I liked this book quite a bit. I picked it on a whim while looking for something to read on Libby, and I thought it was going to read like a thriller. I think ultimately it was supposed to be a thriller, but that wasn't really what I got from it.

I was first drawn to this storyline because usually something haunting a house is paranormal, but Elise is very much a real girl. I thought that was a really unique concept and it's something I haven't seen before. I made some funny highlights early on in the book like "How does she even see?? This seems really bad for you" and "How does she go so long without talking to anyone?" I stand by both of those questions, living in the walls of your late parents house as a 11 year old child cannot be healthy.

I like that the book had a relatively short timeline. From beginning to end, it only spanned across a year. Elise's day to day life was pretty monotonous, with scenes of her going downstairs to get raisin bran to eat, but I think these were good details to establish her lifestyle. It also explained a lot of the practical details of how she could survive in that sort of condition.

All of the characters I liked in the book were kids. I thought Elise was very troubled, but smart and sneaky at the same time. She was interesting because she was messed up, like how she referred to herself as The Girl in the Walls, like that was her own name for herself. I thought Eddie was cute and quirky. He was the byproduct of a condescending older brother, and he had his quirks which immediately made a bond between him and Elise. Marshall was honestly pretty funny to me because he was just an annoying teenager. All of his rudeness towards Eddie was him copying his dads behavior, so that wasn't really his fault. I thought Brody was super cute and kind for how he treated Elise. I wish he played a larger part in the story because he was deeply helpful and caring and he wanted the best for her.

The parents and Traust were really two-dimensional. There were a few chapters where Laura was talking about how her kids were put in danger by Traust and how she was so distraught about it, but I didn't get that at all from her. You could tell that she was not written by a woman because her inner dialogue was super cliche, like how bad things always happen in threes? That didn't serve much of a purpose to me. Unless Traust's death counted as one of the deaths on her list? That part was kinda stupid. If my kids were put in danger by a stranger they invited from the internet, I would be absolutely beside myself and never recover. But maybe that's just girlhood. Nick, the dad, also didn't give much insight. He was like oh yeah let's get some ADT stickers from the windows and we'll be set. That reaction didn't give me much either. And Traust wasn't a super dimensional character either. I did like the interludes between chapters of his online forum, that was cool because I had no idea who he was. Once he was introduced I was like oh this is bad but then when he came back and gave his backstory I was like meh he’s not that scary.

Odin was a really interesting character. He took hold after Elise had read the mythology book, and he gave her something to believe in, while also acting as a parental figure or a protector. I got some sort of religious connection between Elise and Odin.

I wish that once Traust found her the first time, she met the boys. I thought that would give the story a lot more direction. We didn't really hear anything from Eddie and Marshall after that incident, but I wish they found her and talked to her. I think the flooding was an interesting twist, and it made sense for Traust to come back when he did. I couldn't stop thinking about how bad the house was gonna be after, with severe flooding, damage from Traust, and his dead body lol. I also wish Brody saved the day! That would have been really sweet because he was one of the only people on her side. Instead, Elise moved out, the Masons moved back in, Laura just threw Traust's stuff into the woods, and all was well.

I was happy that Elise found Eddie in the end. I'm happy that Eddie and Marshall at least acknowledged that she was there and that they sorta missed her. I like when Eddie said "Well she was pretty good at hiding". And I'm really happy about the witch, that was a detail I totally forgot about I thought she was going to give him the mythology book.

There was a lot of personification of the house, but by the end, it seemed like it was majorly cursed and trying to throw her out. I didn't have much of a connection to the house by the end, which I wish I had a little more of.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. The first half really had this at a 4 for me, but I didn't care too much for the ending or the adult characters. The kids in the book were really great, I liked how realistic they were, especially the sibling relationship between Eddie and Marshall. This was a really cool take on a haunting theme and the curiosity of children, but I wish Eddie and Marshall had more of an encounter with her.

I want to see more from this author!

Girl in the Walls - Likewise Book Reviews

3 Reviews