Floey Packer is done with feeling invisible.
At thirteen, she’s the quieter younger sister of the Amazing Lillian, a girl so effortlessly popular that Floey seems to disappear whenever she enters the room. But when Lillian suddenly gets married and leaves town, Floey decides it’s time to stop blending into the background.
Armed with a diary, a newly acquired Zen philosophy, and a jar of deep violet hair dye, Floey launches a summer-long experiment in reinvention. People finally start to notice her. Especially the boy who matters most.
Then her private diary is posted online
I Am the Wallpaper is a novel about self-consciousness and visibility, embarrassment and bravery, and the painful moments when growing up can feel ridiculous—but also profound.
ACCOLADES & HONORS
- New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age
- BookSense Summer Pick
- Delacorte Press Young Adult Novel Competition Finalist
Critical Response
“Floey Packer, 13, bursts right off the page with an engaging vivacity… humorous incidents abound, character growth is convincing, and the plot moves irresistibly forward. First-time author Hughes merits a place with Louise Rennison, Ellen Conford, and Paula Danziger.”
— School Library Journal (Starred Review)
“Hughes offers a well-orchestrated plot, hilarious scenarios, snappy dialogue, and a vulnerable, believable heroine.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Hughes’ clever amalgam of Bridget Jones’s Diary and Harriet the Spy will hold instant appeal.”
— Booklist
“Anyone who has ever feared public humiliation from which they thought they’d never recover will find wry satisfaction in Floey’s journey.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A masterpiece of storytelling… the fast-paced action of Hughes’ narrative recalls the work of celebrated Newbery winner Richard Peck.”
— The Providence Journal
Reader Art by Jessica N, Bayside, WI
