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The Walls Around Us

by Nova Ren Suma

Secrets on both sides of the walls

Critically Recognized
Regular price $15.65 USD
Regular price $26.09 USD Sale price $15.65 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    2015 Edgar Award nominee for Best Young Adult

    Nominated for Best Young Adult.

  • Bestseller

    #1 New York Times Bestseller

    The source identifies the book as a #1 New York Times Bestseller.

  • Editorial selection

    School Library Journal Best Book of 2015

    Named a School Library Journal Best Book of 2015.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Secrets on both sides of the walls

A ballerina on the verge of a new life and a girl confined in a juvenile detention center occupy sharply different worlds, linked by Orianna and by unresolved questions about past violence and justice. The story is described as a ghostly suspense tale told in two voices, one living and one dead, with its mysteries reaching across the boundary between life and death. Its young-adult magical-realism framing brings together confinement, achievement, and the consequences of what happened at Aurora Hills.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Young adult readers interested in magical realism and ghostly suspense.
  • Readers drawn to stories about juvenile detention, secrets, and questions of justice.
  • Readers who enjoy narratives that connect characters in sharply contrasting circumstances.

Themes

Confinement and freedomSecrets and truthPower and achievementJusticeLife and death

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

An NPR Best Book of 2015

A Boston Globe Best Book of 2015
A Chicago Public Library Best Teen Fiction of 2015
A BookRiot Best Book of 2015
A 2016 YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2015
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2015
A 2015 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult

"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 . . . To reveal more would be to uncover the bloody heart that beats beneath the floorboards of this urban-legend-tinged tale." --The New York Times

The Walls Around Us is a ghostly story of suspense told in two voices--one still living and one dead. On the outside, there's Violet, an eighteen-year-old ballerina days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of a girls' juvenile detention center, there's Amber, locked up for so long she can't imagine freedom. Tying these two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls' darkest mysteries: What really happened on the night Orianna stepped between Violet and her tormentors? What really happened on two strange nights at Aurora Hills? Will Amber and Violet and Orianna ever get the justice they deserve--in this life or in another one?

#1 Spring 2015 Kids' Indie Next List Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection
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Customer reviews

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AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.