Reviews with content warning for Death - The Walls Around Us

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

7 reviews

conspystery's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was not what I expected, and I love it for that. It is so eerie and bluntly atmospheric, compellingly unusual in its telling, supernatural but grounded-- I loved how it leaned even harder into magical realism as it continued. The plot setup itself is fascinating, offering very little context at the beginning but building on itself to construct, or really deconstruct, the narrative. The two narrators were similarly intriguing, unreliable and multifaceted in their recollection of events. Notably, the writing of The Walls Around Us complements its narrative perfectly: unearthly and poetic and abstract when necessary, and powerfully implicit and down-to-earth in its more grounded sections. The insidious, chilling parts of the novel cut straight to the heart, and even the more reflective moments echo a subtle sense of unease that keeps the audience engaged with the mystery and thriller aspects of the narrative, perfectly tense. I could not put this book down once I picked it up.

Most of all, though, what made this book most memorable to me was its ending, I think.

The actual murder mysteries as they are established are relatively easy to follow the trail of through the novel, not unsatisfyingly so-- a discerning reader can put together the details of Violet’s crimes, Amber’s initial crimes, and the later mass poisoning long before the unreliable narrators themselves reveal their wrongdoings-- and thus the plot twist at the end, which I found extremely satisfying to the narrative’s themes about guilt and blame, is genuinely unpredictable. Yet it is fitting. The balance between surprise and satisfaction in YA thriller plots is a hard one to manage, and when supernatural elements are introduced it can become a whole lot harder, but The Walls Around Us thoroughly succeeds in all these aspects. The magical realism evolves from dreamlike sequences of uncertain figurativity to a fully-realized, internally consistent system with a satisfying conclusion for all the characters’ arcs. Amber becomes the deliverer of justice rather than fading into it or flying under its radar, Violet is forced to face the consequences of her actions and experience the guilt she tried so desperately to bury with Orianna, and Orianna finally gets to shake the blame she never deserved in the first place. The ending of this novel is delightfully unpredictable, hopeful with a decent helping of sinister and eerie on the side, and totally narratively satisfying.

It’s worth every bit of setup the book places along the way.

I also want to applaud how striking the main cast of this book was. Amber, Violet, and Orianna are all fascinating as characters in distinct ways. Amber is introverted and almost mild at first glance, but the contrast of that calm surface to the strangely omniscient, calculating nature lurking below is disturbing and compelling. Violet is similar: all detached self-assurance and grace on the exterior, but with a propensity for denial and all-encompassing self-priority below. The storylines of both characters are fascinating, because the narrators themselves are fascinating, both in how they consciously or unconsciously twist the narratives they present. Orianna is a character the audience only gets to see through the biased accounts of the other narrators; the truth of the picture they paint of her is unclear, tinged with blame or jealousy or reverence or unwavering faith depending on the narration. But what the audience does put together from Orianna’s various portrayals is depth. Brightness but consideration, kindness but not unconditional forgiveness, the tendency for avoidance and the urge towards confrontation ending in tragedy… Orianna is just as multifaceted as the narrator characters, and rightly so, as she is such a central figure to the story. I found all three of the main cast to be just as intriguing as the mysteries of their actions themselves.

Overall, I really loved this book’s rightful confidence in diving into a complicated story with its narrative setup, plotline, characters, and themes alike. It accomplished its goal with chilling grace and writing to match; it almost reminded me of We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson at times, a favorite of mine, with its haunting atmosphere and unreliable narrators. This was a really fun read. I loved it.

Content Warnings

sometimes_samantha_reads's review

Go to review page

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked it and how mysterious it was but the writing itself was hard to follow along with. It was a bit too poetic for me to follow and I didn't really warm up to any of the characters at all because the dialogue didn't feel natural to me. Idk maybe it was intentional and I didn't grasp it.

Overall the concept was interesting. It was a slow burn but it was satisfying to have your suspicions confirmed over the course of the book.

Content Warnings

phantomgecko's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I barely cared about the characters in this book. Did not relate.

But the storytelling was delightful. Time is a construct and reality is layered. Author used foreshadowing well; things were predictable, but you still needed to read on.

idk I kinda like stories where all your starting questions are answered, but you're left with more unanswered questions at the end. Strong short story vibes here.

Content Warnings

kart_mac's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

thewoodlandbookshelf's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

ollieshark's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

**this book contains descriptions of homicide, death fantasies, beatings, poisoning and vomiting, blood, violence, and mentions of rape, self-harm, and suicide. if you are sensitive to these themes, this may not be a good read for you.**

i went into this book mostly blind and was delightfully confused until everything started falling into place. i didn't expect to enjoy it as much as i did, but i did, and that's something.

i have some issues with the prose, mainly in how amber and violet's voices are exactly the same except one's a dancer and the other is a prisoner. their manner of speaking and word choice does not differ from each other, and the only thing preventing me from getting the two confused is that violet dances and amber is an inmate. did you forget violet is a dancer destined for julliard? she's dancing at julliard in a couple of weeks. i also didn't like how meandering the narration tended to be. several sections repeated the same sentence structure multiple times, mostly in memories, and i skipped those parts because all of those minute details are unnecessary. some, yes, but not more than three in one paragraph.

aside from that, i have no complaints with the novel. i enjoyed several aspects of it, including the fact that romance is not a major factor in this ya novel (shocking, i know). though there are boyfriends, they aren't central to the story and in fact are very minor characters. i also love how the novel doesn't sugarcoat the crimes committed. though there is some unreliability in the narration, the crimes committed in the novel are just as gruesome and gory as they would be in an r-rated film. i'm also a fan of the prison/juvenile detention center aspect, as none of the other ya novels i've read have even touched the concept of teens being violent in such a way. usually the teen protagonists just show mercy.

this was a great read, if violent and squicky at times. i don't recommend this book if you've had bad experiences with the content listed at the top, but it makes for a great read if you're into horror/ghost stories. a perfect spooky season read, if you ask me.

Content Warnings

More...