The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Cowley Heller, Miranda. The Paper Palace. Riverhead Books, July 6, 2021. Kindle.

In the romance novel The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, Eleanor “Elle” Bishop looks forward to spending each summer at a camp named The Paper Palace. The camp was built by her grandfather. When Elle was 11 years old, she met Jonas, a boy who had a lasting impact on her life. Years later, when both Elle and Jonas are married to other people, they have sex with each other, an act that Elle believed was inevitable. As a result, Elle must decide if she wants to stay with Peter, the man who has been her supportive spouse for years or if she wants to leave Peter for Jonas, the man she has always loved.

In the course of Elle’s narration, she describes the family history of her grandmother, who had several husbands during her lifetime. Wallace, Elle's mother, followed in her own mother’s footsteps with several failed relationships. When Wallace was a child, one of her mother’s husbands made her give him oral sex. When Wallace’s mother found out what was happening, she slapped Wallace. Interestingly, Wallace lost her respect for women from this experience, but she remained respectful of men. Elle’s father, Henry, additionally had several failed relationships. He allowed his female friends to demand that he alienate himself from his daughters.

Elle and Jonas share a secret they swore not to tell anyone. The summer that Elle was 15 years old, her step-brother, Conrad raped her. Elle told Jonas. She did not tell anyone else what had happened because she did not want to tear her family apart. Jonas made a promise to Elle that Conrad would not hurt her again. The next day, Elle and Jonas went sailing with Conrad. As Jonas was preparing to turn the boat around, he warned Conrad to sit down so he would not be hit by the boom. Conrad did not obey Jonas and was thrown into the water when the boom hit him. Jonas and Elle did not throw him a life preserver. Conrad, who was not a good swimmer, drowned. The adults never knew that Conrad’s death was intentional. Elle decided that breaking off the relationship with Jonas was her punishment for not saving Conrad.

In the present, Elle pays a visit to Conrad’s sister, Rosemary. Rosemary tells Elle that Conrad raped her every night during the summer that he stayed with her and their mother. Rosemary told Elle that she prayed to God that Conrad would die. She told Elle that she believed Elle was the answer to her prayers. Elle believed Rosemary’s admission granted her and Jonas absolution for Conrad’s death. Elle believed it gave her permission to pursue a relationship with Jonas.

In the final scene, Elle puts her wedding ring on the railing of the porch. She squeezes it in her hand for the last time before she goes to take her swim. Elle has considered suicide and drowning multiple times in the novel, considerations that suggest Elle has three options. She can cheat on Peter with Jonas; she can leave Peter for Jonas; or she can die by suicide. Committing suicide would be a sign that she is refusing to make a decision between cheating or leaving. The novel ends in a way that makes the reader unsure of Elle's decision.