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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
first physical and sort of action/deep book i've read in a while, and i must say i enjoyed it more than i initially expected. i started out slow because again, first book in a while and the story itself was kind of slow in the beginning but once i got to near the middle and the story was unfolding before me i got hooked in and felt for the main characters and even the side characters.
im also just glad they got a happy ending because they deserve it :'))
im also just glad they got a happy ending because they deserve it :'))
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Trafficking
For about the first third of this book, I did not see myself giving it four stars. It just wasn't pulling me in, due in equal parts to the bleak, hopeless setting and to the writing style (too many metaphors and similes for my taste). The genre confused me, too. At first, I thought it was supposed to be dystopian, but almost everything mentioned in the story sounded like our world. Then I found out it was based on a real place, but names and timelines had been changed. I wish I'd known all of that going in simply because it kept me from losing myself in the story.
However, about halfway through, something changed. I was hooked, and I wasn't even completely sure why. I think it had to do with the characters starting to look out for each other instead of focusing on themselves. It brought the sliver of hope and goodness that I needed and raised the stakes a notch.
The Walled City dealt with tough subjects, sometimes giving more detail than I wanted, but it was never too graphic, thankfully. It raised some interesting thoughts in my mind about the different reasons people live in poverty and crime.
Also, Jin Ling is pretty much the best little sister there is.
However, about halfway through, something changed. I was hooked, and I wasn't even completely sure why. I think it had to do with the characters starting to look out for each other instead of focusing on themselves. It brought the sliver of hope and goodness that I needed and raised the stakes a notch.
The Walled City dealt with tough subjects, sometimes giving more detail than I wanted, but it was never too graphic, thankfully. It raised some interesting thoughts in my mind about the different reasons people live in poverty and crime.
Also, Jin Ling is pretty much the best little sister there is.
3.5⭐️
I liked how there was nothing unsolved at the end. I was interested in the story the whole time but it felt like it dragged a bit in the beginning.
I’m very happy Chma was not forgotten
I liked how there was nothing unsolved at the end. I was interested in the story the whole time but it felt like it dragged a bit in the beginning.
I’m very happy Chma was not forgotten
3.75 out of 5 stars
I just want to say at the beginning if you are thinking of reading this book, **TRIGGER WARNING for sexual assault, violence**
The Walled City is a very unique YA story. It is based on the real city of Kowloon in Hong Kong, which makes a very interesting setting for this fictionalized story.
The plot was very interesting. At the beginning of the story, it sounds like it is going to be a fast-paced dystopian-type tale. However, the story is much more slow-burning and focuses on building tension and the characters. The story is extremely tragic, especially when hearing the description of the brothel in which one of the characters live. The descriptions of the Walled City are very gritty and show how desperate the characters' situations are. The plot is very well paced. However, I do wish we got more background on the characters/setting. They are very interesting, and I think one 400 page book did not do them enough justice.
Graudin does not shy away from violence and swearing, which is very refreshing in YA. The characters do swear and there are descriptions of violence (they are not too gory, however).
The multiple POV's does work in this story. I did listen to the audiobook, which had different voice actors for each POV. This helped me differentiate who was speaking, so I am not sure if it would be as easy in the text.
This book is a very unique read in the YA genre. It was refreshing to read after a million dystopians in a row.
I just want to say at the beginning if you are thinking of reading this book, **TRIGGER WARNING for sexual assault, violence**
The Walled City is a very unique YA story. It is based on the real city of Kowloon in Hong Kong, which makes a very interesting setting for this fictionalized story.
The plot was very interesting. At the beginning of the story, it sounds like it is going to be a fast-paced dystopian-type tale. However, the story is much more slow-burning and focuses on building tension and the characters. The story is extremely tragic, especially when hearing the description of the brothel in which one of the characters live. The descriptions of the Walled City are very gritty and show how desperate the characters' situations are. The plot is very well paced. However, I do wish we got more background on the characters/setting. They are very interesting, and I think one 400 page book did not do them enough justice.
Spoiler
I did appreciate how the ending was not entirely happy. The fact that a lot of the girls went back to the brothel highlights the sad reality of human sex trafficking. Often when young men and women don't know anything besides their abuse, they go back to it after being rescued. I thought it was great that Graudin acknowledged this reality and even advocates for change in human sex trafficking in her author's note.Graudin does not shy away from violence and swearing, which is very refreshing in YA. The characters do swear and there are descriptions of violence (they are not too gory, however).
The multiple POV's does work in this story. I did listen to the audiobook, which had different voice actors for each POV. This helped me differentiate who was speaking, so I am not sure if it would be as easy in the text.
This book is a very unique read in the YA genre. It was refreshing to read after a million dystopians in a row.
Just amazing.
Heartbreaking and beautiful and I-can't-put-this-down.
Reminded me a little of a more accessible [b:The Orphan Master's Son|11529868|The Orphan Master's Son|Adam Johnson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327878601s/11529868.jpg|16467838] in the way that the author weaves little-known real life into something that reads like the most disturbing dystopian fiction. Graudin doesn't shy away from the sordid details of human trafficking and gangs that she's created in her story, but this is suitable (and highly recommended) for high school and above.
It comes out in November... add it to your to-read list now.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
Heartbreaking and beautiful and I-can't-put-this-down.
Reminded me a little of a more accessible [b:The Orphan Master's Son|11529868|The Orphan Master's Son|Adam Johnson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327878601s/11529868.jpg|16467838] in the way that the author weaves little-known real life into something that reads like the most disturbing dystopian fiction. Graudin doesn't shy away from the sordid details of human trafficking and gangs that she's created in her story, but this is suitable (and highly recommended) for high school and above.
It comes out in November... add it to your to-read list now.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
Even though this book didn't blow me away, it's a pleasure to read this kind of YA novel--it's a realistic and serious story that sets themes of family, love, and human trafficking against a backdrop of a fictionalized version of the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong (which was demolished in the early '90s). Two of the three main characters are girls, and there's not a vampire fang, dragon wing, or magic potion in sight, which is so refreshing.
The characters are interesting and fairly well developed. The plot is quick moving and the action is violent. I'd have liked more descriptive details about the city itself at the very start of the story. There was some, but I wanted even more to set the scene. I wanted to get the grit, the smells, the damp of the city surrounding me from the get-go.
Graudin's author's note about what she took from Kowloon's history and what she fictionalized was interesting, though I'd preferred to have it at the beginning instead of the end of the book. And if I had to do it over, I'd have read a hard copy instead of listening to the audiobook. The book has three narrators--one for each of the three main first-person characters (a well chosen and well executed narrative choice)--and while each did his/her own parts well, they each occasionally had to do the dialogue for other characters, and this was frequently awkward.
The characters are interesting and fairly well developed. The plot is quick moving and the action is violent. I'd have liked more descriptive details about the city itself at the very start of the story. There was some, but I wanted even more to set the scene. I wanted to get the grit, the smells, the damp of the city surrounding me from the get-go.
Graudin's author's note about what she took from Kowloon's history and what she fictionalized was interesting, though I'd preferred to have it at the beginning instead of the end of the book. And if I had to do it over, I'd have read a hard copy instead of listening to the audiobook. The book has three narrators--one for each of the three main first-person characters (a well chosen and well executed narrative choice)--and while each did his/her own parts well, they each occasionally had to do the dialogue for other characters, and this was frequently awkward.
DNF at 60%. It was an interesting premise, I'll give it that. For the first 100 pages is was intriguing and well thought out until it just wasn't. I mean, it's not as if the book is absolute rubbish but it was slow and tedious at times. I kept on having to remind myself to pick it back up over and over again. Life is too short to spend reading on books you're not interested in.
The characters did not merit any warmth from me. It was hard to get invested in their stories and something about it just felt like the author was trying to be too...dark? Edgy? Is edgy even an appropriate term when we're dealing with child abuse, drugs and prostitution? Possibly not. Regardless, if you have the time to sit around and read an achingly slow book with cardboard characters, please feel free. This book just didn't make the cut in my case
The characters did not merit any warmth from me. It was hard to get invested in their stories and something about it just felt like the author was trying to be too...dark? Edgy? Is edgy even an appropriate term when we're dealing with child abuse, drugs and prostitution? Possibly not. Regardless, if you have the time to sit around and read an achingly slow book with cardboard characters, please feel free. This book just didn't make the cut in my case
Wow. This book was just absolutely positively fantastic. The writing was beautiful and all of the characters made me feel something. This is one of my new favorite books. I can't believe how amazing this was.