Girl in the Walls

DEBUT Elise lives in the Masons’ house. It used to be her house; now it is theirs, but Elise lives there anyway, secretly, inside the walls. Mr. and Mrs. Mason don’t know she’s there, but their two teenage boys suspect as much. As Elise evades detection while spooking the boys, questions arise: Is she real? Is she the figment of someone’s imagination? Is she a ghost? Gnuse’s debut novel is an examination of place and belonging, among other things. It’s challenging on several levels and leaves many loose ends: What’s the meaning of the house that Elise can never leave, but that, over the course of the story (and partially because of her presence), comes apart, wrecked beyond repair? Who is the mysterious Mr. Traust, the deranged exorcist who, hammer in hand, deconstructs the house in an effort to capture the girl in the walls? And what exactly should we make of the relationship between Elise and Eddie, the Masons’ 13-year-old?