Nova Ren Suma is the author of the YA novels Imaginary Girls and 17 & Gone, which were both named 2014 Outstanding Books for the College Bound by YALSA. She has a BA in writing & photography from Antioch College and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University and has been awarded fiction fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and the Millay Colony and an NEA fellowship for a residency at the Hambidge Center. She worked for years behind the scenes in publishing, at places such as HarperCollins, Penguin, Marvel Comics, and RAW Books, and now she teaches writing workshops.
"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 passionately testifies to the ways in
which girls are walled up, held down, fenced in. It's a gorgeously
written, spellbinding ghost story. . . Nova Ren Suma's prose hums
with such power and fury that when the explosions do happen, they
seem unavoidable." —Chicago Tribune
"Unputdownable . . . the well-paced plot reveals guilt, innocence,
and dark truths that will not stay hidden." —The Boston
Globe
"Mixing mystery and supernatural elements, this book is ridden with
lyrical prose and will keep you guessing the truth right up until
the very end." —Bustle.com
"Intense and haunting . . . This story is told in line after line
of beautifully crafted prose that sear themselves into the reader's
mind. Revelations seep out in an almost abstract way that sneaks up
on you, then suddenly the truth is out and knocking you sideways. A
stunning, unforgettable, and ghostly tale from start to
finish." —San Francisco Book Review
"Suma excels in creating surreal, unsettling stories with vivid
language, and this psychological thriller is no exception. Along
the way, Suma also makes a powerful statement about the ease with
which guilt can be assumed and innocence awarded, not only in the
criminal justice system, but in our hearts—in the stories we tell
ourselves. A fabulous, frightening read." —Booklist, starred
review
"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
"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
"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 Magazine,
starred review
"Gratifyingly disturbing . . . 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." —Bulletin for the
Center for Children’s Books, starred review
"Powerful . . . 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." —VOYA, starred
review
"Gripping. . . Just try to put this down." —Shelf Awareness
for Readers, 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, The
Mara Dyer Trilogy
"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
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