Title: The Walls Around Us
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: March 24th, 2015
Page Count: 336 pages
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Summary:
On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement.On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom.
Tying their two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries…
What really happened on the night Orianna stepped between Violet and her tormentors? What really happened on two strange nights at Aurora Hills? Will Amber and Violet and Orianna ever get the justice they deserve—in this life or in another one?
In prose that sings from line to line, Nova Ren Suma tells a supernatural tale of guilt and of innocence, and of what happens when one is mistaken for the other.
*Why I DNF’d*
I’ve been putting off writing this sort-of review since I don’t really feel comfortable rating a book I marked as DNF. Heck, I hardly mark books as DNF because I really cannot judge a book without completely finishing it and I feel that I should know the whole story before giving it one star or five (some books start off as really slow but end up surprising by the second half!).
Unfortunately, I didn’t even reach chapter 5 in The Walls Around Us. It was a book I was highly looking forward to months before release day because I loved Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls. Her writing was hypnotic and darkly beautiful. And while this book seems to have the same kind of vibe going on and writing that I came to love, I just didn’t feel that pull to keep me reading. I set it down promising to come back to it later, but the days flew by. Then weeks. Months. Almost a year now and I don’t see myself picking it up anytime soon.
I feel bad about it, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to force myself to read a book just to say I read it. The few pages I read didn’t give me much and I hardly remember what was going on except prison girls running around looking to escape and a ballet dancer who probably belongs in a horror/suspense movie. That’s it.
A sad but true thing, The Walls Around Us was never meant to be read by me.
******
As a side note: do you DNF a lot of books? Do you send in your thoughts/reviews to publishers when they are ARCs or review copies? I’m curious. 🙂
I DNF a lot more than I used to now with the abundance of books available because of blogging — I really try not to but it gets to a point where you shouldn't dread reading something or force yourself to keep reading so I totally get it. If I DNF, I don't typically post a review on my blog but I try to leave comments through NG, etc. for the publisher.
Yes! Just when I started blogging I promised myself that I would never DNF a book but I soon realized that I wouldn't be able to keep it. I of course wish to love all the books, to really enjoy them, but when you don't, it's healthier to move on from it. 🙂
Dnf-ing books is getting easier for me. I didn't finish a book an author sent me once and I was so scar d to tell him. I just said it wasn't for me and he was really nice about it.
That's what I'm afraid the most! I'm terrified of them hating me. 🙁