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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this book, but it's about 200 pages too long for the amount of action that actually takes place...
Within the walled-in space of a handful of square miles live thousands of people - gangsters, thieves, prostitutes, addicts and the extremely poor. It's dangerous, anarchistic governed mainly by networks of amoral gangsters known as the Brotherhood. Dai has intentionally put himself within the walls of the city to atone for his role in his brother's death. He only has 18 days left to carry out his plan. Jin is also in the city voluntarily, but for completely different reasons. She's there to find her sister who was sold into prostitution by their alcoholic father. To stay safe and prevent herself from falling prey to a similar fate, Jin poses as a boy and survives by keeping one step ahead of the local street gangs. Mei Yee is trapped in one of the Brotherhood's brothels, but hasn't given up entirely. Every day, she dreams of escape, even as she watches other girls try and fail to do the same. Circumstances conspire to throw these three desperate souls together as they each struggle to stay alive while attempting the seemingly impossible.
The setting in The Walled City is inspired by the real-life Kowloon Walled City, a lawless enclave formerly situated within Hong Kong. Kowloon was so terrible that it was completely leveled in the mid-'90's, a city park taking its place. The Walled City of the book bears more than a passing resemblance. The narrative of the story shifts between the three primary characters, which is a technique I'm rather fond of in storytelling. The characters don't feel as distinct as they could, but the plot itself is compelling and nearly all of the issues that the characters have to deal with (homelessness, addiction, corruption, sex trafficking, etc.) are grounded in the real world. I discussed this book with my high school book group and while none of them had ever previously heard of Kowloon, they all felt there was a certain level of realism in a book that otherwise might feel like a typical YA dystopia. Fortunately, an author's note in the back reveals the source of her inspiration and shows some pictures of the real Walled City. My teens also appreciated the fact that this is a stand-alone novel as they're becoming weary of long series.
The setting in The Walled City is inspired by the real-life Kowloon Walled City, a lawless enclave formerly situated within Hong Kong. Kowloon was so terrible that it was completely leveled in the mid-'90's, a city park taking its place. The Walled City of the book bears more than a passing resemblance. The narrative of the story shifts between the three primary characters, which is a technique I'm rather fond of in storytelling. The characters don't feel as distinct as they could, but the plot itself is compelling and nearly all of the issues that the characters have to deal with (homelessness, addiction, corruption, sex trafficking, etc.) are grounded in the real world. I discussed this book with my high school book group and while none of them had ever previously heard of Kowloon, they all felt there was a certain level of realism in a book that otherwise might feel like a typical YA dystopia. Fortunately, an author's note in the back reveals the source of her inspiration and shows some pictures of the real Walled City. My teens also appreciated the fact that this is a stand-alone novel as they're becoming weary of long series.
This is the perfect book to read if you want to completely neglect all other aspects of your life because it is basically impossible to put down. Completely thrilling from beginning to end. 20/10 would recommend.
I enjoyed the premise of this book but it ended exactly the way I thought it would. I thought the book was full of too many similes...especially near the end. Or maybe I just noticed them more towards the end. And, in true librarian fashion, I had a problem with the marketing of this book. Sometimes it read as young adult fiction, sometimes as adult fiction. The typeset and the cover of the book screamed young adult, but sometimes the content was very adult. I know that it doesn't truly matter because people of any age can read whatever they want, but the marketing made it more difficult for me to think about who I would recommend this book to. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought the subject matter was very original.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really liked the premise and it was super interesting to find out the walled city actually existed. Trying to tell the 3 pov's apart got more difficult as the book went on but I still enjoyed all 3 voices. I wanted Jin and Dai to be the "couple" in this one and I was a little disappointed when Dai started to like Mei Yee.
it was very good! I loved the multiple perspectives ;)
I used to love this book when I was younger, so I was a little disappointed when I read it again. Its just a little bit shallow, especially when you consider the types of topics it discusses in the book. I was a bit let down also with the relationships between the characters because they were a bit underdeveloped.
IMESSAGE REVIEW TO NAOMI:
I feel like this is gonna take a long time to write considering I don't feel as passionate to tell you about it as I was with how crap across the universe was when I finished that. Not that it wasn't great I just don't know how I feel about it. I'm stuck between thinking EH and this book was brilliant. It's mostly my fault. I did that thing where I read a review of it before I read it and it influences what I think overall just like with hangover remember? I read it in two days though so it kept me reading which is rare with books I've read this year and although there was a romance sub plot it was that a subplot, it didn't have that much of a major deterrent from the plot. I think the reason it was EH is because it was quite slow paced. It took a while for the characters to find each other and do what needed to be done. I think that's me just being impatient though because they didn't rush it and the character background was kind of important. I'm quite happy with the characters and the character development especially that of the boy was perfect, A+. Some things could have been explored though like the other brothels girls background and a bit more about the walled city itself but then again there wasn't much time. Overall I liked it and would recommend to read it however maybe not put it at the top of your list.
P.s it makes me laugh because everytime I go on goodreads now you've just gone through my lists and put down that you want to read the same books I do hahahaha
I feel like this is gonna take a long time to write considering I don't feel as passionate to tell you about it as I was with how crap across the universe was when I finished that. Not that it wasn't great I just don't know how I feel about it. I'm stuck between thinking EH and this book was brilliant. It's mostly my fault. I did that thing where I read a review of it before I read it and it influences what I think overall just like with hangover remember? I read it in two days though so it kept me reading which is rare with books I've read this year and although there was a romance sub plot it was that a subplot, it didn't have that much of a major deterrent from the plot. I think the reason it was EH is because it was quite slow paced. It took a while for the characters to find each other and do what needed to be done. I think that's me just being impatient though because they didn't rush it and the character background was kind of important. I'm quite happy with the characters and the character development especially that of the boy was perfect, A+. Some things could have been explored though like the other brothels girls background and a bit more about the walled city itself but then again there wasn't much time. Overall I liked it and would recommend to read it however maybe not put it at the top of your list.
P.s it makes me laugh because everytime I go on goodreads now you've just gone through my lists and put down that you want to read the same books I do hahahaha
Not Ryan's best. I feel like she might have been too ambitious in trying to write a meaningful story. It was meant to be impactful, but didn't really have that effect. The plot and characters were good, of course. A few things left me frustrated. I just can't get over the fact that she skimmed over the rape in the brothel. Not too sure about what this book was supposed to be for me.