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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
A book full of nonstop action, set in the seamy, dangerous walled city -- a haven for drugs and prostitution and abandoned feral children who live outside the law. Jin seeks her sister, Dai is desperate for a way out and Mei Yee endures. There are a few sparks of romance in this one, but it's secondary to the mile-a-minute plot.
I found the whole idea enthralling. But at times, I just got really bored by the book itself in the beginning. The research I believe was did to the best of the author’s ability, and even then she took plenty of liberties here. Which was fine with me, as she was carefully in her portrayal.
It just took a long time to get to really know or even like any of the characters. I like Jin Ling and Dai. While Mei Yee often just fell flat on me. First person narration can be hard when it comes to this number of characters it is shuffling through. And here, I think it just didn’t work too well. I cared about Dai and Jin Ling, but I felt that there could have been more.
As in really more.
More depth, and more grit. As in how life in the Walled City really was a horrifying experience for them. I didn’t really get that feeling here. Or even the themes that the story wanted to touch either.
The plot was pretty decent, nothing gets easily done and the ending was a nice touch. After all they have been through, it is frankly impossible that any of them will be able to go back to normal without serious help. And it doesn’t do anything to say that it will be easy either.
I guess the book was a nice read with romance, but it just didn’t dig deep enough for my liking. Which was something I will have enjoyed more, as you can see from the kind of works I enjoy. But overall, still worth the time I spent reading it.
It just took a long time to get to really know or even like any of the characters. I like Jin Ling and Dai. While Mei Yee often just fell flat on me. First person narration can be hard when it comes to this number of characters it is shuffling through. And here, I think it just didn’t work too well. I cared about Dai and Jin Ling, but I felt that there could have been more.
As in really more.
More depth, and more grit. As in how life in the Walled City really was a horrifying experience for them. I didn’t really get that feeling here. Or even the themes that the story wanted to touch either.
The plot was pretty decent, nothing gets easily done and the ending was a nice touch. After all they have been through, it is frankly impossible that any of them will be able to go back to normal without serious help. And it doesn’t do anything to say that it will be easy either.
I guess the book was a nice read with romance, but it just didn’t dig deep enough for my liking. Which was something I will have enjoyed more, as you can see from the kind of works I enjoy. But overall, still worth the time I spent reading it.
A city within a city. The walls of an ancient fort enclose Hak Nam, a city with its own rules. Those who want to live beyond the reach of the law stay within its walls. So do those who have no choice. Dai is a bit of both. In one tragic night he lost his brother and used a gun to defend himself, now there is a warrant for his arrest. But if he can find the information that the police outside the walls want to know, then they have bargained to give him his freedom. The problem is Longwai and the Brotherhood. They are the criminals who control much of what goes on illegally within Hak Nam. He also owns the brothel where Mei Yee and other girls are held after being sold off by their families, or snatched off the streets. She has seen other girls punished for defiance or escape attempts. Does she have the courage to help Dai get the needed information so that he can help her escape? And there is Jin, the slim runner that helps Dai ingratiate himself with Longwai. Jin has been searching for a missing sister for 2 years in Hak Nam. The money Dai pays helps to buy food and continue the search. They all have their reasons for being in the city, and for wanting to escape from it. Will they succeed? Can all of them make it out alive?
The idea of people living on the edges of society, marginalized and disenfranchised from the protection that civilization is suppose to offer, is nothing new. But the way Graudin has pieced together this intricate ecosystem of criminals, vagrants, and impoverished is masterful. The descriptions of the tenements, the tiny shops selling noodles or clothing, even the details of the litter on the ground all build the scene in the reader's mind. The way the story alternates between the viewpoints of the three main characters makes the differences in their lives very apparent. Dai has his guilty conscience and desperation to make things right. Mei Yee is stuck inside the claustrophobic walls of the brothel, only seeing daylight through a tiny barred window. Even if she escapes, she can't go home; her father would only sell her again. It is nearly impossible to keep any hope alive in such conditions. And Jin is filled with the determination to find and rescue that lost sister, powered by love and determination. They all see and react to things in such different ways.
If you enjoy thrillers with the clock ticking on the chance to make it out alive, then you should give The Walled City a try. Of the other books I have read, The Young World is sort of similar in the need to get out of a city and the fight to survive long enough to do it.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
The idea of people living on the edges of society, marginalized and disenfranchised from the protection that civilization is suppose to offer, is nothing new. But the way Graudin has pieced together this intricate ecosystem of criminals, vagrants, and impoverished is masterful. The descriptions of the tenements, the tiny shops selling noodles or clothing, even the details of the litter on the ground all build the scene in the reader's mind. The way the story alternates between the viewpoints of the three main characters makes the differences in their lives very apparent. Dai has his guilty conscience and desperation to make things right. Mei Yee is stuck inside the claustrophobic walls of the brothel, only seeing daylight through a tiny barred window. Even if she escapes, she can't go home; her father would only sell her again. It is nearly impossible to keep any hope alive in such conditions. And Jin is filled with the determination to find and rescue that lost sister, powered by love and determination. They all see and react to things in such different ways.
If you enjoy thrillers with the clock ticking on the chance to make it out alive, then you should give The Walled City a try. Of the other books I have read, The Young World is sort of similar in the need to get out of a city and the fight to survive long enough to do it.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
Я совсем не ожидала, что эта книга настолько мне понравится!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
I loved the writing and the story. It may just have been the right book at the right time, but for me this was an exceptional read. There's mystery, some thriller elements, and three stories that twine together, along with birth families and the families we make for ourselves. I am a SUCKER for families we make for ourselves. I am also a sucker for trusty cat friends in books, so I loved Chma. And the girls in this book, oh man. They're so brave and smart and real they practically leap off the pages. I'm so here for nuanced depictions of teenage girls.
I particularly liked that it wasn't dystopian at all, but I think it would work as a good read-alike for someone who enjoys dystopians. (I am sick to death of dystopians. There are just SO MANY. Anyway.) It's a fairly gritty setting, so there's some bad language and a fair amount of violence, but I don't think it's any worse than most other YA I read. I may actually be able to bring this on middle school visits this year!
I particularly liked that it wasn't dystopian at all, but I think it would work as a good read-alike for someone who enjoys dystopians. (I am sick to death of dystopians. There are just SO MANY. Anyway.) It's a fairly gritty setting, so there's some bad language and a fair amount of violence, but I don't think it's any worse than most other YA I read. I may actually be able to bring this on middle school visits this year!
man, i love it when books that i had no expectations for settle into my bones and rattle in my brain, changing the way i speak, the way i act, the way i walk - everything. despite the flowery language and the flat characters, i can't stop thinking about the walled city. maybe it was the truth rooted in the setting, maybe it was the surprising grittiness of the action, maybe it was the way certain plot points hit a little too close to home, but this story came to me at exactly the right time in exactly the right way. and i can't stop thinking about it.
Has been on my tbr for years and I finally picked it up but really wasn’t into the writing
This book is a little difficult to categorize. It isn't science fiction or fantasy. It's not contemporary realistic fiction, but it isn't really historical, either. What it is, is fast-paced, edge-of-your seat suspense. Based on the real walled city, Kowloon in Hong Kong, this book tells the story of three young people caught in its corrupt net of drug trafficking and prostitution, with only a ticking clock and only their wits to help them escape. Dai, a young man from a wealthy family whose poor choices have led him to an impossible task in the city, crosses paths with two young women, Jin Ling, a peasant who followed her sister Mei Yee into the city after she was sold into prostitution. Although the setting is clearly Asian, Graudin does not specifically pinpoint the location, even giving the city a different name, the Hak Nam Walled City. An author's note at the end of the story provides information to curious readers about the similarities between Hak Nam and Kowloon. With or without the historical connection, this is an exciting read that will keep readers turning pages.
A dark and intense story that lacked a little depth and character variety, but still had me caring enough to see it through the end.
The writing was a little hit or miss for me. Sometimes I loved the way a sentence was written, other times there was a really dumb metaphor.
Also, touch of insta-love. Not my favorite, but it's never been a deal-breaker for me.
I think the biggest impact this book had on me was the author note at the end, though. Realizing this wasn't a dystopian but actually a historical fiction was a really intense moment for me.
Pretty sure this was written beforehand, but I didn't read it first, so I'll just say: I'll forgive you for Blood for Blood, Ryan Graudin. For now.
The writing was a little hit or miss for me. Sometimes I loved the way a sentence was written, other times there was a really dumb metaphor.
Also, touch of insta-love. Not my favorite, but it's never been a deal-breaker for me.
I think the biggest impact this book had on me was the author note at the end, though. Realizing this wasn't a dystopian but actually a historical fiction was a really intense moment for me.
Pretty sure this was written beforehand, but I didn't read it first, so I'll just say: I'll forgive you for Blood for Blood, Ryan Graudin. For now.
I would rate this book 4.5 stars. The plot was engaging. I liked the different points of view and the book kept me entertained and wondering what was going to happen next.