I went into this book with a very different preconceived idea in my head. I enjoyed the book and could relate to all the characters on some kind of level, I think I was just expecting a different kind of scary ghost story. It was a very intense read, very deep and thought provoking with it's psychological thrills that V and her Grandma experienced. I'd be interested to learn more about the Grandma and her cousin's relationship. Grandma had been through trauma and passed down similar parenting behaviors with her own daughter, but at times I was confused about some of the character's backstories. I love the relationship that V has with her cousin, she has such a caring and big sister quality about her and she is a great role model for V. She shows her that it's okay to be herself and that her happiness and mental well-being is a priority. Overall, I read it and enjoyed it, but I think I'll have to read it a second time to fill in some of the details I missed.

I sincerely apologize for the tardiness of posting my review of THE GIRL IN THE WALLS, but a lot of life stuff got in the way. However, I gotta say this is one of the BEST MG books I have ever read, and I can't wait to get it in my library and put it in the hands of young readers. They're going to love it as much as I did.

Meg Kuyatt has written another brilliant novel in verse, this one with similar introspection, but a thriller too. V spends the summer with her buttoned up grandma Jojo. V's mom says she and Jojo are more alike than she may realize, but the only thing V sees is that nothing she about her is good enough for Jojo. Determined to avoid her grandmother, V explores the house, probing in all the off limit spaces and finds...a girl, a ghost, in the walls of the house. Who is she? How does she know more about V and Jojo than V does? And what does she really want? As V delves deeper into who the ghost is she also discovers the complex truth about Jojo and herself and all the ones who came before.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“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.

The Girl in the Walls is a poignant and eerie verse novel that weaves ghost story suspense with a powerful exploration of identity, neurodivergence, and intergenerational conflict. V is an immediately relatable protagonist—quirky, artistic, and achingly real—navigating a tense summer under the critical eye of her perfectionist grandmother.

The story builds gradually, using its verse format to great effect. The spare, lyrical writing allows V’s emotions to shine through, especially her sense of alienation and yearning to be understood. The supernatural mystery involving the ghost girl in the walls adds an unsettling, almost claustrophobic tension that balances well against the quieter emotional beats.

However, while the themes of trauma, family secrets, and self-acceptance are thoughtfully handled, the pacing sometimes suffers under the weight of its ambitious scope. The ending brings a strong emotional resolution, but some reveals feel a bit rushed or overly tidy, especially in contrast to the novel’s carefully built atmosphere.

Final verdict: The Girl in the Walls is an evocative, genre-blending read that stands out for its neurodivergent perspective and lyrical storytelling. It may not fully satisfy readers looking for a traditional ghost story, but it lingers in the mind just the same.

Meg Eden Kuyatt’s novel in verse THE GIRL IN THE WALLS mixes spooky with long-held family secrets. Neurodivergent V is spending the summer with her seemingly perfect grandmother Jojo, who is critical of V’s ways. When V hears a persistent voice coming from the walls of Jojo’s house, she investigates and discovers a ghost living there. After befriending the ghost and working with her to prank Jojo, V is shocked at what is revealed about her family’s past.

The novel in verse format is perfect for providing a window into V’s emotions and for unraveling the layers of the story. Many readers, both those who are neurodiverse and those who are not, will relate to V and her feelings of not fitting in and her bristling at the expectations of others. For those who have not experienced these feelings, the story encourages empathy towards those who are experiencing this. Age-appropriate scares and a moving exploration of identity and the impact of generational trauma make this a compelling middle grade read.

The Girl in the Walls is a hauntingly beautiful novel in verse that blends spooky storytelling with deep emotional growth. Through vivid imagery and atmospheric writing, you are drawn into a world that feels at once surreal and strikingly real. V, the main character is navigating her summer at her prickly grandmother Jojo’s house after a tough school year punctuated by the loss of friendships and a major outburst in class. While there, she uncovers the ghost of a girl hidden in the walls as well as generations of buried trauma and expectations of blending in at all costs. The ghost becomes a powerful symbol of the pain and silence passed down through her family, particularly among women who felt or acted different than the social norms in any way.

What makes this book truly special is its authentic and nuanced portrayal of autism, and how it explores the complexities of identity, voice, and accountability. Kuyatt doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff, but she conveys Big Truths through a fast-paced and eerie story. She perfectly highlights the tension between being understood and being held back, being loved and limited. It’s a rare and important read that offers middle grade readers a chillingly compelling ghost story alongside deeply human truths. I can’t wait to share this with students! It’s the kind of book that sticks with you long after the last page.

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.

A neurodivergent girl, V, spends the summer with her strict grandmother. When she finds a ghost living in her grandmother's walls she finally has a chance to rebel against her grandmother and all her rules. As they wreck havoc, V comes to realize their might be more to her grandmother's story than she had realized. Can she turn things around before it is too late?

I loved this story. V is a great character and has real character development from the beginning to the end of the story. The novel is a fast read as it is written in verse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for this opportunity to review this book.

I’m so impressed with the way that Eden crafted a riveting story about a haunting, that also has so many powerful messages, especially those about confidence being neurodiverse. Even if you yourself are not neurodiverse, you likely know someone who is and that someone needs your kindness and empathy.

Verse is the perfect format for this heart-tugging, reflective, emotional, and mysterious intergenerational story. The metaphors are spot-on, and the inner turmoil of multiple characters is palpable. This a great story to hand not only to neurodivergent kids, but also to use to build empathy in others. I lost count of the number of times I wanted to give V a big hug! Perfect choice for a book club discussion for older MG/young YA.

Absolutely loved this verse novel. It did an amazing job showing a young girl dealing with both family issues and issues related to her neurodivergence. Wrapping all of this up in a spooky ghost story was incredible and makes the themes presented more accessible to young readers. Highly recommended.

I love novels in verse, so this was already set to be a winning book for me, and it only went up from there. I love the portrayal of neurodivergence, family trauma, and the way our past mistakes can haunt us. I loved the pacing, and the creepiness of this book, turning feeling into ghosts that can ACTUALLY haunt us. Really great!

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.

Neurodivergent V (who does not care for her full name Valeria) is spending the summer at prim and proper Grandma Jojo’s house. Jojo struggles to make sense of V’s eccentricities, as well as those of V’s cousin Cat, and it leads to a strained relationship. Soon, V discovers a strange ghost girl in Jojo’s walls, and V thinks that this ghost could be the key to unlocking a lot of family secrets that would help V understand her grandmother.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it as an adult, but I think for the intended middle grade audience, this would be confusing and perhaps boring.

While the format as a novel in verse really adds to the emotional weight of the story, I think I would have preferred this as a traditional prose novel to get a better background on the characters.

The story itself is an interesting one, but jumbled. Some elements that were purposely told out of order made the story seem muddled and confusing, and there were several places where I thought for sure that something was wrong with my download and parts had been cut out. If I as an adult reader had trouble following along, I feel fairly confident that a middle grade reader would as well.

I didn’t dislike this book, but I think there are other middle grade books that explore neurodivergence more successfully.

*2.5 Stars*

This didn't really work for me. It fell a bit flat, the characters felt a bit two dimensional and the plot was messy. At least, it was a fast read but it didn't grab me like I thought it would. It even lost me, plot wise, I could barely tell what was going on by the end. Basically, this just wasn't for me...

This book….wow! It almost felt as if I were in the mind of a neurodivergent young person. I felt a whole roller coaster of emotions throughout the book - anger, frustration, fear, disgust, hope, love. V is spending the summer with her grandmother, Jojo, who she’s pretty sure doesn’t even like her. Jojo wants V to be a typical kid, but V knows she’s anything but typical. V finds a ghost in the walls of the house, and through interactions with and as a result of this ghost, V learns more about herself, her family, and their history. The ghost comes to symbolize so much of the pain and secrets that V, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother have carried. The ghostly aspect of the book will draw readers in, and then they will experience a story of finding self-acceptance. I highly recommend this book to anyone as I think everyone can find a piece of themselves within.

I was pulled in from the beginning to learn the story of V, her family, and the unfolding drama. I remember spending summers with my grandparents and over the course of many summers I learned to love it but there were definitely years in which I struggled like V does.

V is autistic and Kuyatt does a good job of sharing her internal thoughts and struggles and how she feels about masking her behavior to try and fit in. After reading this, I hope readers will be more understanding and accepting of anyone who doesn’t fit society’s idea of “normal” but especially those people considered neurospicy/neurodivergent.

I don’t commonly read poetry but this was easily accessible and the way it was written made it easy to read. It flowed and conveyed emotion well in the way lines were broken or shifted. By the end, I almost preferred the poetry in novel form versus prose because of how quickly it reads.

The overall theme was well written without being overt, especially for children in those middle years struggling to understand the adults around them and dealing with the issues of fitting in. This is also a great reminder for some of those parents who have forgotten what it was like when they were struggling with the same issues. The theme of generational trauma was subtly woven through and I don’t know if that was intentional or if I’m reading into it.

I have not read anything by this author previously and was impressed by this book. I plan to seek out her other offerings.

This was a fast-paced, character-focused read about a girl who delves into family secrets and explores her own trauma. I definitely appreciated the care that went into representing an autistic experience and I liked the thread of neurodivergence throughout a family line. Personally I found it a bit too quick, it almost felt like two acts instead of three, but I can see how this could be a strength for younger readers or those with shorter attention spans.

Meg Eden Kuyatt's The Girl in the Walls is a horror novel in verse with a neurodivergent main character. And while saying all of those elements may feel like this book was written using a random book generator, in Kuyatt's skilled hand, The Girl in the Walls is an absolute delight. V is forced to spend the summer at the home of her uptight Grandma Jojo, who is constantly critical of V. V, who is neurodivergent, has a difficult time adjusting to the rules at Jojo's house. When V discovers a ghost girl in the walls after hearing mysterious noises, she thinks her summer might be looking up. Unfortunately, the ghost may not have everyone's best interests at heart.

The Girl in the Walls has appeal to a number of readers in my library. Many of my students are huge fans of Good Different, and many more of my students are fans of any books with ghosts doing creepy things.

Perfect for fans of Anne Ursu's Not Quite A Ghost.