[An] Intricately plotted psychological horror story . . . With evocative language, a shifting timeline, and more than one unreliable narrator, Suma subtly explores the balance of power between the talented and the mediocre, the rich and the poor, the brave and the cowardly
and the unpleasant truths that are released when these scales are upset.
New York Times Book ... Read moreReview [A] supernatural page-turner . . . In [Suma's] story, some people are guilty and damnable, and some are innocent and good
and the ones who fall in between are simply innocuous. This stark character classification isn't a flaw, but rather, a demonstration of Suma's fantastic writing. Her images, even the horrible ones, linger like dust and glitter after an epic stage performance.
The Boston Globe Gripping. . . Just try to put this down.
Shelf Awareness for Readers, starred review [A] powerful novel . . . The compelling narrative, written in scintillating prose and featuring incredibly real characters, brings the two stories together in an explosive finale with a supernatural twist that results in a satisfying resolution to the struggle between the guilt and evil depicted here.
VOYA The Walls Around Us passionately testifies to the ways in which girls are walled up, held down, fenced in. It's a gorgeously written, spellbinding ghost story forged from ugly reality. . . 'Everything I know about bombs tells me they are built to explode, ' Amber observes at one point. Nova Ren Suma's prose hums with such power and fury that when the explosions do happen, they seem unavoidable.
Chicago Tribune Suma excels in creating surreal unsettling stories with vivid language, and this psychological thriller is no exception. . . A fabulous, frightening read.
Booklist, starred review A tour-de-force packing immense emotional power . . . Suma takes risks here that few authors are capable of, and most readers do not dare hope for.
Locus Magazine Suma craftily sets the two stories against one another, moving between Violet's fiercely grounded account and Amber's hauntingly destabilized one, enticing readers to figure out how the pieces go together . . . Readers who loved the author's spooky but redemptive 17 & Gone) and who are looking for something a little more vengeful will curl up happily with this.
BCCB, starred review A suspenseful tour de force, a ghost story of the best sort, the kind that creeps into your soul and haunts you.
Libba Bray, author of The Diviners and A Great and Terrible Beauty Fearlessly imagined and deliciously sinister, The Walls Around Us is hypnotic, luring the reader deeper and deeper into its original, shocking narrative.
Michelle Hodkin, author of The Mara Dyer Trilogy The wholly realistic view of adolescents meeting the criminal justice system is touched at first with the slimmest twist of an otherworldly creepiness, escalating finally to the truly hair-raising and macabre. Eerie, painful and beautifully spine-chilling.
Kirkus Reviews, starred review Written in luscious and deliciously creepy prose not easy to forget . . . This is a story about guilt and innocence, about secrets and how deep we let people into those places within us, and it's a story about how the past can define our present, even if we try desperately to keep that past under wraps. Put it on your radars now; this is an outstanding literary young adult novel more than worth the wait.
Book Riot In lyrical, authoritative prose, Suma weaves the disparate lives of [the] three girls into a single, spellbinding narrative that explores guilt, privilege, and complicity with fearless acuity . . . The twisting, ghostly tale of Ori's life, death, and redemption is unsettling and entirely engrossing.
The Horn Book Magaine, starred review This haunting and evocative tale of magical realism immerses readers in two settings that seem worlds apart . . . Suma's unflinchingly honest depiction of the potentially destructive force of female friendship and skillful blending of gritty realism with supernatural elements is reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls, and the eerie mood she evokes is unnervingly potent.
School Library Journal, starred review Show Less