Girl in the Walls: A Novel

Written by A. J. Gnuse

Narrated by Jill Winternitz

“A riveting, astonishing, and flat-out gorgeous debut.”-- Nina de Gramont, author of The Christie Affair

A mesmerizing and suspenseful coming-of-age novel about an orphan hiding within the walls of her former family home—and about what it means to be truly seen after becoming lost in life

Eventually, every hidden thing is found.

Elise knows every inch of the house. She knows which boards will creak. She knows where the gaps are in the walls. She knows which parts can take her in, hide her away. It’s home, after all. The home her parents made for her, before they were taken from her in a car crash. And home is where you stay, no matter what.

Eddie is a teenager trying to forget about the girl he sometimes sees out of the corner of his eye. But when his hotheaded older brother senses her, too, they are faced with the question of how to get rid of someone they aren’t sure even exists. And as they try to cast her out, they unwittingly bring an unexpected and far more real threat to their doorstep.

 Written with grace and enormous heart, Girl in the Walls is a novel about carrying on through grief, forging unconventional friendships, and realizing, little by little, that we don’t need to fear what we do not understand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063031838

A. J. Gnuse

A native of New Orleans, A. J. Gnuse received an MFA in fiction from UNC Wilmington and was a Kenyon Review Peter Taylor Fellow. His short stories have been published in Gulf Coast, Guernica, the Los Angeles Review, Passages North, Potomac Review, and other magazines. Girl in the Walls is his first novel. He lives in Texas. 

Reviews for Girl in the Walls

[tobiejonzarelli · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't prepared for this marvelous treat! When I picked it up at the library I expected a typical Gothic ride. This was anything but. The characters build along with the story. Loved it, won't say more than that.

[jjbooklvr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A different coming of age story of a young orphan girl who deals with her grief in an unusual way. And the family touched by her unseen presence.

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An incredibly different sort of novel. What is it like when a girl is living in the walls of a house as a response to the loss of her parents and the teens of the new owners keep thinking that there is someone there. When they try to discover the person they suspect is living in their home, they inadvertently invite in another, greater threat. Absolutely had my attention all the way through.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't know what to expect of this novel before I started it - it sounded like a suspense novel but it was so much more than that. It's the story about a young girl consumed with grief and trying to find her way in the world. Elsie is a well written character in a tense situation. Sometimes she seemed like the young girl that she was and other times she had very grown up thoughts. She was a character that was written so well that the reader really cared about her outcome.Elise is an 11 year old girl. Her parents were killed in an auto accident and she knows that the only place she can feel safe is in the house where she grew up. The problem is that another family lives there now - parents, teen age son and younger son. She decides that she will live there too and makes her home in the walls and the basement and the attic of the home. When the family is gone during the day, she is able to go into the rooms and be free. When they are at home, she lives vicariously through their conversations and their lives. Both of the boys begin to feel her presence in the house -- they aren't sure what is there but they know that something is living in the walls. In their attempt to find whatever or whoever is there, they elicit the help of a man who becomes a threat to them and their home. There is a lot of tension throughout the novel but after the stranger is brought in, the tension builds as he is determined to find who or what is living there.The only negative in this book is that it starts out pretty slow and you may be tempted not to continue reading but trust me, once the action picks up and the tension ratchets up, you'll be glad that you kept reading.This is a well written book that is part suspense, part grief and park coming of age. The book kept me turning pages to find out what happened to Elise and how the family reacted to her. This is a debut novel for this author and I look forward to what he writes in the future.Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

[carol420 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. To say that it was “strange” and “disquieting” would be an understatement...but yet the author of this debut novels has done a brilliant job of creating plausible and unforgettable characters. The story follows eleven-year-old orphan Elise, as she hides within the walls of her former family home... watching the house’s new residents, the Masons, as they carry on with their lives. I know that this sounds creepy...Elise is anything but. She’s intelligent... resourceful... perceptive and kind. Your heart will ache for her as you follow her story and watched her try to deal with the loss of her parents. A perfect read if you are fan of gothic fiction or if you are just looking for something a little different.