wife, Nilda, who may not be Black but is definitely not white.

I am a fan of coming-of-age stories, like GHOST TOWN, and the book had so many aspects I enjoyed including a very 1970s soundtrack, wrestling with grief, teenagers testing limits, and outstanding characterization and writing. When Jimmy’s mother died, his father’s life fell apart, and he couldn’t pull himself together to help Denise or Jimmy whose lives were falling apart, too. With everything that happened that summer, it’s understandable that Jimmy suppressed it, but he also realized that at some point, he would have to remember the past to become whole.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the author’s writing style, and his mix of nostalgia and sarcasm always draws me into the story, while the splash of the supernatural in the narrative keeps you on your toes.

You never know what you’re going to get.

“At least that’s how he remembered it, though he also knew how slippery and unreliable memory could be, how it was always partly a work of fiction, a product of imagination and denial and wishful thinking, and often no better than an outright lie, even when you believed yourself to be telling nothing but the truth.”

“It was the annual paradox of summer, the way the days took their sweet time, and the season passed so quickly.”

Three and a half stars.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of Ghost Town from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Tom Perrotta is always a good choice, and this one was a quick, enjoyable read. A coming of age story, Jimmy is spending his summer vacation trying to figure out his life after losing his mother to cancer earlier that year. He ends up making bad choices, hanging out with some sketchy characters, as well as a girl with a Ouija board who wants to help him talk to his mom. The grown-up Jimmy, who is a successful author, narrates the story. There was one chapter in the middle of the story when grown-up Jimmy interjects something about his adult self, which, for me, interrupted the flow of the narrative. But that is my only complaint. The author captures growing up in the 1970s perfectly, and despite the heavy topic, I found this one to be an enjoyable read.

[Anna Meaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghost Town follows writer Jay Perry after he is invited to come back to his hometown to celebrate a mural in honor of his father. Most of the narrative takes place in 1970s New Jersey as Jay (Jimmy at the time) reminisces on the summer his mother died.

This is definitely a book driven by atmosphere. Jimmy goes for late night drives with an older boy, volunteers at a summer camp, falls in love with the smartest girl in town, and navigates life without his mother.

I loved The Leftovers but haven’t read anything else by Tom Perrotta. He has an easy, readable style. The writing reminded me a little bit of a combination of Paul Murray and Kevin Wilson. This book honestly could have been classified as a YA novel, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Jimmy was an easy character to root for, and I felt like his internal struggle to understand his place in his neighborhood was convincing. A lot of this book is about grief, but it’s also about racism. The parts about grief I found really moving, but I was less convinced by the racism aspects.

A melancholy covers the whole narrative as Jimmy is constantly forced to evaluate his relationships in the wake of his loss. At the same time, there are moments that are genuinely funny and every side character gets their moment to shine. I did feel like the women in the book were significantly less developed.

I gave 3 stars because I didn’t feel like the sections taking place in the present justified themselves. This was such a short book, and I could have done either with way more taking place in the present or nothing at all. I also wished that there had been a little more about ghosts. I felt like what was there tied into the overall narrative but there was so little of it (just the Ouija board once and the feeling of being watched in the car) and it could have been amped up. I also felt like the book was a 4 star read until the last chapter where the plot really goes off the rails in a way I found so irritating.

[Elida Liederbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC and book out April 26. Tom Perrotta gives us Jimmy a young boy losing his mom to cancer and based on the grief of his father,who throws himself at work, Jimmy is alone to deal with emotions alone. But this story is Jimmy as an adult giving us both the adult and child’s point of views of what occurred in Creamwood that summer that changes a boy forever. That saying “you can never go back”, well sometimes you stuck in what occurred that you’ve never left. Ghost Town is a perfect title for a young boy alone dealing with to many emotions. Enjoyed!

[Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75✨✨✨

Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta is a quiet, reflective story about grief and growing up too quickly after the loss of a loved one.

The novel follows a boy trying to make sense of life after a tragic event, while also attempting to still be a “normal” teenager. What I found especially moving was how honestly it portrays grief at a young age. How loss forces maturity onto someone before they’re ready, to the point where they no longer relate to the interests or concerns of other kids their age. The story captures that strange in-between feeling of wanting to hold onto childhood while also being painfully aware that things will never fully feel the same again.

Rather than being overwhelmingly emotional, the sadness in this book feels quieter and more casual, which somehow makes it feel even more real. The memories shared can seem random at times, but that actually mirrors how memory works. How years later, it’s often the smallest and strangest moments that stay with you the most clearly. It reads like someone honestly trying to piece together a heartbreaking summer, from the death of a loved one through another tragedy by the end of it all.

The short chapters make it incredibly easy to move through, and the structure almost feels like a memoir made up of small memories and moments that slowly connect into one larger emotional picture. Overall, it’s a simple but thoughtful novel that left me reflecting long after I finished it.

[Jason Conrad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Go girl, give us nothing! This was such a disappointment. The blurb sounded so good, and now that I’ve finished the book, I feel lied to. It didn’t deliver on the ghost portion of the story, which maybe took up all of 10-15 pages of the whole book. The ending was so DUMB.

We get some cursory nods to topics that deserve far more attention than they’re given. You know, like racial politics of the 70’s.

The main character is just so utterly forgettable. I felt no connection to him or his bland personality. His homecoming was anticlimactic and meaningless.

Speaking of characters, none of them were particularly likeable — and in the grand scheme, none of them brought much to the story. A shitty “best friend.” A shitty sister. Shitty supporting characters so devoid of any kind of defining traits that I’ve already forgotten some of their names.

Also, can we just take a moment to point out that Olivia was flat-out kissing and groping a 13-year-old without his consent?

Overall, it felt rushed and unfinished, like I was reading a first draft.

[Toni Laliberte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - I think this book would be perfect for a young guy. It's not that I didn't like it, it's just not my type of book. It's about a thirteen year old boy, in a small town in New Jersey, during the summer after eighth grade, and is also briefly about him as an adult forty years later when he returns to his hometown for the first time since that fateful summer. There were a few things that bothered me in the book and I think that turned me off a bit. Overall, it is a tale of nostalgia and is about Jimmy and his family and childhood, and the ghosts that haunted him then and the ones that still do. (I received this free copy from a giveaway here on Goodreads)

[Nick Otte]

An exceedingly tender book from an author I know (and admire) for being exceedingly biting. Tom is one of those patient novelists - a careful plotter and unshowy stylist - whose work rarely dazzles from page to page but whose books always manage to convey something bigger than the sum of their parts. That was true here, and I was glad I read it, but it doesn’t have quite the sidelong stare into the darkness within us or the moral tightrope balancing that his greatest works do. Works that are just as patient and kind, but look much more directly at the ugliest and most fragile parts of ourselves that we (barely) hide just beneath the surface. That’s a subjective view, and I might just be feeling a generational divide on this one, and maybe when I’m a little older and a little more prone to my own nostalgic thinking this will resonate with me more. Either way, reading a Perrotta book for me always means bearing witness to incredible patience and restraint and trust in one’s story, and I increasingly feel these to be the virtues I most desire to possess in my own writing. I dont think I’ll come back to this one the way I have to Little Children or Election or my beloved Leftovers, but it is still great to see one of my very best teachers at work, and to spend a week in the company of his unique and necessary perspective on storytelling and the quieter, fading but somehow eternal pockets of American living.

[Mary Lins · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Ghost” by Tom Perrotta is going on my 2026 Top Ten list for sure! Propulsive, suspenseful, gripping, and full of 1970s nostalgia.

Jimmy Perrini, now a moderately successful writer, is looking back on the summer of 1974 when he was 14 years old and had just lost his mother. In his grief, his father all but ignores Jimmy and his older sister, leaving Jimmy on his own, where he makes several fateful friendships that profoundly change the course of several lives, including his own.

This coming-of-age novel asks how past trauma lives on, and what it takes to confront it.

[Scott Lovelace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was classic Perrotta. A look back to the 1970’s through the eyes of author Jimmy Perrin. Loss, grief, friendship, acceptance are just a few of the ideas explored. Reeling from the death of his mother, Jimmy befriends two people who couldn’t be more different, one a stoner, one a girl from the local summer camp. The majority of the story takes place over the summer of the friendship. This was an exceptionally engaging story, very grounded.

[Alex Littler · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up. I always love Tom Perrotta’s books. This is not my favorite of his (probably middle of the pack compared to his others), but I still really liked it. Went super fast, and even though there wasn’t necessarily a ton of thrilling plot, I was still invested in the characters and had a good time reading this.

[Matthew Harby Conforti · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/ Sharp character portrait told mostly in flashback to the narrator's youth. Dripping in 1970s nostalgia and steeped in the typical themes of that time period. I enjoyed it and thought it was a bit more subdued for Perrotta, definitely interior as a whole. The interiority of Jimmy felt very true and genuine and I liked the adult portions, may have even wanted some more of them.

[sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a page turner and kept me engaged. however i thought there were way too many loose ends, as well as generally undeveloped bits and pieces. every time i thought he’d go deeper into something i wasn’t right.

[Allison Renner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this was a Kevin Wilson idea written by Tom Perrotta. I always love a new Perrotta book, so it was satisfying from that angle, but I feel like the weirdness and drama could have been pushed a bit more. Overall, I think there wasn’t much to the story, it was pretty character-driven, but we also weren’t allowed to get too close to the character, so I feel like this was kind of a jumping-off point for my imagination to do the rest and make it more interesting.

[Linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

[Katie Gray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really try to have thoughts written about most books I read but truly no thoughts on this one unforch

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly disappointing.

[Sandra Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, my first e-book. A coming of age story from a man looking back on his teenage years I’m NJ in the 1970s. Reading of the angst that was so familiar coupled with the tragedies in his life made this an enjoyable read.