The Paper Wasp

The Paper Wasp is an electrifying tale of the dark side of female friendship, where envy and the desire to annoy are intertwined with worship and love. Abby Graven leads a very reclusive lifestyle. Once a capable, promising student predicted to have a brilliant career in the arts, she now closely observes the life of her childhood best friend Eliza, obsessively cutting out her photographs from the pages of fashion magazines like a maniac. When Abby encounters Eliza again at a college reunion and receives a polite invitation to visit her in Los Angeles, Abby takes the offer seriously. Growing closer to Eliza, she realizes that behind the external polish and professional success of Eliza's acting career lies loneliness and complete disillusionment with people. But this doesn't stop Abby from dreaming of living Eliza's life... or even becoming her. Author Lauren Acampora is a nominee for The Story Prize and The Kirkus Prize, and her debut novel The Paper Wasp was named the best book of summer 2021 by the New York Times, Elle, Tatler, and Publishers Weekly.