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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Dai is trying to escape a past that continues to haunt him. Mei Yee is trapped in a brothel and watches girls try & fail to escape while dreaming of her own way out. Jin is hiding in plain sight, a girl dressed as a boy, while she searches for her sister and hides from the Walled City’s gangs. The clock is ticking. Dai knows there are only 18 days left to find a way out.
I am so glad I read this multiple perspective novel on audio. The narrators were superb and helped me to not only keep straight who-was-who but also helped me to quickly settle-in to the tale. My adrenaline was pumping through every minute as I followed their journey. I found myself looking for housework to do or laundry to fold or walks to take just so I could continue listening.
Be sure to listen to the end for the author’s note as she discusses the inspiration for the story, Kowloon Walled City, and the liberties she took with history.
TW: sex trafficking
I am so glad I read this multiple perspective novel on audio. The narrators were superb and helped me to not only keep straight who-was-who but also helped me to quickly settle-in to the tale. My adrenaline was pumping through every minute as I followed their journey. I found myself looking for housework to do or laundry to fold or walks to take just so I could continue listening.
Be sure to listen to the end for the author’s note as she discusses the inspiration for the story, Kowloon Walled City, and the liberties she took with history.
TW: sex trafficking
Welcome to Book City
Date: January 12, 2015
Spoilers Ahead
Headline
The Walled City
Ryan Graudin
730. That's how many days I've been trapped.
18. That's how many days I have left to find a way out.
DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible....
JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister....
MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window.....
In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out.
City Calendar:
This is what happened during the week.
Jin runs from Kuen with his good boots. Dai sees her running. Mei Yee's friend at her brothel Sing is forced to take heroin. Dai finds Jin. He asks her to do a drug run for Longwai. Mei Yee sleeps with Ambassador Osamu. Jin and Dai make the run. Dai finds out about Mei Yee's window. He makes a deal with Mei Yee to tell her information and get information in return. Kuen takes Jin's tarp. Dai protects Jin. He takes her to his apartment, but Jin flees. Mei Yee gets a serving job to get information. Jin is attacked by Kuen. She kills him. Dai finds Jin and takes her to his family's home outside Hak Nam. The ambassador hurts Mei Yee. Dai and Jin tell each other the truth: Jin being female and Dai revealing how he lost his brother. Dai leaves Jin to rest and goes to see Mei Yee. Mei Yee tells him the plan to get the ledger by using her friends. Mei Yee shows the shell Dai have her to her friends. Yin Yu tells Longwai. Mei Yee is forced into a room with Sing. Dai is almost forced to give Mei Yee heroin. Osamu appears and takes Mei Yee away. Dai is shot. Jin is cornered by Kuen's gang. Jin and Mei Yee reunite. Jin and Mei Yee plan to rescue Dai. Dai escapes. Jin goes in as a girl to the brother Longwai runs. Jin gets the ledger. Dai is safe. Dai takes the girls to his house after they are taken out. A foundation is built for the people in Hak Nam. Dai takes Jin and Mei Yee to the sea.
And that's what happened this week.
Personal Ads:
Jin Ling.
Female pretending to be a male. Looking for her older sister. Runner. Quick. Clever.
Dai.
Rich boy. Likes Mei Yee. Wants to leave the Walled City.
Mei Yee.
Prostitute to Ambassador Osamu. Sister to Jin. Likes Dai. Wants to be free.
Opinions:
I feel like many could like this. It had action and just enough of romance. A sisterly bond even. I just didn't like it. There were things that I couldn't shake. I could have liked it with different characters and relationships between them...but it wasn't what I love in books. It was an okay book, though.
I liked the setting. I have had vacations in Hong Kong. I know of Kowloon the place Hak Nam is based off of. I've been there. Probably. I can't remember. I've eaten the cha tsu bao. I've eaten that a lot. I'm Chinese American. I've eaten dim sum before. So I loved that this was based off of Asia. Specifically Hong Kong. I like that place. Subway system. Cable cars. I have good memories of Hong Kong. I remembered some when I read this book. Even if it's not specifically based in Hong Kong. It's a great setting. Drawing you in with the dirty alleys and cluttered housing. It reminds me of Hong Kong. The way the author described it wasn't the best. I would have loved to know more about the housing. More about the smells and sights on the street. But it's perfectly fine the way she did it.
The characters were okay. I liked Jin better than Dai. Jin was brave. She was caring. She loved her sister and wanted to find her again. And admirable mission though hardly easy to accomplish. I liked how she grew into not trusting into trusting Dai. He, after all, isn't easy to like. (I mean...I didn't like him.) I would love to read more about Jin. I felt like she was kinda...a background character. Sure, she had her moments when she was essential to the plot, but she would fade. I feel like this book isn't even when distributing main character status. I definitely wanted more Jin. More of her backstory and whatnot. She was an amazing character.
I also liked Mei Yee's change. She was a shy girl in the beginning. Submissive, even, if you want to call her that. (I wouldn't. I feel terrible as a person calling someone submissive. But if you're into that...) She changed into a heroine. I really liked that. I'm not a big fan of 'weaker' female character. I am, while hating being female, a feminist in a way. (Sure. I act innocent. Act.) I like how she gained her independence without Dai helping her. Mei Yee was growing into a great character. Until Dai came, and her heart went a-thump-a-thump. Good female characters being ruined by boys just drives me crazy. I'm sorry, but that will get me on my soapbox. (If I even have one.) I liked how she was going.
I didn't like the plot. I really didn't. To me, there wasn't much going on for most of the book. It was kinda boring and dull. I didn't really like it. I needed more action. I needed more drama. I felt like it was lacking. I wanted knife fighting scenes. I wanted the attack scenes with Kuen do be more action. More almost-deaths. I like those things. Those things are my favorite type of action scenes.
And, somehow, the three perspective threw me off. I felt like the the story wasn't evenly divided for each of the characters. I felt like Jin should have been represented more. It seemed like she was ignored for the romance brewing between Dai and Mei Yee. I wanted more about her. I felt like there was not enough of her. Dai and Mei Yee had interesting perspectives. I wanted to know more about them as well. It's hard to juggle many perspectives without having someone ignored. I felt like the romance was consuming the story.
The romance wasn't very good as well. It wasn't based off of anything. It was physical attraction. Dai wanted something from Mei Yee. I felt like that was just plain wrong. They fell in...love or whatnot for absolutely no reason. I'm not sure I liked it. There wasn't chemistry. They barely talked. It felt like a Romeo and Juliet situation. It didn't mean much. There wasn't too much happening. They barely know each other. I wanted something else. A better relationship. Dai and Mei Yee were perfectly fine without being in a relationship. Sure, that pulls things along with the ledger finding. That isn't too much that needs to happen, though. I know it jumpstarts things. I know that. But the romance isn't a very good one.
While there were some good things, they weren't very strong good points. I felt...disappointed in this book almost. I wanted more. I expected a lot. I expected action and a little bit of romance. (While we got just a tad more than I wanted.) I know a lot of people might like this book. I know that.
Weather:
Sunny with a 50% chance of rain
3/5
Date: January 12, 2015
Spoilers Ahead
Headline
The Walled City
Ryan Graudin
730. That's how many days I've been trapped.
18. That's how many days I have left to find a way out.
DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible....
JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister....
MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window.....
In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out.
City Calendar:
This is what happened during the week.
Jin runs from Kuen with his good boots. Dai sees her running. Mei Yee's friend at her brothel Sing is forced to take heroin. Dai finds Jin. He asks her to do a drug run for Longwai. Mei Yee sleeps with Ambassador Osamu. Jin and Dai make the run. Dai finds out about Mei Yee's window. He makes a deal with Mei Yee to tell her information and get information in return. Kuen takes Jin's tarp. Dai protects Jin. He takes her to his apartment, but Jin flees. Mei Yee gets a serving job to get information. Jin is attacked by Kuen. She kills him. Dai finds Jin and takes her to his family's home outside Hak Nam. The ambassador hurts Mei Yee. Dai and Jin tell each other the truth: Jin being female and Dai revealing how he lost his brother. Dai leaves Jin to rest and goes to see Mei Yee. Mei Yee tells him the plan to get the ledger by using her friends. Mei Yee shows the shell Dai have her to her friends. Yin Yu tells Longwai. Mei Yee is forced into a room with Sing. Dai is almost forced to give Mei Yee heroin. Osamu appears and takes Mei Yee away. Dai is shot. Jin is cornered by Kuen's gang. Jin and Mei Yee reunite. Jin and Mei Yee plan to rescue Dai. Dai escapes. Jin goes in as a girl to the brother Longwai runs. Jin gets the ledger. Dai is safe. Dai takes the girls to his house after they are taken out. A foundation is built for the people in Hak Nam. Dai takes Jin and Mei Yee to the sea.
And that's what happened this week.
Personal Ads:
Jin Ling.
Female pretending to be a male. Looking for her older sister. Runner. Quick. Clever.
Dai.
Rich boy. Likes Mei Yee. Wants to leave the Walled City.
Mei Yee.
Prostitute to Ambassador Osamu. Sister to Jin. Likes Dai. Wants to be free.
Opinions:
I feel like many could like this. It had action and just enough of romance. A sisterly bond even. I just didn't like it. There were things that I couldn't shake. I could have liked it with different characters and relationships between them...but it wasn't what I love in books. It was an okay book, though.
I liked the setting. I have had vacations in Hong Kong. I know of Kowloon the place Hak Nam is based off of. I've been there. Probably. I can't remember. I've eaten the cha tsu bao. I've eaten that a lot. I'm Chinese American. I've eaten dim sum before. So I loved that this was based off of Asia. Specifically Hong Kong. I like that place. Subway system. Cable cars. I have good memories of Hong Kong. I remembered some when I read this book. Even if it's not specifically based in Hong Kong. It's a great setting. Drawing you in with the dirty alleys and cluttered housing. It reminds me of Hong Kong. The way the author described it wasn't the best. I would have loved to know more about the housing. More about the smells and sights on the street. But it's perfectly fine the way she did it.
The characters were okay. I liked Jin better than Dai. Jin was brave. She was caring. She loved her sister and wanted to find her again. And admirable mission though hardly easy to accomplish. I liked how she grew into not trusting into trusting Dai. He, after all, isn't easy to like. (I mean...I didn't like him.) I would love to read more about Jin. I felt like she was kinda...a background character. Sure, she had her moments when she was essential to the plot, but she would fade. I feel like this book isn't even when distributing main character status. I definitely wanted more Jin. More of her backstory and whatnot. She was an amazing character.
I also liked Mei Yee's change. She was a shy girl in the beginning. Submissive, even, if you want to call her that. (I wouldn't. I feel terrible as a person calling someone submissive. But if you're into that...) She changed into a heroine. I really liked that. I'm not a big fan of 'weaker' female character. I am, while hating being female, a feminist in a way. (Sure. I act innocent. Act.) I like how she gained her independence without Dai helping her. Mei Yee was growing into a great character. Until Dai came, and her heart went a-thump-a-thump. Good female characters being ruined by boys just drives me crazy. I'm sorry, but that will get me on my soapbox. (If I even have one.) I liked how she was going.
I didn't like the plot. I really didn't. To me, there wasn't much going on for most of the book. It was kinda boring and dull. I didn't really like it. I needed more action. I needed more drama. I felt like it was lacking. I wanted knife fighting scenes. I wanted the attack scenes with Kuen do be more action. More almost-deaths. I like those things. Those things are my favorite type of action scenes.
And, somehow, the three perspective threw me off. I felt like the the story wasn't evenly divided for each of the characters. I felt like Jin should have been represented more. It seemed like she was ignored for the romance brewing between Dai and Mei Yee. I wanted more about her. I felt like there was not enough of her. Dai and Mei Yee had interesting perspectives. I wanted to know more about them as well. It's hard to juggle many perspectives without having someone ignored. I felt like the romance was consuming the story.
The romance wasn't very good as well. It wasn't based off of anything. It was physical attraction. Dai wanted something from Mei Yee. I felt like that was just plain wrong. They fell in...love or whatnot for absolutely no reason. I'm not sure I liked it. There wasn't chemistry. They barely talked. It felt like a Romeo and Juliet situation. It didn't mean much. There wasn't too much happening. They barely know each other. I wanted something else. A better relationship. Dai and Mei Yee were perfectly fine without being in a relationship. Sure, that pulls things along with the ledger finding. That isn't too much that needs to happen, though. I know it jumpstarts things. I know that. But the romance isn't a very good one.
While there were some good things, they weren't very strong good points. I felt...disappointed in this book almost. I wanted more. I expected a lot. I expected action and a little bit of romance. (While we got just a tad more than I wanted.) I know a lot of people might like this book. I know that.
Weather:
Sunny with a 50% chance of rain
3/5
I liked this book but I put it down and found it easy not to pick back up.
This book reads like a dystopian thriller, but as author Ryan Graudin points out in the author's note, the walled city was a very real place. The setting of the book is based on the walled slum Kowloon in Hong Kong, which existed as recently as 1987.
I think that's an important thing to know going in. It makes the cutthroat, teeming world more real and the story more haunting than if this were all drawn from Graudin's imagination. Everything that happens to the characters—from human trafficking to brushes with drug dealers to brutal knife fights—all this and more happened in real life, to real people.
The Walled City follows three main characters, all of whom are trapped in some way within the slum's boundaries. Jin Ling dresses like a boy to avoid being kidnapped into the sex trade, stealing what food she can and sleeping under a tarp. Dai is in the city on a mysterious mission, forced into dealings with some of the most powerful—and dangerous—criminals on the streets. And Mei Yee is the most trapped of all: she lives in a brothel, the consort of a wealthy older man. She is never allowed to leave the brothel, but through her small window she can see a little bit of light.
All three are desperate for escape from the walled city, but it's not as simple as just walking out. Their best chance may be to work together, but it's hard to trust anyone in their dark world. Sometimes it's tempting to just give in to the cage around them, to stop fighting against the bars.
This book deals in some heavy subject matter, but Graudin writes artfully, and the details aren't gratuitous or excessive. This is a story that should definitely be told. The Walled City is sobering, haunting, and incredibly compelling.
With regards to NetGalley and Little, Brown for the advance copy. On sale November 4th.
Find more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at www.read-or-die.com.
I think that's an important thing to know going in. It makes the cutthroat, teeming world more real and the story more haunting than if this were all drawn from Graudin's imagination. Everything that happens to the characters—from human trafficking to brushes with drug dealers to brutal knife fights—all this and more happened in real life, to real people.
The Walled City follows three main characters, all of whom are trapped in some way within the slum's boundaries. Jin Ling dresses like a boy to avoid being kidnapped into the sex trade, stealing what food she can and sleeping under a tarp. Dai is in the city on a mysterious mission, forced into dealings with some of the most powerful—and dangerous—criminals on the streets. And Mei Yee is the most trapped of all: she lives in a brothel, the consort of a wealthy older man. She is never allowed to leave the brothel, but through her small window she can see a little bit of light.
All three are desperate for escape from the walled city, but it's not as simple as just walking out. Their best chance may be to work together, but it's hard to trust anyone in their dark world. Sometimes it's tempting to just give in to the cage around them, to stop fighting against the bars.
This book deals in some heavy subject matter, but Graudin writes artfully, and the details aren't gratuitous or excessive. This is a story that should definitely be told. The Walled City is sobering, haunting, and incredibly compelling.
With regards to NetGalley and Little, Brown for the advance copy. On sale November 4th.
Find more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at www.read-or-die.com.
Took a star off for insta-love. Even well done insta-love can't make me like it but i tolerated it. This is a action packed novel that keeps you hanging onto every word. I never wanted to stop reading so i could find out what was going to happen next.
When I saw a book called The Walled City stacked in the discount section of a Barnes and Noble, it immediately caught my eye. The Walled City could only be a reference to Hong Kong's Kowloon City, an erstwhile Chinese settlement that has been a minor obsession of mine for some years after learning about it from the Internet. Kowloon Walled City--a former Chinese military fort that ballooned in population after the Japanese occupation during World War II--was a towering enclosed complex that was densely populated and mostly ungoverned for decades, leading crime syndicates to step in where governments would not. Demolished in the mid-90s, the Walled City remains a bit of a mystery, elusive and largely undocumented. I myself had sketched out the beginnings of my own fictional take on the Walled City, so I was not surprised to see that another writer had the same idea.
Unfortunately, my reception of the book failed to live up to my expectations for it by a wide margin. Now, there is nothing inherently offensive about The Walled City (unless you object to a white American woman taking on a culture well outside of her own experiences). The writing is fine. The characters are fine. The story has a decent flow and mostly makes sense (although it relies a little too heavily on coincidence, if you ask me). But all of it is utterly forgettable because Graudin didn't lend enough focus to the character I wanted to know about the most: the city itself.
Graudin's walled city is called Hak Nam. The story follows three kids: Dai, a rich kid trapped inside the city walls for reasons that are slowly unveiled over way more pages than what is probably necessary; Jin, a young girl disguising herself as a boy to search for her sister on the streets of Hak Nam, and Mei-Yee, Jin's older sister, who was sold to a pimp named Longwai who runs things inside the city walls. Jin agrees to help Dai run drugs so both of them can get closer to Longwai for different reasons. They form an unlikely friendship that has both of them questioning their way of life inside the walled city. When Dai meets and instantly falls for the captive Mei-Yee, his escape plans become complicated, even more so when he discovers the relationship between the two sisters.
All of this melodrama unfolds over the course of 424 pages that almost could have been cut in half without losing much. If Graudin really wanted to fluff her pages, an alternative option would have been to focus more on exploring the city she chose as its setting. Clearly Kowloon Walled City left an impact on Graudin, but this book was definitely a story about the characters; the unique setting was incidental and added nothing to the story. This could have taken place in any major city in any country in the world and, to me, it felt like a disservice to the real Kowloon.
It is possible I'm being too nitpicky because I wanted this story to be something it wasn't. I am also willing to admit that I am not the target demographic for this book. The fact that the main characters are all teens and that the ending was wrapped up a bit too happily to sync with reality suggests that The Walled City--despite its violence--is meant for young adults. For this reason, the improbably happy ending is excusable, but the lack of focus on the city is not. The best stories show instead of tell, and The Walled City could have benefited from making the city feel more real and letting its characters truly inhabit the space to let us see what Graudin saw when she chose it for her story.
Unfortunately, my reception of the book failed to live up to my expectations for it by a wide margin. Now, there is nothing inherently offensive about The Walled City (unless you object to a white American woman taking on a culture well outside of her own experiences). The writing is fine. The characters are fine. The story has a decent flow and mostly makes sense (although it relies a little too heavily on coincidence, if you ask me). But all of it is utterly forgettable because Graudin didn't lend enough focus to the character I wanted to know about the most: the city itself.
Graudin's walled city is called Hak Nam. The story follows three kids: Dai, a rich kid trapped inside the city walls for reasons that are slowly unveiled over way more pages than what is probably necessary; Jin, a young girl disguising herself as a boy to search for her sister on the streets of Hak Nam, and Mei-Yee, Jin's older sister, who was sold to a pimp named Longwai who runs things inside the city walls. Jin agrees to help Dai run drugs so both of them can get closer to Longwai for different reasons. They form an unlikely friendship that has both of them questioning their way of life inside the walled city. When Dai meets and instantly falls for the captive Mei-Yee, his escape plans become complicated, even more so when he discovers the relationship between the two sisters.
All of this melodrama unfolds over the course of 424 pages that almost could have been cut in half without losing much. If Graudin really wanted to fluff her pages, an alternative option would have been to focus more on exploring the city she chose as its setting. Clearly Kowloon Walled City left an impact on Graudin, but this book was definitely a story about the characters; the unique setting was incidental and added nothing to the story. This could have taken place in any major city in any country in the world and, to me, it felt like a disservice to the real Kowloon.
It is possible I'm being too nitpicky because I wanted this story to be something it wasn't. I am also willing to admit that I am not the target demographic for this book. The fact that the main characters are all teens and that the ending was wrapped up a bit too happily to sync with reality suggests that The Walled City--despite its violence--is meant for young adults. For this reason, the improbably happy ending is excusable, but the lack of focus on the city is not. The best stories show instead of tell, and The Walled City could have benefited from making the city feel more real and letting its characters truly inhabit the space to let us see what Graudin saw when she chose it for her story.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I’ve seen this book come by a few times on Goodreads and I was totally in love with the concept. The blurb sounded like a cool action filled plot, so I was looking forward to reading this for a while now. It did live up to my expectations but I have to say the conclusion and romance in this book was a little too perfect and sweet for this book. Due to this it felt sometimes a bit like a children’s novel, which disturbed me because there was also much violence and blood. And this made the plot predictable. But overall this was a fun read. The writing style was great, the main characters where not annoying and the plot was as action filled as I expected.
Spoiler free!
Design (2,5 stars)
I kind of hate the cover. I thought when ordering a hardcover that I would get a beautiful edition but I got like a library edition without a dust jacket. The cover design really disappointed me just a black doll running on a blade, with the ugliest writing ever. And though that sums up the rules of the Walled city it’s a very simple ugly execution, it could have been so much more. No one would pick up this book based on the cover. On the contrary the inside design is very cool and original. I love the division of the days and the art beside them.
Start of the book (4,0 stars)
The introduction of this book was gripping and compelling. We get thrown right into the Walled city and see it through the main characters eyes, who have been there for about two years. There is a lot of action and mystery in the beginning and I really liked that. It was interesting to read about this whole other culture and I think the beginning builds up in the right tempo.
The writing style (4,0 stars)
The writing style was good, I love some of the quotes! It was okay to read and had a good tempo. Although the writing style didn’t compel me I was drawn to the book because of the unanswered questions and the great plot. I felt like some pieces where a little longwinded and unnecessary. And that mostly referred to introductions every chapter, I wanted to continue reading the story and not know how the wall looked or how the character felt every minute.
The story is told from three POV’s and I really liked that. They all have their own take on the city and are in completely different situations. The POV change was really refreshing and made me want to continue reading. And I liked that there weren’t that much cliff hangers in the end of each chapter.
The world building (4,0 stars)
The world building had my yaw dropped. I could NOT understand why people would want to live in the Walled City by choice. The gruesome that take place there and the rotting smell I could almost smell. The starving people and animals at the side of the streets, Jin’s poor little camp, the hunger, Chma… I can’t even imagine a place that awful. I have to say I was intrigued by this, in the Netherlands we have it so good I’ve never seen a stray dog or cat in my life and I don’t think I was ever worried about not having dinner. I know that there are places in the world like this but I just can’t … imagine it.
On the other hand this book takes place in the Chinees culture. I don’t think that that becomes very clear there aren’t many aspects shown off that besides the names of the characters, and I think that that is a shame. Because that was one of the reasons I bought this book and I’ve always been interested by this culture.
Main Characters (4,5 stars)
The main characters where okay, not hard to have sympathy with them because they were in such hard conditions and situations. But they could have been a little more debt out because they were all very simple and had only one or two motives.
Dai: he makes a great character improvement in my eyes. He was really self-centered and cocky in the beginning and would betray anyone to get out of the Walled City. But after a while he started to get a weakness for Jin and Mei Yee and wouldn’t betray them for anything. I liked to read his chapters in the beginning because the reader doesn’t know why he’s even in the Walled City. After his secrets got spilled I was afraid that his plot would get boring, but that didn’t luckily.
Jin: her chapters where the most exciting. I loved to read them and looked forward to every single one. Jin is sooo brave, smart, and fearless. She will be one of my favorite new characters. I can’t believe she would go through that length to find her sister, SOO CUTE! I loved her interaction with Chma!!
Mei Yee: In my eyes in the beginning about half of her chapters where unnecessary. The only thing we actually read where the scenes about her and Osamu and her depressing thoughts. After her chapters I always looked forward to that of Jin’s. Mei Yee got put down as this ‘perfect girl’, the prettiest, the sweetest… And I was a little annoyed with that in the beginning because she was not half as brave as Jin who was risking her life outside while Mei Yee didn’t even dared to walk upstairs for example. Half way through the book that got turned around and I started loving Mei Yee also. She started to get braver and I started to love her interactions with the other girls in the brothel.
Other characters (3,0 stars)
There were not that many side characters present in this story. I have to say I hated almost every single one of them. Kuen is the most ruthless bastard I’ve ever seen. I disliked him for who he is and that he’s after Jin. But how can you do that to a poor little innocent starving kitty!!!! I couldn't even read that chapter!
Longwei and his man are the other bad guys in this book. He didn’t actually appear much in the story himself, but he's also terrible. I also hated Osamu for what he did to Mei Yee, I can’t believe he’s that delusional. But I don’t quite understand his obsession with Mei Yee.
The side characters I did like where Dai’s mom and dad. They were cute and helpful especially in the ending.
Romance (3,0 stars)
Hmm the romance in this book…. It was too perfect and fluffy and a little too sweet.
This made their love unbelievable for me. It was kind of an insta love thing that happened through a window and I’m not a fan of that. But this all aside I think they are cute together.
Plot (4,0 stars)
The plot was entertaining and there was the right amount of action and excitement. But to be honest the blurb sounded so different then the plot really is. The blurb says that Dai has only 18 days to find a way out the Walled City. And I was quite disappointed when I found out why. I thought he had to break out of the Walled City and that was not the case. It was surprising yeah but it was a little duller and not as excited as I thought it would be. Maybe I thought it would be some sort of Ocean’s eleven or something and that they would break in and do all cool mental stuff but that wasn’t the case. I also had a problem with that some things where really predictable. I had some things figures out in the beginning, that actually happened on the last few pages.
I seriously don’t know how Graudin did it, she made a story this pink and fluffy in the Walled City. Sometimes it felt a little bit like a children’s novel. I think that was mostly because of how everything came together and the romance between Dai and Mei Yee.
I was afraid in the beginning that Dai and Jin’s plan would go as planned and that it would soon be and then they lived happily ever after. So I was so happy that that everything didn’t go as they planned, because then this book would have really sucked. I loved the obstacles all the main characters had to take and the way this story came together in the ending.
I think this book would have been a little bit better if the first half of the book was a little shortened (left out some of Mei Yee’s boring chapters) and if the secrets of Dai and Jin would have been spilled sooner. The first half of the book was a little longwinded and a lot of the same happened over and over. I personally think that the book didn’t need 425 pages.
The ending (5,0 stars)
The ending was predictable, yeah. But if it didn’t went like this I would have been so mad! I loved that there weren’t any loose threads and that everything was just realistically okay in the end.
So after this perfect ending there is an author’s note before the acknowledgements, explaining her idea on this book and some background on the real Walled city. There are also some pictures included. I loved this and I really wish more books would do this!!
Spoiler free!
“There are three rules of survival in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife.”
Design (2,5 stars)
I kind of hate the cover. I thought when ordering a hardcover that I would get a beautiful edition but I got like a library edition without a dust jacket. The cover design really disappointed me just a black doll running on a blade, with the ugliest writing ever. And though that sums up the rules of the Walled city it’s a very simple ugly execution, it could have been so much more. No one would pick up this book based on the cover. On the contrary the inside design is very cool and original. I love the division of the days and the art beside them.
Start of the book (4,0 stars)
The introduction of this book was gripping and compelling. We get thrown right into the Walled city and see it through the main characters eyes, who have been there for about two years. There is a lot of action and mystery in the beginning and I really liked that. It was interesting to read about this whole other culture and I think the beginning builds up in the right tempo.
The writing style (4,0 stars)
The writing style was good, I love some of the quotes! It was okay to read and had a good tempo. Although the writing style didn’t compel me I was drawn to the book because of the unanswered questions and the great plot. I felt like some pieces where a little longwinded and unnecessary. And that mostly referred to introductions every chapter, I wanted to continue reading the story and not know how the wall looked or how the character felt every minute.
The story is told from three POV’s and I really liked that. They all have their own take on the city and are in completely different situations. The POV change was really refreshing and made me want to continue reading. And I liked that there weren’t that much cliff hangers in the end of each chapter.
“Turns out there’s a law higher than survival. And I don’t know what it is, but I feel it surging, throbbing, burning away the rest of my doubts and fears.”
The world building (4,0 stars)
The world building had my yaw dropped. I could NOT understand why people would want to live in the Walled City by choice. The gruesome that take place there and the rotting smell I could almost smell. The starving people and animals at the side of the streets, Jin’s poor little camp, the hunger, Chma… I can’t even imagine a place that awful. I have to say I was intrigued by this, in the Netherlands we have it so good I’ve never seen a stray dog or cat in my life and I don’t think I was ever worried about not having dinner. I know that there are places in the world like this but I just can’t … imagine it.
On the other hand this book takes place in the Chinees culture. I don’t think that that becomes very clear there aren’t many aspects shown off that besides the names of the characters, and I think that that is a shame. Because that was one of the reasons I bought this book and I’ve always been interested by this culture.
Main Characters (4,5 stars)
The main characters where okay, not hard to have sympathy with them because they were in such hard conditions and situations. But they could have been a little more debt out because they were all very simple and had only one or two motives.
Dai: he makes a great character improvement in my eyes. He was really self-centered and cocky in the beginning and would betray anyone to get out of the Walled City. But after a while he started to get a weakness for Jin and Mei Yee and wouldn’t betray them for anything. I liked to read his chapters in the beginning because the reader doesn’t know why he’s even in the Walled City. After his secrets got spilled I was afraid that his plot would get boring, but that didn’t luckily.
Jin: her chapters where the most exciting. I loved to read them and looked forward to every single one. Jin is sooo brave, smart, and fearless. She will be one of my favorite new characters. I can’t believe she would go through that length to find her sister, SOO CUTE! I loved her interaction with Chma!!
“But I remember the way Jin Ling made her wishes. How she said I wish we could be together forever with the bite of a tigress. Nothing would be impossible enough to keep her wishes from being fulfilled. Not even the Walled City.”
Mei Yee: In my eyes in the beginning about half of her chapters where unnecessary. The only thing we actually read where the scenes about her and Osamu and her depressing thoughts. After her chapters I always looked forward to that of Jin’s. Mei Yee got put down as this ‘perfect girl’, the prettiest, the sweetest… And I was a little annoyed with that in the beginning because she was not half as brave as Jin who was risking her life outside while Mei Yee didn’t even dared to walk upstairs for example. Half way through the book that got turned around and I started loving Mei Yee also. She started to get braver and I started to love her interactions with the other girls in the brothel.
Other characters (3,0 stars)
There were not that many side characters present in this story. I have to say I hated almost every single one of them. Kuen is the most ruthless bastard I’ve ever seen. I disliked him for who he is and that he’s after Jin. But how can you do that to a poor little innocent starving kitty!!!! I couldn't even read that chapter!
Longwei and his man are the other bad guys in this book. He didn’t actually appear much in the story himself, but he's also terrible. I also hated Osamu for what he did to Mei Yee, I can’t believe he’s that delusional. But I don’t quite understand his obsession with Mei Yee.
The side characters I did like where Dai’s mom and dad. They were cute and helpful especially in the ending.
Romance (3,0 stars)
Hmm the romance in this book…. It was too perfect and fluffy and a little too sweet.
This made their love unbelievable for me. It was kind of an insta love thing that happened through a window and I’m not a fan of that. But this all aside I think they are cute together.
“But this...her...she's more than warmth. She's fire, a soul, a name. Mei Yee reverbs through my head, my veins. Lodges like shrapnel in the far reaches of my chest. More powerful than a pound of C-4. Uncontrollable.”
Plot (4,0 stars)
The plot was entertaining and there was the right amount of action and excitement. But to be honest the blurb sounded so different then the plot really is. The blurb says that Dai has only 18 days to find a way out the Walled City. And I was quite disappointed when I found out why. I thought he had to break out of the Walled City and that was not the case. It was surprising yeah but it was a little duller and not as excited as I thought it would be. Maybe I thought it would be some sort of Ocean’s eleven or something and that they would break in and do all cool mental stuff but that wasn’t the case. I also had a problem with that some things where really predictable. I had some things figures out in the beginning, that actually happened on the last few pages.
Spoiler
Omg the scene that Jin and Mei Yee saw each other again. CRYING!!“There are moments you wait for. And then there are moments you wait for. Moments you spend every other moment preparing for. Points of your life that click and turn. Push you in a completely new direction.”
I seriously don’t know how Graudin did it, she made a story this pink and fluffy in the Walled City. Sometimes it felt a little bit like a children’s novel. I think that was mostly because of how everything came together and the romance between Dai and Mei Yee.
I was afraid in the beginning that Dai and Jin’s plan would go as planned and that it would soon be and then they lived happily ever after. So I was so happy that that everything didn’t go as they planned, because then this book would have really sucked. I loved the obstacles all the main characters had to take and the way this story came together in the ending.
I think this book would have been a little bit better if the first half of the book was a little shortened (left out some of Mei Yee’s boring chapters) and if the secrets of Dai and Jin would have been spilled sooner. The first half of the book was a little longwinded and a lot of the same happened over and over. I personally think that the book didn’t need 425 pages.
The ending (5,0 stars)
The ending was predictable, yeah. But if it didn’t went like this I would have been so mad! I loved that there weren’t any loose threads and that everything was just realistically okay in the end.
Spoiler
I love that Dai and Mei Yee are taking it slow and that Dai is really patient and gentle with Mei Yee, she needs that after such an experience. I loved that Dai’s mom starts this fund raising for the girls, she is so sweet! I really liked that Jin is getting the opportunities she always deserved. And maybe I’m the happiest about Chma, the cute little kitty that’s trying to catch carbs on the beach. But I also loved the (kind of dark) realistic part that not every saved girl was fit for that life after going through so much.. The ending was in every perspective really realistic. The last scene on the beach was just perfect and that made this whole book complete!“I am running. This time there are no boots. No sliming puddles or cigarette butts. Just sand like velvet between my toes. Spray and salt and sea.”
So after this perfect ending there is an author’s note before the acknowledgements, explaining her idea on this book and some background on the real Walled city. There are also some pictures included. I loved this and I really wish more books would do this!!
Easily in my top three books of the year so far. A fictionalized look at a real-life dystopia that moves at a breakneck pace once you hit the halfway point.
This book was so good. It alternates between three different point of views. First there is Dai. Dai has been trapped in the Walled City for 730 days. He only has 18 to escape. In order to achieve his freedom, he needs to steal something from the one who rules the Walled City. In order to do this, he needs help. In comes Jin, the second point of view. On the outside, Jin is a boy. But truthfully, she's a girl. Hiding as a boy, Jin navigates the streets of the Walled City trying to survive, using her speed as her greatest asset. Along with trying to survive, Jin is searching for someone she lost, her sister. Lastly, the third point of view is Mei Yee. For two years she has been trapped inside a brothel owned by the one in charge of the Walled City. It is drilled into her and the other girls that there is no escape. Those who have tried to escape, have failed. Mei Yee is on the brink of giving up on hoping for freedom and a better future. But when a strange face shows up at her window, she starts to think that maybe there is hope after all.
These three characters all come from different places, but are all stuck in the same place. The Walled City is so crowded, that yet, these three characters find themselves needing the others to escape. What I liked about this book was how these three characters were woven into each other. how they all aligned and needed each other to hopefully escape the Walled City. Each character came from a different background, was there for a different reason. But they all found each other and used each other to help each other to attempt to escape.
Dai. Flat out in the beginning of the book, Das establishes himself as someone who isn't to be trusted, as a bad person. His character growth was the most obvious to me and my favorite. Watching him evolve from who he is in the beginning of the book to who he becomes at the end of the book made me like him even more. I found Mei Yee's character growth to be smaller on the noticeability level. Even though Dai had a much more clearer character growth that I enjoyed reading about, I found myself caring more for Mei Yee. She went from this shy, kind of keep you head down kind of girl, to someone who was able to find her bearings and kind of shed the timidness she used to have. Jin, however, I didn't really see a character growth. Compared to the other two, I think her character growth was very minor. The only thing I really saw in her that changed was she kind of broke her wall that she had up. Maybe that was her character growth, but if there was another one, I couldn't see/find it.
One thing that I found really interesting about the book was that the Walled City was based off of a real place. The place that it was based off of was called Kowloon City located in Hong Kong. When I first discovered this I was a bit confused as to why this wasn't categorized as historical fiction or something historical. However I think the reason is because the author changed the names of places and altered it just a little. But always, I was very fascinated with the actual city and how this book was based off of that place.
So really, the only main issue I had with this book was its pacing. I found it to be very slow in the beginning and I often sometimes had no motivation to read it because of its pacing. I think if it wasn't for the fact that I was buddy reading this with my friend, I might of DNF's it and read it at a later time. This book takes place on an 18 day countdown. For most of the 18 days, up until day 5 about, nothing really happened. For something as grand schemed as they were planning, the amount of time spent kind of dillydaddling, just didn't really add up. They should of spent more time planning I feel like with what they were hoping to achieve and all in all it just didn't add up for me.
Overall, I found this book enjoyable and I was presently surprised with how it ended.