The Walls Around Us | Caught Read Handed

Author: Nova Ren Suma
Genre: Young adult, magical realism, fantasy
Publisher: Algonquin
Publication Date: March 24, 2015
319 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher, but couldn’t open the file (wrong format for Kindle), so I checked it out from the library. Despite that, thank you so much to Algonquin for granting me access!!

This entire book felt like a dream, which, I suppose, is part of the point. Magical realism is always fun, and The Walls Around Us was just so cool. It was trippy and strange and wonderful. You never quite know what is real and what is imagined, because none of the characters really know either. I was so confused most of the time and I loved it. Most of the time when I read a book this confusing during which I have absolutely no idea what’s happening, I’m not a big fan, especially if the book is doing it for the sole purpose of confusing you, but in the case of The Walls Around Us, I actually really liked it.

The prose was wonderful. When I started the first page, I was kind of worried. It’s…different. But after the first three pages, I was hooked. It flows easily and its use of repetition felt like a chant, a song. Again, it’s different and odd, but, for me, it was easy to read and very, very cool. The characters were all complex, especially the ones inside the detention center. Just like their crimes, their guilt wasn’t black and white, and this changed them from horrible thieves, murderers, and prisoners into real people.

I think the one thing I didn’t really like was that the book felt a little…meandering? I think that’s the right word. I wasn’t expecting action-packed or anything like that, but parts of it felt a little long-winded. On the other hand, I LOVED the bizarre, odd, confusing end so much. SO. MUCH. I think it fit perfectly with the strangeness of this magical story.

For me, the inscription before Part IV of the book perfectly sums this one up:

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.”

– Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

The bottom line: The Walls Around Us is really different from what you’re expecting. A little Black Swan, but with a bunch of other things thrown in. It’s confusing and strange and absolutely wonderful. I don’t think this will be a book for everyone, though. Personally? I want to read more by Nova Ren Suma.

Rating: 7.5 – between pretty good and freaking fantastic

This week I started the audiobook for I’ll Give You the Sun. After listening to it for about 35 minutes on my commute to work, I tweeted this:

Started the I'll Give You the Sun audiobook by @jandynelson today. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ IT? Why didn't any of you force it on me?!

— Stefani Sloma (@StefaniSloma) April 20, 2015

It’s safe to say that I’m LOVING it. If you haven’t read it, the book is written from two perspectives – Noah at age 13 and then his twin at age 16. Noah’s narrator, Jesse Bernstein, is just incredible. He’s got me driving down the road cackling and probably looking like a complete idiot, but I don’t even care. I’m really enjoying this one, and I’m pretty sure this will be one of the books I reread again as a physical book so I can appreciate the story in more than one way.

I also read Nova Ren Suma’s The Walls Around Us this week. Magical realism is always fun, and this was just so cool. It’s trippy and strange and wonderful. I was so confused most of the time and I loved it. Usually I don’t like when I have absolutely no idea what’s happening, but I was a fan of it in this case.

This week, I saved a total of $47.94 – $29.99 (I’ll Give You the Sun Audiobook) + $17.95 (The Walls Around Us)

Overall in the challenge, I have saved a total of $242.24! Libraries are awesome!

Each week during the Challenge, we’ve chosen a topic to discuss during our weekly update. This week’s topic is:

Share how often you visit your library.

Again, I feel like I’m cheating a little. I work in a library so I technically “visit” it every day Monday-Friday. HOWEVER, let’s talk about how often I check stuff out from the library, shall we? We get our “runs” every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the library. Since my library is part of a 20 branch system, we can request books/movies/audiobooks/etc. from any of the other 20 branches for our patrons and they’ll be delivered to our branch (it usually takes a couple of days, unless it’s currently checked out). I pretty much get something in our run each time we get one. That’s how often I check out something from my library system. Almost three times a week. Yeah, you could say I love my library.

Also, while we’re here, I wanted to share some exciting news! I currently work part-time (well, this month, I’m full time since our Children’s Librarian left), so I work Wednesday – Friday. Starting May 1 (NEXT FRIDAY), I’ll be the FULL TIME Youth Services Assistant at a library that is roughly four times the size of my current branch. The children’s section at the new library is just about the size of the entire library where I currently work. So yeah, the new library is HUGE. It’s also about 15-20 minutes closer than my current branch. I’m really sad about leaving my current branch as I absolutely love working there; my boss is awesome, and I’ll miss working with him every day. I’ll also miss the wonderful patrons I’ve gotten to know over the last 10 months. (Of course, there are a few things I won’t miss, but we don’t have to go into that here). I’ve felt guilty and sad and elated and excited and stressed and a whole bunch of other things for the past several weeks since I found out, but I think I’ve finally settled on excited. I’m ready for a new adventure, a new library, and full-time pay.

So how often do you visit your library? Do you check out items with as much frequency as I do?

LINK YOUR WEEK THREE UPDATE BELOW!

And don’t forget to enter the #ReadingMyLibrary Challenge giveaway and participate in the Scavenger Hunt for another chance to win $15 to TBD and discover some new stuff about your library!