When I first started this book, I was not sure how it would go. A girl living in the walls of a house? They occupants of the house don't know she's there? Weird.
Then about 15% of the way through, we learn the heartbreaking story how she ended up in the walls. From there, I was fascinated and loved it. Her bravery in the face of all she has gone through, her heart, and the real meaning of home were all apparent.
A solid 5 stars and super thankful for the ARC

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Such a different book...and difficult to review. Elise's story is heartbreaking but some of the other threads are just too over the top!

The reader recalling or living through adolescence will be captivated by the voice of the eponymous girl clinging to the walls of her childhood home and the identity wrought there with her deceased parents. Seldom has this reader been more surprised by the power of an unlikely idea in the hands and words of an unknown writer, or more compelled to complete the journey begun by opening the book. Keep an eye out for the works of A.J. GNUSE. The voices heard poignantly in this book signal an accomplished new voice in our world. 😊

So, this is a well written if unusual story of a girl named Elise, who at 11 years old unable to cope with the death of her parents, she has decided that she is going to occupy her old home. Only problem is that no one knows she is staying there and a new family has moved in. This reduces Elise to living inside the cavernous walls of her old family home, subsisting on food and supplies that she can scavenge when the family are out of home or asleep. Of course, since people aren’t meant to live in walls, Elises’s presence causes a slew of unforeseen drama for both Elise and the new family. There is a whole slew of underlying themes here related to processing grief, and family dynamics. Also a certain sadness for a little girl who’s life was so ripped apart that her only way to cope was to live in secret in a home where her only memories lie. This is a very different from anything I have read recently ,if ever, so that makes it a really interesting story. Review posted to Goodreads, Amazon, Litsy, Facebook, and LibraryThing.

An interesting concept and a fresh style but it took far too long for anything to actually happen. I did not write a full review of this title but I highlighted it on my site.

One of the things I love most about A.J. Gnuse's writing is the fact they places their characters in often controversial situations, their behavior affected by the moral dilemmas they face which always makes for a thought provoking read. Although most of the ‘action’ takes place in the increasingly tense, stifling and claustrophobic atmosphere of the family home, there is occasional relief from this when the characters venture out into the bracing air. The explorations of loss, grief, how humans cope when under intense pressure are all themes which would make this novel an ideal choice for book groups.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel.

Wow - this was so unlike any book I've ever read. It was an evenly paced thriller that kept me interested from beginning to end. There wasn't a ton of character development but somehow it still worked. This was filled with tension and wondering if the girl was going to get caught at every turn. I felt like I needed to know what happened next after every single chapter. It was so intriguing and you truly couldn't guess where the book was going to go. One thing I wish the author had done more of, was reiterating just how big of a mansion the house was because it wasn't until Traust arrives that I even realized it was a mansion. I was so confused how the girl was able to get around without being heard in a normal house, until it was made evident that was not the case. I would have had a better understanding of her movements had I known from the beginning just how large the house was. I was pretty worried I wasn't going to be satisfied with the ending but am happy to say that wasn't the case. I thought the ending was nearly perfect, although I would have loved to see where the Girl in the Walls ended up later or where she went after she left the house. I wish there was an epilogue that explained what happened after she left but we are left to our imaginations with that. I look forward to the next book from A.J. Gnuse. Really well written slow burn thriller. 8/10

3.5/5

I have been thinking about Girl in the Walls by A.J. Gnuse for quite some time now, and honestly, I still have no idea how I feel about it. This was definitely a book unlike any I have read before, and Elise living in the walls of this house was such a unique concept and plot. Even though the synopsis actually tells you what happened to her parents, I don't know how well that came across in the actual book for me, and I'm not sure I would have realized it if not for the synopsis telling me. This is obviously something I could have missed but all I knew was that she was in the walls of the home she used to live in before another family moved in, the family she now watches and tries to stay out of sight from. It is really creepy if you think about it, but the creepiest part for me was the fact that the brothers bring something far more sinister into the house because they don't know who or what is in their walls. Most of the book is a very slow burn up until this happens, and that's when the action really starts.

I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Jill Winternitz and I'm glad I did since it is such a slow burn. Winternitz was fantastic and I think they made a great decision in having her voice this novel. We have a handful of different viewpoints throughout plus a unique writing style and I really think she did justice to all of it. I thought about putting Girl in the Walls down many times because I thought it dragged a lot and got a little repetitive, but I am glad I held on because the ending is definitely worth it. At its core, this is a book about survival and grief but also finding friendship and happiness in unlikely places. I would have liked more suspense and more from the ending, but overall, I thought this was a very solid debut and would check out whatever Gnuse writes next.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

This book really took me by surprise. I had expected it to be a horror story of people living in the walls. Well, guess what!?! It was! The book is a story about a young girl who lives in the walls of her previously owned home. She was orphaned, ran away, and went back to her home. There she was able to get inside and hide from the new owners.
It is creepy yet so well done that you can feel like you are crawling in the spaces of the house with Elise. It is even creepier because slowly the boys living in the house sense someone there... things go missing, sounds are heard but mostly they feel like they are being watched.
But surprise! The story then turns into something else, the boys decide to look for their "guest"... and wow do they find trouble.
An interesting book for people who like the creepy, odd and eccentric details of life.
I definitely will be looking over my shoulder the next time I hear an unexplained sound!

Girl in the Walls is more than a mystery and coming of age story. It is a story of friendship, loss and the idea of home.
Elise lost her parents in a car accident and runs away from the foster home to her old house. She hides in there even though a new family has moved in. The new family senses her there but they question if she is real or a ghost. While the family is out she befriends a neighbor kid that also sneaks into houses. He takes mentos from the homes though and this leads to the family thinking there is someone hiding in their house more than just a ghost. Now, the boys that live there start to actively look for her. Will they find her, what will happen to her? Great little mystery. I loved the character development and the relationship portrayal of friends and siblings.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Based on positive reviews and the promising story line I tried so hard to get into this story. But I just could not. I really enjoy a slow burn but if there is a burn at all this would be described as a painstakingly slow burn. I stuck in for a few chapters but the story was overly descriptive and didn't seem to say much or progress at all. If I can engage with a character this is something that generally does not bother me at all. But unfortunately I could not connect with anything which resulted in not being able to finish this book. I may try again because we all know that situation and mood can influence things. But for now I just have to put it aside.

Courtesy of Netgalley I received the ARC of Girl in the Walls by A.J. Gnuse. This debut novel captured my attention immediately with it's premise of a young orphan girl clinging to her familiar previous family home, seeking refuge by hiding inside the walls as another family currently resides there. This story was suspenseful and pensive as the teenage boys living in the house suspect Elise's presence without visualizing her. Character driven, with the Gulf Coast house included, the story revealed itself in compelling and well written layers.

This was such a weird book. I liked it but it was just unsettling, but not in the delightful unsettling that I usually read. The fact that it centered around kids (who are so creeped out about the person/ghost living in their walls) and there was the creeper man who they met on the internet didn't help.

An interesting premise but one I couldn’t quite connect with. DNF, but promising for fans of suspense/horror.

An eleven-year-old girl lives in the walls of her old home after her parents’ death and observes all the private moments of another family inhabiting the house. This compelling premise could become a suspenseful thriller (as the cover art suggests), a “uniquely gothic tale” (as Jess Kidd described it), or a literary meditation on home and family. Unfortunately, A. J. Gnuse’s debut novel doesn’t fulfill any of these possibilities. Told from the perspective of an omniscient narrator focused on the titular girl, this supposed coming-of-age story is one of the most boring pieces of fiction I’ve read in a long time. Despite being young and newly orphaned, Gnuse’s protagonist failed to stir my empathy. Elise is as flat as the walls she lives between, with very few memories, no longing or desire, and no apparent motivations.

The most interesting aspect of this story was the relationship between the two Mason brothers, which develops as they become aware of each other’s suspicions that someone or something is living in their house. But the brotherly connection receives little attention as it advances quickly and with little overall purpose outside of bringing the primary antagonist into the story. This antagonist proves to be another character that lacks any clear motivation for behavior that suggests some intense psychological trauma which is never explored. A lack of depth and development in both character and plot is the primary thread that runs through this story. Gnuse spends much more energy in describing settings that serve little or no purpose to the rest of the story rather than in imbuing his characters with actual human thoughts, feelings, and motivations. The novel is painfully overwritten with these descriptions as well as unnecessary metaphors, some of which simply make no sense. Regardless of one’s expectations when picking up this novel, I suspect most readers will be severely disappointed.

This was above and beyond one of the most unique plots I’ve read. It was definitely different. I just never really got drawn into the story that much and I did not become invested in the characters. Perhaps there was some symbolism going on that I did not connect with, but this just wasn’t my favorite.

After the car crash that takes her parents’ lives, all Elise wants is to go home. She slips away from the foster home where she’s been placed and returns to the place where she’d been happiest, even knowing another family lives there now. She spent most of her young life there, and knows every nook and cranny, every space between walls and behind furniture that will provide hiding places.
She manages to elude the parents, but the two teenage boys are not so easily fooled. So stealthy is she that they aren’t sure if she’s flesh and blood or spirit, but they know they want her out. Knowing their parents won’t believe them, they make choices that threaten to bring disaster to everyone in the house, including the girl in the walls.
Girl in the Walls is a stunning novel, a story of the places grief can take us, and the resilience of the human spirit. The writing is ethereal, at times haunting, and the tension will keep the reader up all night. Just be sure to leave the lights on.

Initially I felt very intrigued by the description of the book.
It started out great. Makes you wonder about existential subjects. When it gets to the climax, the story turns a little boring. The antagonist is dull, and I also was not that invested in the main characters. I felt like I did not really care about them, and I did not want to keep reading. The ending is good.

I had a really hard time finishing this book, not because of anything the writer did but because the marketing felt completely misleading. After a little girl loses her parents, she escapes foster care and goes to the one place that feels comfortable, her childhood home. While this book is dark and heartbreaking, it is not a mystery, thriller, or suspense of any kind. This is a book about grief, survival, and trauma.

3/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Girl In The Wall…by A.J. Gnuse

It’s really baffling to imagine a young, orphaned girl escaping from her foster home and returning to her former home where her life was full of wonderful memories and taking up residence in its walls while another family is living there.
Once you accept that mental picture you become fascinated as to the actual dynamics involved. Are her survival traits a result of the trauma she has experienced and now is trying to put the normalcy she knew back in her life by returning to what was safe and secure?
Then there is the family she is cohabitating with. One of the two sons you assume is on the spectrum by the many symptoms he is described as having. His teenage brother, who is somewhat ashamed of these quirks, just really wants a normal brother.
But the realization that they both agree there is something odd going on in the house brings them together as a team to search for the cause. Older brother does searches on the internet and finds someone who is willing to come to the house and “help” them. As a reader the red flags are flying and you fear where this may all lead.
It does go down a seamy path but he exits about the same time a hurricane blows in and brings a new host of decisions and problems.
It’s a story of being invisible: the girl to go back to what was normal, for the young brother so no-one would see him and thus be the recipient of unkind comments, for the teenager who like another wants to be left alone in his own world. It’s a story of growth and maturity, hard in coming but the transition is there.