loved it! very enjoyable. easy read. good story. would recommend to any! our book club had a lot to talk about fro this book. thanks

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Press for this ARC of The Paper Wasp. This was an interesting book to say the least. I didn’t love it, but the storyline was fast-paced enough to keep me hooked. This story follows the friendship between Abby and Elise. It more or less begins around the time of their high school reunion and takes off from there. There are snippets from the past when the girls were younger and had a closer friendship. Elise has become a successful actress and Abby followed her game from the tabloids, longing to have a close friendship once again. Their meeting at the reunion sets the stage for the story and it takes off from there. Abby is obsessed with Elise as well as looking to further her own agenda. I believe I’d recommend this book for those interested in the sometimes twisted psychology of friendship.

Could not read this.. Read first 50 pages and was so bored I could not read any more. Sorry. Good luck with your other reviews... If I go back to it will revise review

A quick, well-written read, with an intriguing if hard-to-like main character. It quickly got tedious how often things just went her way. She would take enormous leaps and everything just worked out with little to no consequences. An interesting story that was told well, but ultimately I just couldn't connect to any of the characters.

From the first chapter, the beautiful writing of this novel captured my attention. I love the descriptions, and was particularly struck by the preciseness of Acampora's portrayal of how emotion and passion affect the psyche and life choices. (This is the part where I give you some examples of the beautiful writing, but I read this within 48 hours, and didn't stop to mark notes like I should have. Maybe that is a testimony to how captivated I was by The Paper Wasp.)
This is a dark and restless novel. You know something is up with Abby, but you aren't sure her agenda, or her ultimate plan for herself and Elise. The two girls are childhood best friends until Elise becomes a Hollywood starlet and moves to L.A. Their friendship is rekindled, cursorily by Elise and pivotally by Abby, at a high school reunion, whereupon the plot begins to thicken. The story is written in the second person, like a letter to Elise from Abby. This is so interesting because Abby is telling the story of what happened in their lives and to their friendship, but her motives aren't clear. Even though Abby is narrating, as the reader, you don't always know what is fueling some of Abby's decisions and her path of volition. You do know she cannot abide being less than Elise's one and only, but at the same time, she's maddened by Elise's egotism and unwillingness to allow Abby to pursue her own success. Abby clearly has mental health issues that are never touched on in the book, that maybe she herself doesn't even recognize.
All of these meld together to create this work of complex, compelling literary fiction. If you like twisted, cryptic stories that deal with co-dependent obsession and manipulation, The Paper Wasp is a home run.

Thanks NetGalley & Grove Press for a chance to read this book in return for an honest review.

The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acampora is a look into the warped mind of Abby Graven, a solitary person obsessed with an old friend who has made it big in Hollywood. Told from Abby's perspective the book gives great insight into her mind and how it becomes warped by obsessive thoughts and her need to be her friends #1.

This book to me was a little weird but I did enjoy it. I loved the way it twisted and turned you within Abby's mind and how you could see how fake the Hollywood lifestyle was. Her infatuation with Elise was very interesting and her darkness in her mind kept me reading well into the night.

I would recommend this book to people who love manipulative or dark charaters and psychological thrillers.

The Paper Wasp is an intriguing book! It’s about Abby, her obsession with Elise, her thoughts, and her art. Abby is timid and feels unloved. Elise is a famous actress. Abby and Elise hook up again at a high school reunion. This is when Elise’s strange obsession begins. I liked this book. It is interesting and fast paced and kind of weird. I’ll be looking for more from this author. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Abby has stayed in her small home town, while her best friend, Elise, has gone to LA and become a star. They meet at their high school return and Abby then takes an unexpected trip to LA to rekindle the friendship.

Abby and Elise are both flawed characters whose motivations are hidden. Abby is quite a dark character, and the author made an interesting choice in not explicitly discussing her mental health, but there are clearly issues there that become more apparent as the book develops.

I was sucked into the world that this created and the dynamic between Abby and Elise is compelling throughout. Lauren Acampora has done a fantastic job at making unlikeable characters very readable.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy

If you like literary fiction and desperately flawed, manipulative and damaged characters, this is the book for you. Abby has been living a 9 to 5 life working at a local grocery while her best childhood friend went off to Hollywood as a child actor. They reunite in a booze fueled frenzy during a high school reunion and a half hearted invitation to come visit is exchanged. I suspect Abby suffers from some serious impulsivity issues and possible some other undiagnosed mental illnesses. This deranged woman begins a marionette dance from there with her best friend, seemingly pulling invisible strings and dancing in and out of shadows, making things happen exactly as she needs them to. It's a dark look at mental health and substance abuse, codependency, and manipulation, as well as a deep dive into the development of a main character. It was a dark read, but a good one.

"Paper Wasp: These stinging insects are semi-social creatures, as they typically live in small colonies but do not have a worker caste....their territoriality can lead to attacks on people, and because their stings are quite painful and can produce a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction in some individuals," Wikipedia

The novel is aptly named.

Two childhood bestfriends, one a Hollywood starlet the other a brilliant but mental college burnout reunite at their high school reunion. Neither character particularly likeable, yet so compelling.

Laura Acampora is quite talented. Beautiful writing, wonderful use of language, and an instinctual ability to engross the reader through a very uncomfortable story. Definitely an author to keep on your radar.

I received an ARC from publisher Grove Press and NetGalley. Thank you!

The first thing I'll say about this book is that it's not what I expected at all. I expected a more straight forward thriller but this one was slower paced and deeply psychological.

While the novel itself is quite wordy and sort of difficult to follow at times, I liked Acamporas style of writing very much, this was pretty much the only highlight for me.

Abby Graven is unsatisfied with her life and so she escapes into a dream state constantly and uses her skilled drawings as a way to get through her boring day to day. While at first I sympathised with Abby, as the story went on I felt more and more disquieted by the way she sees the world and her supposed 'best friend' Elise. When they reconnect after years of being apart, Abby takes this opportunity to try and regain her old connection with Elise.

A major theme within the book is friendship, but a severely twisted friendship for sure. Abby is basically obsessed with Elise and holds her up on a pedestal. But when Elise can't live up to her expectations, she gets increasingly bitter and angry. It's a very good portrayal of the darker side of a relationship and the lengths a person can go to in order to get what they want.

As well as Abby and Elise being the focal points of the story, there are a number of secondary characters which represent different things. As the novel is centered in LA, it is a study almost of contemporary Hollywood. Rafael - Elises on and off again boyfriend, is a high profile actor who has disturbing sexual fantasies and is a womaniser. Paul is a wannabe film maker, with whom Abby forms a really strange friendship. He wishes to make a film which will make a 'difference' but fails to see the desensitisation of the public to the immigrant plight he hopes to shed light on.

The ending of the book left me pretty unsatisfied and confused, I don't want to spoil it for anyone but it didn't feel realistic to me. It's definitely an ending which will be a bit polarising.

Overall, this is probably one of the strangest books I've read as of late, and one I can't see myself returning to unfortunately, hence the 2 star rating. I don't think this novel is for everyone but if you're a fan of psychological novels, with dark themes then this could be a good one for you.

Although I was drawn to this book because of the blurb, in the end, it wasn’t for me. This novel tells the story of the friendship and it’s demise of Abby and Elise through the eyes of Abby. The pacing is slow and the tone angsts, neither of my favorite flavors. I did not finish this one.

So so well written so multi layered a literary debut an author to watch a unique voice. Highly recommend #netgalley#Thepaperwasp#groveatlantic.

The Paper Wasp was an interesting read for me! The story deals mostly with the main character Abby, her thoughts, her art, and her obsession with Elise, her best friend from her childhood. Abby is shy and feels unloved and odd. Elise has moved on to stardom in Hollywood, where she has become a famous actress. Abby is obsessed with Elise. She hears that she is coming back to their small town high school reunion, and even though she dreads going and having to deal with her former peers, she goes. Elise is there and they find each other at the very end of the reunion. Elise gives Abby her private phone number and Abby quits her job at a supermarket and flies to Los Angeles, taking a chance that Elise will be happy to see her. Elise takes her in and from there, things get very strange.

I liked this book very much. It’s intriguing, fast moving and weird, in a good way!! I would like to read other work by Lauren Acampora. If you like stories that are a little off the wall, read this book!!

The Paper Wasp certainly was an interesting read!
If you're looking for a fast-paced and action-filled novel, you'll be disappointed.

The story deals mostly with our main character Abby, her dreams and thoughts and her obsession with Elise. Abby desperately wants her friendship with Elise to go back the way it was. She's longing for the deep connection she shared with Elise in their childhood, but Elise is now a famous actress in Hollywood and Abby works at a local supermarket still back in her hometown.
After meeting at their highschool reunion, Elise invites Abby to come visit Hollywood and we get to see the story unfold.
The ending was great and I can definitely recommend this book if you like literary fiction and diving deep into a character's psyche.

Thank you Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

The plot is extremely intriguing, modern and captivating, whilst the characters are fleshed-out and relatable, with realistic motivating forces and emotional struggles. Acampora's prose is flowing; its rhythm and clarity makes for a gripping novel, one that stays with the reader long after he/she turns the final page. Will definitely be checking out other works by this author.

The paper Wasp by author Lauren Acampora is a fun, gripping story. Relatable characters and gripping plot, you won’t want to miss this! Loved it!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Paper Wasp in exchange for an honest review.