The Walls Around Us

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I realize this book has a lot of flaws including some pretty long stretches of plausibility that have nothing to do with the mystical aspects of the book, but I couldn't help loving it anyway. I felt like a cat licking its paws to get every last drop of that cream. Maybe it was the unreliable narrators, one in a juvenile detention center, one a ballet dancer (Suma won me over right away with details about ballet that are actually true). Maybe it was the fact that Amber in the detention center used the first person plural , present tense point of view (loved, loved that! Because institutions in general take away any personal identity). Maybe it was the mystical elements, or the hinted at incidents that kept you wondering, or the smart narration with beautiful imagery. Yes, the ending was a little abrupt and left more than a few questions, but the ride was worth it for sure.


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