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The Girl in the Walls
When a neurodivergent girl finds a ghost in the walls, she must decide if the ghost is an ally or an enemy -- and the wrong decision could destroy her and her family. From Schneider Family Book Award Honor author Meg Eden Kuyatt comes a chilling yet lyrical new novel-in-verse that's sure to resonate with readers for years to come.
Neurodivergent and sock-collecting Vee is stuck at her uptight and "perfect" Grandma Jojo's house for the summer, who she has absolutely nothing in common with. To make matters worse, Vee thought her older cousin Cat would make summer fun again--until an incident happens in the middle of the night. And Cat hasn't been seen since.
Then Vee discovers a ghost living in Jojo's walls. And this girl... this ghost... has been collecting Jojo's secrets. At first, Vee finds the ghost to be an escape from her grandmother and her memories of the incident with Cat.
But as the girl encourages Vee to get back at Jojo by playing pranks, Vee soon uncovers Jojo's insecurities. And Vee starts to think twice about taking part in the girl's schemes, until the girl suddenly becomes dangerous, trapping Vee in the walls and threatening to flood the house and everyone in it.
Will Vee let grief and anger take control -- or is there a way to use even the broken, confusing pieces of her feelings to save her messy family?
A contemporary novel-in-verse with a ghostly twist, The Girl in the Walls explores grief in changing relationships, messy family feelings, and generational mental health stigma.
Neurodivergent and sock-collecting Vee is stuck at her uptight and "perfect" Grandma Jojo's house for the summer, who she has absolutely nothing in common with. To make matters worse, Vee thought her older cousin Cat would make summer fun again--until an incident happens in the middle of the night. And Cat hasn't been seen since.
Then Vee discovers a ghost living in Jojo's walls. And this girl... this ghost... has been collecting Jojo's secrets. At first, Vee finds the ghost to be an escape from her grandmother and her memories of the incident with Cat.
But as the girl encourages Vee to get back at Jojo by playing pranks, Vee soon uncovers Jojo's insecurities. And Vee starts to think twice about taking part in the girl's schemes, until the girl suddenly becomes dangerous, trapping Vee in the walls and threatening to flood the house and everyone in it.
Will Vee let grief and anger take control -- or is there a way to use even the broken, confusing pieces of her feelings to save her messy family?
A contemporary novel-in-verse with a ghostly twist, The Girl in the Walls explores grief in changing relationships, messy family feelings, and generational mental health stigma.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 20, 2025
22 people are currently reading
3312 people want to read
About the author
Meg Eden Kuyatt
5 books125 followersMeg Eden Kuyatt is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and teaches creative writing at Anne Arundel Community College. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection “Drowning in the Floating World” (Press 53, 2020) and children’s novels, most recently “Good Different” (Scholastic, 2023). Find her online at www.megedenbooks.com or on Twitter at @ConfusedNarwhal and Instagram at @meden_author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
February 23, 2025
I can't believe my weird autistic ghost story in verse is actually going out into the world. I wrote this because I had to, because the feelings were too big to keep in, but like V, I had so many voices of doubt (second books will particularly do that to you). Will anyone get it? Is it too strange? Too metaphoric? Too much? Will it ever become a remotely coherent story? So anyway, thank you for giving it a shot. I hope you'll connect with V, and also find beauty and joy in the strange and wonderful with her.
January 6, 2025
Every once in a while, I come across what is for me an entirely new and wonderful experience as a reader. This was one such time. I had never read a children's novel in verse before - and I was blown away.
As a NIV newbie, I worried that the verse format might distance me from the action and hamper my enjoyment. I'm happy to report no such issues! In fact, I found myself identifying even more strongly with the protagonist, V, as a result of the careful use of language. The verse format heightened the emotional impact, giving me a window into V's innermost thoughts. And it was all done with an economy and elegance of expression that was truly refreshing.
The premise of the plot is simple. V doesn't want to spend the summer with her waspish Grandma Jojo, who can't stop criticizing her. She doesn't have a choice, though. Things haven't been wonderful lately, at school and even at home with her own loving mother and father. V is growing up, figuring herself out, even acting out. Now, a summer visit with Jojo is non-negotiable.
Jojo is the type of older family member many will recognize: overbearing, conservative in outlook, the sort of person who cares more about manners than enjoying dinner. To begin with, she appears determined to find fault with everything V does and even is. V resists, and over the course of that unwanted visit finds that she isn't alone in her frustrations with Jojo - or in fighting back against her Grandma. Of course, this is MG fantasy! So without going into further spoilers on that score, expect total magical mayhem.
I want to finish off by saying that there are great books out there that tackle neurodivergence, mental health, and the toll of keeping secrets to maintain a front of 'normalcy' in a family. But this one touched me somehow to the core. I think it's because nobody, even the villains are truly evil. People act towards each other in ways that are hurtful - some deeply damaging. But the psychology is more nuanced than in many a children's tale, where the Evil is so often dastardly and absolute. Here, people are broken rather than irredeemable. And what is broken can be slowly healed.
Thank you Meg Eden Kuyatt for a very special read!
As a NIV newbie, I worried that the verse format might distance me from the action and hamper my enjoyment. I'm happy to report no such issues! In fact, I found myself identifying even more strongly with the protagonist, V, as a result of the careful use of language. The verse format heightened the emotional impact, giving me a window into V's innermost thoughts. And it was all done with an economy and elegance of expression that was truly refreshing.
The premise of the plot is simple. V doesn't want to spend the summer with her waspish Grandma Jojo, who can't stop criticizing her. She doesn't have a choice, though. Things haven't been wonderful lately, at school and even at home with her own loving mother and father. V is growing up, figuring herself out, even acting out. Now, a summer visit with Jojo is non-negotiable.
Jojo is the type of older family member many will recognize: overbearing, conservative in outlook, the sort of person who cares more about manners than enjoying dinner. To begin with, she appears determined to find fault with everything V does and even is. V resists, and over the course of that unwanted visit finds that she isn't alone in her frustrations with Jojo - or in fighting back against her Grandma. Of course, this is MG fantasy! So without going into further spoilers on that score, expect total magical mayhem.
I want to finish off by saying that there are great books out there that tackle neurodivergence, mental health, and the toll of keeping secrets to maintain a front of 'normalcy' in a family. But this one touched me somehow to the core. I think it's because nobody, even the villains are truly evil. People act towards each other in ways that are hurtful - some deeply damaging. But the psychology is more nuanced than in many a children's tale, where the Evil is so often dastardly and absolute. Here, people are broken rather than irredeemable. And what is broken can be slowly healed.
Thank you Meg Eden Kuyatt for a very special read!
May 10, 2025
“That’s what I love about assemblage—the pieces I assemble remind me we are all made of possibilities of what can be and what we can do, that even broken, ugly things can be remade into something new and beautiful.”
🏠
V feels like she’s being punished when she’s forced to spend the summer with her grandmother, Jojo. V isn’t quiet, clean or always in control and that’s what Jojo values. Certainly not V’s artwork, crazy socks or her affection for her cousin, Cat, whom Jojo kicked out of her house. But when V hears whispers in the walls and discovers there’s a girl ghost living in Jojo’s attic, she teams up with her to prank her grandmother. When the pranks get out of control, V tries to find out why this ghost is out to get her family.
👵🏻
@meden_author has done it again, folks! Good Different was one of my favorite MG novel in verse in 2023 so I was highly anticipating her follow up and this book did not disappoint! Fans of A Monster Calls will love this spooky side of this, while also loving the emotional side behind the ghosts, sludge and creepy dolls. At its core this novel deals with generational trauma, mental health stigmas and self-love. I loved the neurodivergence rep as much as I did in Kuyatt’s first title. I’ll be grabbing a copy for my middle school library when it releases May 20!
CW: generational trauma, bullying, hospitalization, grief, mental health issues, parental abandonment
4.5 ⭐️
🏠
V feels like she’s being punished when she’s forced to spend the summer with her grandmother, Jojo. V isn’t quiet, clean or always in control and that’s what Jojo values. Certainly not V’s artwork, crazy socks or her affection for her cousin, Cat, whom Jojo kicked out of her house. But when V hears whispers in the walls and discovers there’s a girl ghost living in Jojo’s attic, she teams up with her to prank her grandmother. When the pranks get out of control, V tries to find out why this ghost is out to get her family.
👵🏻
@meden_author has done it again, folks! Good Different was one of my favorite MG novel in verse in 2023 so I was highly anticipating her follow up and this book did not disappoint! Fans of A Monster Calls will love this spooky side of this, while also loving the emotional side behind the ghosts, sludge and creepy dolls. At its core this novel deals with generational trauma, mental health stigmas and self-love. I loved the neurodivergence rep as much as I did in Kuyatt’s first title. I’ll be grabbing a copy for my middle school library when it releases May 20!
CW: generational trauma, bullying, hospitalization, grief, mental health issues, parental abandonment
4.5 ⭐️
August 3, 2025
3.5 rounded up; rtc
April 2, 2025
A spooky middle grade novel in verse about a neurodivergent girl who is struggling to be seen and accepted by her grandmother.
V is not looking forward to spending the summer with overbearing Grandma Jojo, who’s more concerned with manners and rules than understanding who V is. But when she starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house, V decides there might be a way to get revenge on perfect Jojo.
This middle grade story highlights how hiding family secrets can cause harm to relationships, generation after generation. A definite page turner that publishes May 20th!
Page 163:
Mom always says feelings
are unreliable narrators -
they can come
and go
and not even be right,
but right now
I don’t care.
No more holding back.
Page 234:
Maybe all of us
are messy assemblage tangles
of things that don’t seem
to go together, of things that hurt
but also love-
and like Cat’s pieces
left in her room
maybe we are
works in progress.
Maybe we can
change
and become something
even
better.
Page 274:
That’s what I love
about assemblage-
the pieces I assemble remind me
we are all made
of possibilities
of what can be
and what we can do,
that even broken, ugly things
can be remade
into something new
and beautiful.
V is not looking forward to spending the summer with overbearing Grandma Jojo, who’s more concerned with manners and rules than understanding who V is. But when she starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house, V decides there might be a way to get revenge on perfect Jojo.
This middle grade story highlights how hiding family secrets can cause harm to relationships, generation after generation. A definite page turner that publishes May 20th!
Page 163:
Mom always says feelings
are unreliable narrators -
they can come
and go
and not even be right,
but right now
I don’t care.
No more holding back.
Page 234:
Maybe all of us
are messy assemblage tangles
of things that don’t seem
to go together, of things that hurt
but also love-
and like Cat’s pieces
left in her room
maybe we are
works in progress.
Maybe we can
change
and become something
even
better.
Page 274:
That’s what I love
about assemblage-
the pieces I assemble remind me
we are all made
of possibilities
of what can be
and what we can do,
that even broken, ugly things
can be remade
into something new
and beautiful.
August 3, 2025
I finished this in one day, one afternoon.
'The Girl in the Walls' is another triumph of autistic fiction by Meg Eden Kuyatt.
It is 'Good Different' - which I also read this year, and is one of my new favourite books - but in a ghostly horror context. It leans much, much heavier on the generational trauma theme - and the family connection and understanding theme - than in 'Good Different'. It is powerful, gripping, poignant, and important.
'The Girl in the Walls' is like a haunted house tale that's mostly set during the daytime. It may remind anyone of how they used to visit and stay at their grandparents' house on holidays as a kid. There are bound to be many secrets hidden away inside old houses; hidden in locked and forgotten rooms, and within the walls.
Themes of the falsehood of "normal" and keeping up appearances to survive in an unkind and uncaring world, and the lengths you go to hide truths about yourself and your family, and finally coming to terms with them, to realise that there is nothing wrong with you and anyone else like you, and you deserve to be happy and free - it is all clear in 'The Girl in the Walls', just like in 'Good Different' (it's a motif), except with the "perfect" but crumbling old house - with its ghost, and its porcelain dolls and secrets and sludge and dead rats - added in as metaphor.
A metaphor for how endangered, closeted, marginalised people are in society.
Stigmatisation against the neurodivergent, and the mentally ill, and prejudice overall, is sick and horrific. But when it is your own family that doesn't accept you - when it is the people who are supposed to love you no matter what, who should be the most trustworthy and never change how they feel and act towards you - when they don't support you, even betray you--
That is the biggest horror.
(I'll stop comparing Kuyatt's two novels in verse now, as it's not fair. They should be seen on their own merits and standing.)
'The Girl in the Walls' has an autistic teen girl protagonist, V, who is an artist, and she loves drawing anime-esque characters, and wearing funny, cartoony socks. She's a wonderful girl. From the start she knows that there is nothing wrong with her, that her neurodivergence is a part of her, and her superpower. This is becoming harder and harder for her to believe, however, when she is made to stay with a prominent member of her family, her "perfect", "clean", uptight, stuffy, snobby grandmother, Jojo, who sees art as a waste of time, and refuses to see who her granddaughter is in a positive light; even denying her identity.
V is not so secure and confident as she tells herself she is; same goes for Jojo, who is hiding secrets of her own. Like a secret family history, deep in the dark, in her old, "clean", white, boring, rotting house...
How does the ghost factor in, you might ask?
Not telling. I'll leave it at that, when disclosing the plot. Read the book itself to find out more, and be mightily surprised.
'The Girl in the Walls' isn't flawless. There are a few confusing moments, random and ill-thought out details, and typos that could have done with a bit more revising and editing. It could have done with further branching out in terms of diversity and inclusion, especially considering its themes?
However, regardless, it is a nice, sad, touching children's ghost story, that teaches you about art and expressing your true self with pride, never minding what other people think, and never keeping your feelings and truth hidden and festering inside.
It teaches you about empathy and compassion.
As Kuyatt says in her Author's Note at the end:
'While people I love can hurt me, they can also love me and have their own fears and insecurities and many sides.
At a time when our news and media are quick to capitalize on ugly divisive feelings, tell one-sided stories, and oversimplify reality, I think it is more important than ever that we have stories that remind us of the complexity and nuance of the people around us. In a time when hatred seems at an all-time high, we need to practice and model listening, empathy, and SEL--for ourselves, and the kids in our lives. I know I needed these reminders--that's why I wrote this book.
I hope that The Girl in the Walls makes readers feel seen, but that it also makes all of us slow down and pause in our assumptions of others. That we will take time to listen to one another's stories, and even if we don't always agree or understand, that we will respect the messiness and nuance. That we can see those around us--and ourselves--as strange and wonderful.'
No one is ever only one thing.
No one is a doll.
No one is broken.
The ghosts of our past can't stay hidden forever.
'A Girl in the Walls' - it is hard for me not to feel it is a junior novel in verse version of 'A Guest in the House', after recently reading that. It is also a bit like 'Anya's Ghost', and an autistic, junior version of 'The Yellow Wallpaper'.
But it's its own new, unique, precious gem.
It's a thrilling, tense, enlightening book on empathy and kindness, written from the heart, and from a good faith place.
Go read it, whether you are neurodivergent or neurotypical.
Final Score: 4/5
'The Girl in the Walls' is another triumph of autistic fiction by Meg Eden Kuyatt.
It is 'Good Different' - which I also read this year, and is one of my new favourite books - but in a ghostly horror context. It leans much, much heavier on the generational trauma theme - and the family connection and understanding theme - than in 'Good Different'. It is powerful, gripping, poignant, and important.
'The Girl in the Walls' is like a haunted house tale that's mostly set during the daytime. It may remind anyone of how they used to visit and stay at their grandparents' house on holidays as a kid. There are bound to be many secrets hidden away inside old houses; hidden in locked and forgotten rooms, and within the walls.
Themes of the falsehood of "normal" and keeping up appearances to survive in an unkind and uncaring world, and the lengths you go to hide truths about yourself and your family, and finally coming to terms with them, to realise that there is nothing wrong with you and anyone else like you, and you deserve to be happy and free - it is all clear in 'The Girl in the Walls', just like in 'Good Different' (it's a motif), except with the "perfect" but crumbling old house - with its ghost, and its porcelain dolls and secrets and sludge and dead rats - added in as metaphor.
A metaphor for how endangered, closeted, marginalised people are in society.
Stigmatisation against the neurodivergent, and the mentally ill, and prejudice overall, is sick and horrific. But when it is your own family that doesn't accept you - when it is the people who are supposed to love you no matter what, who should be the most trustworthy and never change how they feel and act towards you - when they don't support you, even betray you--
That is the biggest horror.
(I'll stop comparing Kuyatt's two novels in verse now, as it's not fair. They should be seen on their own merits and standing.)
'The Girl in the Walls' has an autistic teen girl protagonist, V, who is an artist, and she loves drawing anime-esque characters, and wearing funny, cartoony socks. She's a wonderful girl. From the start she knows that there is nothing wrong with her, that her neurodivergence is a part of her, and her superpower. This is becoming harder and harder for her to believe, however, when she is made to stay with a prominent member of her family, her "perfect", "clean", uptight, stuffy, snobby grandmother, Jojo, who sees art as a waste of time, and refuses to see who her granddaughter is in a positive light; even denying her identity.
V is not so secure and confident as she tells herself she is; same goes for Jojo, who is hiding secrets of her own. Like a secret family history, deep in the dark, in her old, "clean", white, boring, rotting house...
How does the ghost factor in, you might ask?
Not telling. I'll leave it at that, when disclosing the plot. Read the book itself to find out more, and be mightily surprised.
'The Girl in the Walls' isn't flawless. There are a few confusing moments, random and ill-thought out details, and typos that could have done with a bit more revising and editing. It could have done with further branching out in terms of diversity and inclusion, especially considering its themes?
However, regardless, it is a nice, sad, touching children's ghost story, that teaches you about art and expressing your true self with pride, never minding what other people think, and never keeping your feelings and truth hidden and festering inside.
It teaches you about empathy and compassion.
As Kuyatt says in her Author's Note at the end:
'While people I love can hurt me, they can also love me and have their own fears and insecurities and many sides.
At a time when our news and media are quick to capitalize on ugly divisive feelings, tell one-sided stories, and oversimplify reality, I think it is more important than ever that we have stories that remind us of the complexity and nuance of the people around us. In a time when hatred seems at an all-time high, we need to practice and model listening, empathy, and SEL--for ourselves, and the kids in our lives. I know I needed these reminders--that's why I wrote this book.
I hope that The Girl in the Walls makes readers feel seen, but that it also makes all of us slow down and pause in our assumptions of others. That we will take time to listen to one another's stories, and even if we don't always agree or understand, that we will respect the messiness and nuance. That we can see those around us--and ourselves--as strange and wonderful.'
No one is ever only one thing.
No one is a doll.
No one is broken.
The ghosts of our past can't stay hidden forever.
'A Girl in the Walls' - it is hard for me not to feel it is a junior novel in verse version of 'A Guest in the House', after recently reading that. It is also a bit like 'Anya's Ghost', and an autistic, junior version of 'The Yellow Wallpaper'.
But it's its own new, unique, precious gem.
It's a thrilling, tense, enlightening book on empathy and kindness, written from the heart, and from a good faith place.
Go read it, whether you are neurodivergent or neurotypical.
Final Score: 4/5
October 7, 2025
I see you. WE see you.
The things my inner child needed to read, hear, and see were so beautifully written in this book. From the cover you're like, "Oh, spooky book!!" but what's inside? Some of the most well-written neurodivergent representations I've ever come across. I was diagnosed with ADHD in the second half of my 20's and up until that point, I really felt like there was a part of me that was still unknown. Everything that V describes feeling was felt by my younger self (and unfortunately, still sometimes today). But showing us how there are other, kinder ways to approach the feeling of disdain from others is truly what made this book STAND OUT. And I wish everyone could read this, even if it's just to see the world from a neurodivergent perspective 🖤🖤🖤
The things my inner child needed to read, hear, and see were so beautifully written in this book. From the cover you're like, "Oh, spooky book!!" but what's inside? Some of the most well-written neurodivergent representations I've ever come across. I was diagnosed with ADHD in the second half of my 20's and up until that point, I really felt like there was a part of me that was still unknown. Everything that V describes feeling was felt by my younger self (and unfortunately, still sometimes today). But showing us how there are other, kinder ways to approach the feeling of disdain from others is truly what made this book STAND OUT. And I wish everyone could read this, even if it's just to see the world from a neurodivergent perspective 🖤🖤🖤
October 17, 2025
I enjoy the style of writing the author uses and the authenticity of the emotion that comes through.
“For me,
the ‘normal’ world is Wonderland,
neurotypicals
as nonsensical
as the Mad Hatter
and cruel
as the Queen of Hearts.
I’m used to always being
one
step
behind”
“For me,
the ‘normal’ world is Wonderland,
neurotypicals
as nonsensical
as the Mad Hatter
and cruel
as the Queen of Hearts.
I’m used to always being
one
step
behind”
June 3, 2025
A good page-turner, coming of age journey that’s relatable for anyone who’s ever felt like the odd one out in their own home.
August 17, 2025
Not a favorite, the paranormal stuff.. but this was ok.
3 stars
Happy Reading!
3 stars
Happy Reading!
May 21, 2025
Another big-hearted middle grade novel in verse featuring V, a self-proclaimed 'neuro-spicy' tween girl sent to live with her grandmother Jojo. V loves art and struggles with bullying and ableism from teachers and classmates. When she starts to hear things in the walls, she discovers the ghost of a girl who was locked away in the house for being neurodivergent. Full of big feelings, messy family drama, and important messages about acceptance of self and others. I loved this and really enjoyed the audio narration by Kira Fox. Recommended for fans of authors like Elle McNicoll.
May 8, 2025
Huge thanks to Scholastic Press for the physical arc of this one! I was drawn right in with the cover art.
This was fantastic. I expected to like it, as middle grade horror is usually a hit for me, but I really loved this. It’s a novel told in verse, which I did not know until I got it in the mail! It really cuts down on things we usually find necessary and proves that they aren’t always. Really concise, engaging, and moving.
Vee, after getting into trouble at school, is left to spend the summer with her neat-manners-and-all-other-things-freak grandmother, Jojo. As Vee is different, neurodivergent and trying to find her own way, she’s always butted heads with Jojo, so being left feels like torture. Especially when Vee finds out her older cousin, Cat, who also doesn’t get along with Jojo, isn’t allowed over. You see, jojo wants everything perfectly prim, otherwise, what would the neighbors think? Yet Vee just wants to make art and wear silly, fancy socks. Most of all though, Vee wants to be accepted and understood.
So when Vee finds a ghost of a girl living in Jojo’s walls, one who has been stockpiling her grandmother’s secrets, she finds it hard to say no to playing pranks with her. Even when the girl presses for darker and more intense pranks, disagreements between them push Vee toward giving in to the anger. If Jojo thinks so low of Vee, why shouldn’t she get back at her?
Although the ghost ties back into the storyline itself in a ‘history coming back to haunt you’ way, I found that she served as a really good voice for Vee’s fears, angers, anxieties and even darker processing. Because of how in your face her harsh pranks are, she begins to serve more and more as the big meanie for young readers, doubling down on how wrong anger can be. And while the short pay off may feel good, what Vee really wants is her grandmother’s love.
I found myself actually connecting things the grandmother said and did behaviorally to someone I’ve dealt with in the past. Especially the part about appearances. And this was a really unique way to see different sides to someone that maybe I didn’t think possible in real life. Everyone is multifaceted, and everyone has a past that influenced their present. It actually hit home for me, as I wasn’t allowing myself to view them as what they are just like Jojo didn’t view the real Vee. This one is light on the scary/horror side of things and real heavy on the emotional family turmoil side.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-gi...
This was fantastic. I expected to like it, as middle grade horror is usually a hit for me, but I really loved this. It’s a novel told in verse, which I did not know until I got it in the mail! It really cuts down on things we usually find necessary and proves that they aren’t always. Really concise, engaging, and moving.
Vee, after getting into trouble at school, is left to spend the summer with her neat-manners-and-all-other-things-freak grandmother, Jojo. As Vee is different, neurodivergent and trying to find her own way, she’s always butted heads with Jojo, so being left feels like torture. Especially when Vee finds out her older cousin, Cat, who also doesn’t get along with Jojo, isn’t allowed over. You see, jojo wants everything perfectly prim, otherwise, what would the neighbors think? Yet Vee just wants to make art and wear silly, fancy socks. Most of all though, Vee wants to be accepted and understood.
So when Vee finds a ghost of a girl living in Jojo’s walls, one who has been stockpiling her grandmother’s secrets, she finds it hard to say no to playing pranks with her. Even when the girl presses for darker and more intense pranks, disagreements between them push Vee toward giving in to the anger. If Jojo thinks so low of Vee, why shouldn’t she get back at her?
Although the ghost ties back into the storyline itself in a ‘history coming back to haunt you’ way, I found that she served as a really good voice for Vee’s fears, angers, anxieties and even darker processing. Because of how in your face her harsh pranks are, she begins to serve more and more as the big meanie for young readers, doubling down on how wrong anger can be. And while the short pay off may feel good, what Vee really wants is her grandmother’s love.
I found myself actually connecting things the grandmother said and did behaviorally to someone I’ve dealt with in the past. Especially the part about appearances. And this was a really unique way to see different sides to someone that maybe I didn’t think possible in real life. Everyone is multifaceted, and everyone has a past that influenced their present. It actually hit home for me, as I wasn’t allowing myself to view them as what they are just like Jojo didn’t view the real Vee. This one is light on the scary/horror side of things and real heavy on the emotional family turmoil side.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-the-gi...
July 22, 2025
Had some incredibly emotionally powerful moments! Was not expecting the format, but it read well as an audiobook!
Happy reading!
Happy reading!
June 26, 2025
Ok, yeah. This was really cool and kind of brilliant.
The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt is a middle-grade ghost story told entirely in poems. And I swear, these poems flow together smooth as butter, titles and all! I guarantee if you listened to the audiobook and never looked at the text, you'd have no idea it was all poems.
I should admit that, normally, I'm hard on books that play with narrative form, especially ones that try to bridge the gap between poems and novels. They never seem to find the right balance between the two.
But The Girl in the Walls works really, really well.
Part of why this novel-in-poems works is because the protagonist is autistic/neurodivergent, and I think poetry is a really cool way to represent, on paper, the thoughts of someone who thinks differently. Especially when they flow so seamlessly as the ones in this book do. The narrative is still linear, but it's presented to us in poems instead of sentences.
People with autism are often described to be "thinking in pictures," but this book thinks in poems. And aren't poems are kind of like word-pictures?
Not only is this story told in a unique way, but the disability representation here is fantastic. I loved the way Vee discusses masking and feeling like she doesn't fit in.
I think a lot of kiddos can relate to this. I also really liked how Vee thinks about disability.
Again, I think a lot of kiddos can relate to this and all of the larger themes here. Some of them are surprisingly heavy, like generational trauma, toxic friendships, self-acceptance, and using art to process feelings. And I don't want to say too much about the plot, but I felt all of these were handled incredibly well. The author did a great job keeping this age appropriate.
I'm just SO glad this book exists. I hope kids read it.
The last thing I want to say is that Kuyatt herself has publicly disclosed that she is autistic, and that's just one more reason why I think this book's form and themes are so successfully done. I mean, maybe this book was her artistic way of processing her feelings? Even if it wasn't, this is still a really cool depiction of neurodivergence and disability.
Easy 5 out of 5 stars.
The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt is a middle-grade ghost story told entirely in poems. And I swear, these poems flow together smooth as butter, titles and all! I guarantee if you listened to the audiobook and never looked at the text, you'd have no idea it was all poems.
I should admit that, normally, I'm hard on books that play with narrative form, especially ones that try to bridge the gap between poems and novels. They never seem to find the right balance between the two.
But The Girl in the Walls works really, really well.
Part of why this novel-in-poems works is because the protagonist is autistic/neurodivergent, and I think poetry is a really cool way to represent, on paper, the thoughts of someone who thinks differently. Especially when they flow so seamlessly as the ones in this book do. The narrative is still linear, but it's presented to us in poems instead of sentences.
People with autism are often described to be "thinking in pictures," but this book thinks in poems. And aren't poems are kind of like word-pictures?
Not only is this story told in a unique way, but the disability representation here is fantastic. I loved the way Vee discusses masking and feeling like she doesn't fit in.
but sometimes I feel like
a thorny dragon
or a long-eared owl,
that I have to camouflage
with neurotypicals
to survive. (p187)
I think a lot of kiddos can relate to this. I also really liked how Vee thinks about disability.
When Hearing About My Diagnosis,
adults say things like:
"But she does so well!"
"If so, she's barely on the spectrum."
"Very high-functioning."
"I would've never known."
"She's just quirky."
I know they're trying
co compliment me.
That to them, my autism is
a bad thing: the less of it,
the better. But I know
autism isn't like
the BMI we calculate in PE
or the cholestrol my doctor checks.
It's not something
that can go up or down.
What would people say
if they knew it's something
built in every LEGO block part of me,
something I can't turn off?" (p.187)
Again, I think a lot of kiddos can relate to this and all of the larger themes here. Some of them are surprisingly heavy, like generational trauma, toxic friendships, self-acceptance, and using art to process feelings. And I don't want to say too much about the plot, but I felt all of these were handled incredibly well. The author did a great job keeping this age appropriate.
I'm just SO glad this book exists. I hope kids read it.
The last thing I want to say is that Kuyatt herself has publicly disclosed that she is autistic, and that's just one more reason why I think this book's form and themes are so successfully done. I mean, maybe this book was her artistic way of processing her feelings? Even if it wasn't, this is still a really cool depiction of neurodivergence and disability.
Easy 5 out of 5 stars.
July 13, 2025
A spooky middle grade novel in verse? That was an immediate yes from me. Then I saw that the author was the same as Good Diffefent which was one of my favorite reads last year and I was intrigued because this seemed (from the cover) to be very different from that. But the way the author weaves this story together is amazing...all the details about having autism, how its different and yet the same for different people, masking, discussions about whether its easier to pretend to be "normal" or to just be yourself, the importance of being seen, generational trauma...this was SO well done. How this is all woven into a story about the girl in the walls was just fantastic. I highly recommend this one...I highlighted the heck out of this as I read...so good. This will definitely be in my top books of the year.
May 27, 2025
Meg Eden Kuyatt’s verse is easy to read, drawing the reader into V’s world with its perpetual forward rhythm, but don’t be fooled into thinking that means this book is simple. There’s nothing simple about this spooky story that centers around a ghost who is so much more than she seems. With potent imagery, the author uncovers the layers of fear, anger, and shame experienced by various members of V’s family, and the tangible harm they do when left to fester. Like the author’s previous verse novel, Good Different, The Girl in the Walls explores an autistic protagonist’s family relationships and the effects of generational trauma. But here she masterfully leverages the tools and techniques of speculative fiction to mine the emotions at the heart of V’s family history.
May 27, 2025
Thanks Net Galley for the digital ARC! “People have layers. No one is any one thing.” If I could pick any quote to sum up this book, it would be that. This book provided a unique perspective on what it means to be “neurospicy” and while I liked the hopeful nature of the ending, the story was a bit odd for my taste. However, I think the mysterious and haunted aspects of the story will hook middle grades students. There were several complicated layers to this story as the characters all have their own secrets and ghosts they must confront as they grapple with who they are. As with Good Different I appreciated the authenticity of the characters, however I liked the overall story of Good Different much more as it felt more believable. While the characters themselves in this book are representative and relatable, the actual destruction of the house was not so much. I get the premise of rebuilding relationships and lives as represented by the destruction and subsequent rebuilding of the house, but it just wasn’t my taste. There were certainly good parts of the story, but I just kept waiting for a catch that never came. Will I recommend it to my students? Sure… just because it wasn’t my favorite doesn’t mean it won’t be theirs, however I would recommend Good Different over this one any day.
September 15, 2025
what i thought i was getting: spooky MG ghost story
what i actually got: generational trauma and the horrors of the ugly laws and asylums
that said, while I understand why the ending was the way it was..... I think it still would have been better as an actual ghost. And it, along with some of the ambiguity and lack of development with Cat, is what ended up kicking the rating a bit. still good though! and would recommend
what i actually got: generational trauma and the horrors of the ugly laws and asylums
that said, while I understand why the ending was the way it was..... I think it still would have been better as an actual ghost. And it, along with some of the ambiguity and lack of development with Cat, is what ended up kicking the rating a bit. still good though! and would recommend
September 21, 2025
As soon as the character referred to herself as “neurospicy” I knew I was going to hate it. I get where it was trying to go and the story was trying to be but honestly felt a bit jumbled all over the place. There was parts that didn’t really make sense or fell flat. The autism/mental illness borderline was too messy for a middle grade book. I’m always looking for more representations for my classroom but this isn’t it.
June 5, 2025
I love the “neurospicy” main character. Because the author is neurodivergent the reader gets an authentic feel for the emotions, frustrations, and reactions of someone on the spectrum. The ghost in the story seemed more like a real person than my expectations of a ghost. With this being a novel in verse, I struggled at first with some of the details, particularly Cat’s knock on the window. Some of the details seem to have been blocked by the memory of V and they get revealed later in the story, but I paged back and reread several times sure that I had missed something. The sludge was confusing to me as well. Did others see it? Why sludge? I think students that enjoy ghost stories will like it and we need more characters like V.
July 15, 2025
This ghost story in verse gives its neurodivergent protagonist a chance to stand up to those that don’t understand her. If you liked this, I also recommend Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu.
August 4, 2025
I struggled with finishing this book. I love the premise but was not inspired to finish it.
September 7, 2025
The Girl in the Walls
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ .5 (3.5/5) or 7.42/10 overall
Characters - 7
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 7
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ .5 (3.5/5) or 7.42/10 overall
Characters - 7
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 7
September 17, 2025
3.5 stars
Neurodivergent representation
Own voices author
Ghost story
Family relationships
Neurodivergent representation
Own voices author
Ghost story
Family relationships
February 22, 2025
A fantastic upper grade MG novel in verse about a neurodivergent girl who is struggling to feel seen and accepted by her grandmother.
November 27, 2025
I loved it! All the misteryous events, and problems about friends and more! Yet, they got it all!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2025
I love how this story explores generational trauma as it peels back layer after layer in a haunted house setting. Meg Eden Kuyatt provides so many jump off points for parents to talk through hard topics with their kids, and encourage family growth into safety and wholeness, all on a middle grade appropriate level. Don't miss this verse novel!
Want to read
September 14, 2024╰┈➤ 𝙋𝙧𝙚-𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 was good! Hopefully this will be the same. The cover is awesome 👌. I also really like free verse. Can't wait to read it!
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 was good! Hopefully this will be the same. The cover is awesome 👌. I also really like free verse. Can't wait to read it!
May 14, 2025
There were elements of the execution here that could have been stronger, but I love the idea so much that I was swept right through the story. I don't know if the "twist" will be as obvious to young readers as I found it, but since the blurb pretty much gives away any dramatic reveals, I'm not sure it matters. The main takeaway for most readers, I think, will be that many of the older people in their lives who try to crush the difference and personality out of them are doing so because the differences were crushed out of THEM.
V is dealing with a lot of frustration and self-doubt, which is only compounded by her grandmother throughout the story. There's definite autistic rep, and I wasn't sure whether the cousin, Cat/Cathe, was supposed to be on the spectrum or be dealing with some form of bipolar disorder. Even NT kids will likely identify with some of the things V has to deal with, from confusing changes in established friendships to teachers who want to feel superior to their students rather than encourage them to explore an experiment.
This was pretty quick and VERY middle grade, with some plot holes and at times confusing visuals. How deep are these house walls? Are the walls a metaphor? Overall, though, the story is about adults who think they know better when in fact they just have unprocessed grief and trauma as a guide for their actions. The same little pep talks V gives herself also apply to her grandma. Emotions can be a helpful guide, or than can distract you from the things you need to address and resolve.
Sort of a sidebar, I thought the use of verse was clever in here. V often feels caught in the middle, or at odds with other characters, which is captured in the form the narrative takes on the page.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the ARC.
V is dealing with a lot of frustration and self-doubt, which is only compounded by her grandmother throughout the story. There's definite autistic rep, and I wasn't sure whether the cousin, Cat/Cathe, was supposed to be on the spectrum or be dealing with some form of bipolar disorder. Even NT kids will likely identify with some of the things V has to deal with, from confusing changes in established friendships to teachers who want to feel superior to their students rather than encourage them to explore an experiment.
This was pretty quick and VERY middle grade, with some plot holes and at times confusing visuals. How deep are these house walls? Are the walls a metaphor? Overall, though, the story is about adults who think they know better when in fact they just have unprocessed grief and trauma as a guide for their actions. The same little pep talks V gives herself also apply to her grandma. Emotions can be a helpful guide, or than can distract you from the things you need to address and resolve.
Sort of a sidebar, I thought the use of verse was clever in here. V often feels caught in the middle, or at odds with other characters, which is captured in the form the narrative takes on the page.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the ARC.
May 20, 2025
My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Scholastic Press. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction, Middle Grade Magical Realism, Mystery, Horror, Neurodivergent Books, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ghosts, Poetry, Art, Family
Age: Geared to middle grade readers, aged 7-13ish, but I think anyone with autistic people in their lives will want to read this one.
Format: Standalone novel written in verse. This book offers easy access for readers, especially hitting the market for high-low comprehension and reluctant readers.
*THE GIRL IN THE WALLS* explores connections in the most ghostly way. *Thrilling. Heartbreaking. Healing. All wrapped into one story.*
This book would be a great conversation starter at home or in a classroom. V, the main character, is struggling with anger and how she feels like she isn't accepted by friends or family. The emotions are raw and embodied by the ghost of the girl in the walls.
Using the sparse verse is poignant. I felt like each word jumped off the page with a message for me. And get ready for going through your own emotions of love and acceptance, because this book explores our humanity with depth through simplicity. The symbols/magical realism are another strong element—I believe these will be fun for children and at the same time add depth to the meaning when discussed.
My last description for this book is VALIDATING. Read it and find out how it relates to you.
I highly recommend this book.
Happy (ghostly) reading!
PS: I happen to like the term neurospicy, and it's the first time I've seen it printed in a book. But the author notes in the end to respect others and how they want to be identified because some autistic people don't like this term.
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction, Middle Grade Magical Realism, Mystery, Horror, Neurodivergent Books, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ghosts, Poetry, Art, Family
Age: Geared to middle grade readers, aged 7-13ish, but I think anyone with autistic people in their lives will want to read this one.
Format: Standalone novel written in verse. This book offers easy access for readers, especially hitting the market for high-low comprehension and reluctant readers.
*THE GIRL IN THE WALLS* explores connections in the most ghostly way. *Thrilling. Heartbreaking. Healing. All wrapped into one story.*
This book would be a great conversation starter at home or in a classroom. V, the main character, is struggling with anger and how she feels like she isn't accepted by friends or family. The emotions are raw and embodied by the ghost of the girl in the walls.
Using the sparse verse is poignant. I felt like each word jumped off the page with a message for me. And get ready for going through your own emotions of love and acceptance, because this book explores our humanity with depth through simplicity. The symbols/magical realism are another strong element—I believe these will be fun for children and at the same time add depth to the meaning when discussed.
My last description for this book is VALIDATING. Read it and find out how it relates to you.
I highly recommend this book.
Happy (ghostly) reading!
PS: I happen to like the term neurospicy, and it's the first time I've seen it printed in a book. But the author notes in the end to respect others and how they want to be identified because some autistic people don't like this term.
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