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Paper Girl 2025
Paper Girl is a 2025 non-fiction work by American writer Beth Macy. The book combines memoir and journalism as it traces Macy’s journey back to her childhood home in Urbana, Ohio. Growing up in poverty, Macy now seeks to understand how she has become politically estranged from family and friends who stayed in the town. She uses Urbana as a lens to examine broader issues affecting rural America and their role in national political division.
Macy approaches these topics with an open perspective, interviewing relatives and neighbors whose opinions often differ from her own, along with experts in relevant fields. She finds that while President Donald Trump’s policies have intensified current political rifts, the roots of this polarization extend much further back in time. Macy acknowledges that both Democrats and the left also bear responsibility for the situation.
The book received widespread critical acclaim. The Washington Post called it “there couldn’t be a timelier book.” Critics commended its blend of personal reflection and investigative reporting. Its portrayal of rural America was also contrasted with other recent works, especially JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. Former President Barack Obama included Paper Girl among his favorite reads of 2025, and the book was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography.
Details
- Publisher
- Penguin Press
- ISBN
- 9780593656730
- Pages
- 368
- Format
- Print, e-book
