I Am the Wallpaper

gracie26 - The book I am reading is titled I Am The Wallpaper by Mark Peter Hughes. This novel is about thirteen-year-old Floey Packer feeling like she's always blended into the background. After all, she is the dull younger sister of the Fabulous Lillian, a girl so popular and spontaneous that their house is always packed with a gaggle of admirers. But when Lillian suddenly gets married and heads off on a month-long honeymoon, Floey decides it's her time to shine. Holding her diary, some books on Zen philosophy, and a jar of Deep Wild Violet hair dye, Floey embarks on a self-improvement mission with excellent results. People are finally noticing her, especially the boy who really counts. But then disaster strikes. Are people noticing Floey because she's so fabulous, or because her evil cousins posted her diary on the internet? And how will Floey ever repair the damage? My opinion on the novel, I Am the Wallpaper, is that the book was great! Its full of all kinds of different emotions that just about anyone can relate to. It's really funny and a good book to read. The genre of this book is realistic fiction. It's a story that resembles real life and fictional characters. Most young adults would like this book, typically girls, but boys could also enjoy this book because they would be able to relate to the dialogue of the story and also find it funny. It has a great plot that most people who like John Green would read. An internal conflict (man-self) from the book would be when Floey was realizing how nice she is, maybe a little too nice; the point in her life when she felt she needed to change herself to be noticed. An external conflict (man-man) from the book is when Floey and her two best friends Azra and Wen go to their secret hide out on the lake near Foley's house at half past midnight, on July 4th. While they were there, six elderly people came out from behind them in the bushes, bare naked. Everyone screams! Floey, Azra, and Wen run for their lives!! They can hear the elders trying to catch up with them, but they know the people are way back behind them.

June 20, 2005
Hughes's energetic first novel recounts the onslaught of disasters occurring to Floey Packer the summer after her seventh grade year. Tired of feeling like "wallpaper, there but barely noticed," when her vivacious sister, soon-to-be-married Lillian is around, the 13-year-old decides to change herself into a "bold, remarkable new Floey. But alas, adapting a brassier look (that includes a black fedora and purple hair) and acting more aggressively doesn't lead to popularity. In fact Floey manages to alienate herself from several people including Calvin, the cute 15-year-old she meets at her sister's wedding, and her best friend, Azra. Ironically enough, what does gain Floey's notice is a Web site devised by her scheming cousins that features a risqué photograph of her as well as segments of her very private diary. When Floey starts getting stares from strangers who have seen the site, it doesn't take long for her to begin wondering if it might be preferable to be invisible after all. Hughes offers a well-orchestrated plot, hilarious scenarios, snappy dialogue and a vulnerable, believable heroine. However, some may question the author's prudence in illustrating how easily and effectively revenge can be carried out through the Internet. Also, it is unclear what—if any—lessons Floey has learned from her experiences. Ages 10-up.