Violet dies, and she falls into it. It is eventually revealed that Amber poisoned the girls' peas and that the murdered prisoners can return to the living world if somebody dies, claiming their guilt. Violet's death claims Orianna's guilt, and Orianna comes back to life, going on to live as Violet was planning to. Suma began writing "The Walls Around Us" after reaching a period of self-doubt where she questioned "everything about my writing and my career as a YA author and feeling unsteady about what to do next". While writing the book she wrote the viewpoints of Violet and Amber separately, finishing one point first and then returning to write second point of view, after which she spliced the two stories into one book. Suma did not want to create likeable characters, instead considering less likeable ones to be more interesting. For the book Suma drew upon her past experiences studying dance at small-town dance schools. Critical reception for "The Walls Around Us" has been positive. The "New York Times" gave a favorable review for "The Walls Around Us", which they felt was "intricately plotted" and contained "evocative language". The "Chicago Tribune" also praised the book, writing "Nova Ren Suma's prose hums with such power and fury that when the explosions do happen, they seem unavoidable. Even if readers puzzle a bit over the plot specifics, they will find much here that is satisfying, disturbing and hard to forget."