Nova Ren Suma’s The Walls Around Us has been on many “Best Books of 2015” lists including the #1 Kids’ Indie Next Pick for Spring 2015, a Best YA Book of the Month by Amazon, and a Best Book of 2015 by The Boston Globe, NPR, School Library Journal, and the Horn Book.
The ghostly tale of guilt and of innocence, and of what happens when one is mistaken for the other is definitely deserving of the buzz. The story centers around three girls: Amber who is serving out her sentence in Aurora Hills Juvenile detention center and is a quiet observer of the prison for young girls, Violet a ballet dancer about to head off to Julliard who is haunted by her past and the death of her best friend, and Orianna, who we never actually hear from, but whose story is told through both Amber and Violet.
All three girls lives are tied together by tragedy. Each story is unfolded slowly as the novel progresses keeping the reader intrigued the entire way. The touch of supernatural ghost tale is more symbolic than true to the “supernatural” genre. The writing and story-weaving in this novel is superb and reads like an adult novel.
I’d recommend this book to teens and adults alike!