REVIEW:

For the sake of this review, I’m going to assume you’re sitting indoors. Now, for the sake of this review, you’re going to assume there’s somebody hanging out inside the wall behind you.

Creepy, huh? Well that’s the premise of Girl in the Walls. There’s literally a little girl living in the walls of a house. Nothing paranormal here! That’s important to note, as your enjoyment of this book may largely depend on your expectations. Looking for a ghost? Turn on “Ghost Hunters” instead.

If you’re looking for a thriller, you may be a bit disappointed too. While there is a fair amount of suspense in the final half of the story, Girl in the Walls is more a literary fiction novel detailing how an orphan could succeed in dwelling in a home for months without its actual occupants sensing her presence. Eventually of course they do, and their attempts to root out their uninvited roomie is where the pages start turning.

I loved the premise of the book as well as the author’s writing style. I did have to suspend disbelief to really embrace the story, but you better believe I’m going to be paranoid the next time some raisin bran goes missing around here.

My thanks go to the author and Ecco Books for my gifted review copy provided via NetGalley. Girl in the Walls is now available.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

A mesmerizing and suspenseful coming-of-age novel about an orphan hiding within the walls of her former family home — and about what it means to be truly seen after becoming lost in life.

Eventually, every hidden thing is found.

Elise knows every inch of the house. She knows which boards will creak. She knows where the gaps are in the walls. She knows which parts can take her in, hide her away. It’s home, after all. The home her parents made for her, before they were taken from her in a car crash. And home is where you stay, no matter what.

Eddie is a teenager trying to forget about the girl he sometimes sees out of the corner of his eye. But when his hotheaded older brother senses her, too, they are faced with the question of how to get rid of someone they aren’t sure even exists. And as they try to cast her out, they unwittingly bring an unexpected and far more real threat to their doorstep.

Written with grace and enormous heart, Girl in the Walls is a novel about carrying on through grief, forging unconventional friendships, and realizing, little by little, that we don’t need to fear what we do not understand.