A thrilling novel! I very much enjoyed the intrigue and twists of this tale woven by Acampora. I love twisted friendships and dark pasts, and The Paper Wasp did not disappoint! It was also the perfect length. I wasn't left wanting more, and the just under 300 pages didn't drag or get bogged down at all.

3 for neutral. I was so excited to get this book, but every time I tried to get into it I was not able to. I felt it was just a bit too confusing and didn’t grab my attention. I will update later if able to read and enjoy.

So even after one month, I am still not sure I can review this book because simply put, I just don't know how! Like I said before, this book is definitely different, interesting and disturbing. I really liked the writing and the story, while you read it, is easy to follow except that you just can't pinpoint what hit you once you are done reading the book.

The cover picture is gorgeous and the title is perfectly apt for the book and deserve their own star. This is the author's debut book and all I can say is I am perfectly game for reading more of her work in the future.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Grove Press and the author Lauren Acampora for providing me with an e-ARC of the book to read and review.

The plot of this novel was confusing to me. I'm not sure if it's my fault as a reader for not understanding what the storytelling was trying to convey, or whether the characters and ideas weren't presented in a way to help me understand what was trying to be communicated through the narrative.

The main character Abby carries the weight of this novel, but I feel like we don't know enough about her to really understand what's going on inside her brain. I don't mean that we need to have her reveal plot points, but it would be nice to know more about her than just a cursory thumb nail sketch.

The novel was neither thrilling or unpredictable, it was just unfulfilling.

I loved this Lynchian, perfectly written book. The Paper Wasp is philosophical, exploring themes of dangerous passion, control (of the self, of one's destiny, of others), creativity, and lucid dreaming while maintaining the propulsive narrative surrounding a Hollywood starlet and her obsessed childhood friend turned watchful assistant.

The Paper Wasp is an intense thriller and you might need to get your shoulders massaged after reading this one! Lauren Acampora tells the story of a dark friendship of two women. Twisted, ambition and jealously drive Abby to the brink. Set in the backdrop of Hollywood, obsession for perfection drives lots of people but in Abby she's prepared at no cost to twist her friendship with her childhood friend, and now a rising star, Elise.

Another book about twisted or obsessive friendship! I'm starting to notice a trend. Loner Abby never lived up to her potential and is fixated on her friend, Elise who made it in Hollywood. It's quite a page-turner when Abby inserts herself into Elise's life after reuniting at the school reunion (all the more reason not to attend one!) and chaos insues. A fun read and well-written to boot.

I enjoyed this, but also it was sort of a mess. It was a lot weirder and less thriller-y than the blurb suggests – if you're expecting a Single White Female-esque story, you won't get it. It has some weird plot strands (a hippyish cult institute, a trendy film director) that don't really go anywhere but were also my favourite things about the book. I wish it had focused more heavily on that and less on making the protagonist an obsessive weirdo, because that gets a bit one-note after a while. The prose was lovely though, and I'll read Acampora's next book.

Enjoyed this read. Not the best but not the worst.

Thanks netgalley for the opportunity to review this title

This book tells the story of Abby and Elise, friends from high school who have become estranged in adulthood. Abby has admired Elise's great success from afar, but when they meet again at their 10 year high school reunion, Abby takes it upon herself to insert herself into Elise's life, to try and match her level of success.

I was greatly anticipating this book, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me. I wasn't a fan of the writing, and the characters just didn't quite click. I have seen other reviews in which readers clearly loved this book, so hopefully this will work for most other readers!

I'm not really sure what genre I would classify this as, but it was enjoyable for the most part, and really intriguing. I had no idea where it was going, so I like that it kept me on my toes. Essentially, I had no idea what the protagonist was up to until the very end of the book, and I was happy that I didn't figure it out early on.

There's something really unsettling about this book in a great way. The narrative perspective (first/second person) combined with the eerie plot where you legit don't know what will happen is all sorts of uncomfortable and creative.

That said, I didn't love this book. I'd give it 3.5 stars, but rounding down because while it was good, it wasn't totally gripping (it took me over a month to finish it because I did get distracted, so I can't rate it higher because it didn't hold my attention enough to prioritize it over everything else I was reading).

This was a great book! Great story and easy to read and follow along. I enjoy reading books for new authors and it exciting to find new books! I loved the characters and the story and had no trouble getting absorbed into the book. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing me with Lauren Acampora’s novel, The Paper Wasp, in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and Elise were childhood best friends raised in a small town in Michigan. They began to grow apart when as a teenager, Elise became involved in acting and her career took off.

Flash-Forward to their late 20’s: Elise is an actress living in Hollywood, while Abby is stuck in their small town, a college dropout. She is working retail and dreaming of a career in the film industry. Abby obsesses over Elise, saving every magazine article that features her former friend. The two women reconnect, when they both attend their high school reunion. Following the reunion, Abby decides to run off to Hollywood, showing up on Elise’s doorstep. Elise, takes Abby in for an extended stay, treating Abby to a taste of her lavish lifestyle. Soon, the boundaries of their relationship are blurred, when Abby accepts a job being Elise’s personal assistant. The situation is further strained by Abby’s growing ambition, a ticking time-bomb that is ready to explode.

I absolutely loved The Paper Wasp. Acampora is a masterful writer, combing gorgeous prose with complex characters. I could not put The Paper Wasp down and plowed through it in a single afternoon.

I’m a Los Angeles native and I found the way that Acampora captured the city to be perfect. There is a wonderful moment where Elise drives Abby through Hollywood for the first time, noting its lackluster, dingy atmosphere, which is a strong contrast both Abby’s perceived image of Hollywood and to Elise’s glamorous lifestyle. Elise takes meditation classes at an exclusive institute and although I’m not sure of a real-life counterpart, it is certainly something that exists in Los Angeles. It has strange, ethereal quality, but is also is a bit of a cult. I could easily imagine the type of fellow Angeleno’s, not only celebrities, who would have a membership to this type of club. One of the more memorable aspects of the institution, is their crazy costume parties, where members come dressed as images from their dreams. It’s strange and magical, with a hint of a nightmarish quality; akin to a scene from Alice in Wonderland.

There is another contrast, when Abby travels back to Michigan to see her sister. Her sister is a drug addict, who has recently had a baby daughter. Abby visits her sister and niece, seeing that they live in a filthy trailer barely able to make ends meet. Abby’s heart tells her to kidnap her niece and save her from the poverty and neglect, but she can’t act on it.

Abby’s obsession with Elise creates a tension throughout the story. In the start, she appears to be a bit of a stalker, but then as we see the dynamic between the two women, it is clearer that Abby is more concerned with the lack of direction that her life has taken. She is envious of Elise, who doesn’t seem to deserve her lucky breaks. Rather than wishing to be Elise, Abby thinks that she is more deserving or at least, if she were to have a good opportunity, she would know how to make the most of it. We learn that Abby has been carrying around a terrible secret that is making her more motivate to take risks in life. Abby becomes emboldened throughout the story, making her actions increasing erratic, creating a sense of danger.

When Abby is confronted with the real Elise, not the Elise from the magazine articles, she realizes that her friend lacks self-confidence. Elise lives a messy life. This sets up a social commentary on how we view celebrity, or even ordinary people, via carefully curated social media accounts. Abby couldn’t imagine the real Elise, because she was so caught-up in the fake, media version. Not only that, Abby spent a decade so hyper-focused on this fake Elise, that when she was confronted with the truth, her world cracked open.

The Paper Wasp is my current favorite read of 2019. I was hooked from the first page and cannot wait to read Acampora’s collection of short stories, The Wonder Garden. She is such a talented writer.

A quirky novel about childhood friends getting reacquainted after a 10 year high school reunion. One of the friends, Elise, is a Hollywood starlet. The other friend,Abby, draws her sometimes lucid dreams and is dedicated to the cult like organization that seems like a Church of Scientology. Hints of ominous obsession and neediness build the tension to a somewhat predictable end. An author to watch.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

I remember when I first requested this on Netgalley. I was so intrigued and pumped when I got approved for it. However, this all changed once I started reading it. I don't think it's necessarily a bad book at any standards. It's really well written, I just struggled to connect to the characters and be intrigued and attached to the story line. I truly understand why so many people on Goodreads love this book, and I wish I did love it too.

Abby, a 28 year old woman, who is art obsessed, a university art drop out, now turned grocery cashier, but also obsessed with Elise, following Elise's every move by hoarding every magazine she's on the cover on. However, what an old friendship catching up at a high school reunion turns into is a friendship/manager and actress turns into a very toxic relationship.

I loved the plot and premise of the book. This is why I didn't DNF'd it in the end. I still liked the story line and this was the biggest positive for me. I loved the premise of the old friends re-connecting at a high school reunion and then moving across the country to completely change your life. I think I connected with this after losing contact with a friend from high school for a few years only to reconnect with her in the last year.

I just truly didn't connect with either of the characters. I did like the contrast between Abby and Elise, but that's as far as a positive I'll go for these two main characters. I found Abby to be a very confusing character. On the other hand, I just found Elise to be incredibly infuriating and way too shallow for my own liking. I didn't enjoy the story line of Abby becoming Elise's personal assistant and then Elise thinking she was levels above Abby.

Thank you very much to Grove Press for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Paper Wasp

This wasn't what I expected AT ALL. I thought it was going to be a psychological thriller, and there were definitely elements of that, but I'd categorise it as literary fiction first and foremost. It's beautifully written with wonderfully realised characters. The story centres on Abby, a small town girl going nowhere fast, who obsessively follows the stellar trajectory of her former best friend Elise's Hollywood career. When Elise shows up to a school reunion, the pair reconnect, and Abby finds herself moving to Hollywood to work as Elise's assistant. As Abby's obsession deepens and Elise's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, it become obvious that their relationship is both dysfunctional and heading for disaster. A finely written novel with characters who are both fascinating and flawed. A treat to read, and I'll be thinking about that ending for some time to come.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have to say this was an interesting and thought provoking book. The dream sequences were not my favorite but it does give you a glimpse into Abby’s mind. It is hard to know what is real and what isn’t with Abby. The writing style is beautiful and descriptive.
Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just didn't get this.

The main character is incredibly unlikable, flat and annoying. The plot was slow. The book itself probably could've been shorter had it not been for extraneous commentary that didn't further the plot.

Two stars for benefit of the doubt because I'm not sure if I was supposed to feel so strongly negative towards Abby or not.

Strange and dark and confusing with characters I didn't care about and a rather 'precious' way of writing. It showed promise but for me, didn't deliver.

A thoroughly average book. This novel is an English teacher’s wet dream, full of circling commentary that often makes very little sense and adds nothing to the overall plot.

The narrator was deeply unlikeable, while she started out as a fairly interesting character she quickly evolved into a bargain bin Joe from You. It is well-written, but in a self-satisfied ‘I’m so clever’ manner that very quickly becomes exhausting.

I very rarely DNF but at the halfway point in this book where almost nothing had happened, we came close. The redeeming quality was the genuinely surprising ending, but this definitely felt like a book to drag yourself through.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.