Anna is more than shy. She is nearly invisible. At seven, terrified of school, Anna retreats within the walls of her family's enormous house, and builds a world of passageways and hidden rooms. As the years go by, people forget she ever existed. Then a mysterious note is thrust through a crack in the wall, and Anna must decide whether or not to come out of hiding. Patrice Kindl's astounding, inventive novel blends fantasy and reality -- and readers will not forget it. "Thoroughly convincing and deeply moving. Whether we read the story as an allegory, an elaborate metaphor, even a bittersweet dream, the feelings and insights are precise and real, enhanced all the more by a wonderfully wry and rueful humor." -- Lloyd Alexander, Newbery Medal-winning author of The High King " Kindl creates an original world with authority and complete credibility. Her austere yet insistent, grave yet humorous style is perfect."-- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review