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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
My review (as published at Read, Run, Ramble):
Thank you Little Brown Books for Young Readers via Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book!
Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Those are the rules Jin Ling must follow in the Walled City and the book begins with Jin following the first –running for her life.
The Walled City begins with heart-pounding intensity and it carries that same intensity throughout. This book just doesn’t stop! Jin is in the Walled City to find and save her sister and in the process she meets Dai who is in the city for his own secret reasons. Dai’s struggling with big time demons too, though readers aren’t immediately made aware of those demons, it is clear they involve big loss and bad decisions.
The Walled City is like a dystopian universe set right in the middle of the rest of the world, which continues about life as if what goes on inside those walls isn’t their concern – a world within a world. Drugs, prostitution, poverty, and general lawlessness all encompass this city, but walk right outside its gates and life goes on as normal. However, for Dai, it isn’t that easy. His secrets keep him voluntarily within the gates even though outside them he had a loving family; one with power and money. When he offers an opportunity to Jin, Jin is sure there are things hidden, but she breaks rule #2, trust no one, and partners with him anyway. Their journey is dangerous, but inside it they learn to trust and be trusted.
Graudin provides a fast-paced, interesting, and powerful read. Her writing is strong and gripping. Additionally, she’s done her research. Did you know there really is/was a Walled City? Make sure to read Graudin’s notes at the end of the book; they make the read even more impactful.
Final verdict: I loved this book. It kept my heart pumping and my fingers flipping pages. The characters are well-written and developed, while the story is intriguing. It kept me up well after bed time reading (1:30 am to be exact and then after finishing I couldn’t sleep because my blood pressure was a bit elevated)!
I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am not compensated for any of my reviews.
I didn’t realize this book was older. I think I saw a review somewhere and assumed it was new. But, regardless, it’s an amazingly cool read! I especially love that it is based on the actual walled city of Kowloon in Hong Kong. So so interesting and mind boggling all at once. Beautifully written and so so vivid in its descriptions. I loved it! 🤓💜📚
Five Caffeinated reasons to listen to The Walled City
Audio provided by publisher.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer
- The Walled City is a modern day dystopian thriller based in part on the actual “walled city” of Kowloon. While, the author has taken some liberties she beautifully captured this dark city in Hong Kong. The writing is beautiful despite the darkness and at times almost lyrical. She beautifully captures the mannerism of the characters from personality to culture.
- The story is told from three narratives. We have Mei Yee, a young woman who is sold by her father into a brothel. Next, we have Dai, a boy from a family of wealth who hides within the Walled City and seeks a chance at redemption. The last voice and my personal favorite belongs to that of Jin Ling. The sister of Mei Yee, she hides in the streets of the Walled City as a young boy and searches to free her sister. Each character is fleshed out and as the story progresses we see a connection form and tighten between the three. It was brilliant and captivating. The narrators for the audio were superb and captured each character’s personality and emotions adding an extra layer of enjoyment.
- The Walled City itself is a living breathing character and reeks of brothels, drug lords, and poverty. Hunger and power rule here. It is the darkest aspect of humanity and one most turn a blind eye too.... to look almost painful. Graudin brought the city to life. I could see the buildings stacked as they robbing the inhabitants of fresh air and light to life. As I listened, I could close my eyes and see, taste and smell the city, the fear, and the desperation.
- There is a romance in the Walled City and it developed slowly and beautifully. It certainly was not the focus, but its tender threads weaved into the story giving the listener hope and a glimpse of something light. It felt genuine and had all the feels while being understated and richly satisfying.
- The storyline and the way in which Graudin weaved the three character's together held me captive. At ten hours and twenty-eight minutes in length, I could not seem to stop listening and consumed this in less than a day. Sometimes when dealing with multiple pov’s I find myself annoyed when taken from one and moved into the other, but with the Walled City each storyline carried weight and was compelling. The story was suspenseful, emotional and felt refreshing original in a sea of similarity within the genre. As their timelines intertwined the climatic scenes had me holding my breath.
Audio provided by publisher.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer
MORE? MORE! @ P.S. I love that book!
THE WORLD: Very very dark. And this is an understatement. So basically the story takes place in a walled city, yes the city surrounded by walls and ruled by brotherhood aka a gang. Frankly, I found it a bit confusing to determine what year this was in, I mean they had brothels and the whole writing style felt like Assassin's Creed games but then there would be hints to today's things and I would be all whaaaaat? So yeah, I have no idea in what time this is based. But other than that I really enjoyed the darkness.
CHARACTERS: There are three POVs in this book: Dai, Jin and Mey Yee. Dai is the older boy who got once in trouble and now is trying to make things right again. Jin is a girl pretending to be a boy and in search for her missing sister and Mey Yee is this missing sister who was bought by the brothel and is now forced to work there. So let's start with Dai. He was not my favorite but he was also not somebody I would hate, I felt like he was written pretty well and had all these good qualities of being loyal, smart and just plain good friend. Next we have Jin, again not a very special character. Frankly, I don't like girls pretending to be boys in books but here I had not a single problem. I really liked brother sister relationship Jin had with Dai and how they decided to stick together. And finally we have Mey Yee, a girl forced to work in the brothel. Now, this is a YA books so there is no sex or something like this but we do get to understand what it is like to be a sex slave. Frankly, besides the fact that Mey Yee story was the most interesting she was also my absolutely favorite. She was this little dreamy girl who never gave up and just I don't even know really why I liked her this much.
LOVE: There is both sister brother love as well as romantic. Also there is an epilogue that I absolutely adored, usually I am not a fan of them but here it was exactly what I needed because trust me you do want to see more of Dai and Mey Yee.
PLUS: The darkness of this book. This was like no other YA dystopian book I have read and trust me I have read many. Also there was absolutely no teenager drama. Whoop whoop!
MINUS: The only thing I can think of is the confusion with time that I have already mentioned before.
OVERALL: Great book, highly highly recommend!
MORE? MORE! @ P.S. I love that book!
THE WORLD: Very very dark. And this is an understatement. So basically the story takes place in a walled city, yes the city surrounded by walls and ruled by brotherhood aka a gang. Frankly, I found it a bit confusing to determine what year this was in, I mean they had brothels and the whole writing style felt like Assassin's Creed games but then there would be hints to today's things and I would be all whaaaaat? So yeah, I have no idea in what time this is based. But other than that I really enjoyed the darkness.
CHARACTERS: There are three POVs in this book: Dai, Jin and Mey Yee. Dai is the older boy who got once in trouble and now is trying to make things right again. Jin is a girl pretending to be a boy and in search for her missing sister and Mey Yee is this missing sister who was bought by the brothel and is now forced to work there. So let's start with Dai. He was not my favorite but he was also not somebody I would hate, I felt like he was written pretty well and had all these good qualities of being loyal, smart and just plain good friend. Next we have Jin, again not a very special character. Frankly, I don't like girls pretending to be boys in books but here I had not a single problem. I really liked brother sister relationship Jin had with Dai and how they decided to stick together. And finally we have Mey Yee, a girl forced to work in the brothel. Now, this is a YA books so there is no sex or something like this but we do get to understand what it is like to be a sex slave. Frankly, besides the fact that Mey Yee story was the most interesting she was also my absolutely favorite. She was this little dreamy girl who never gave up and just I don't even know really why I liked her this much.
LOVE: There is both sister brother love as well as romantic. Also there is an epilogue that I absolutely adored, usually I am not a fan of them but here it was exactly what I needed because trust me you do want to see more of Dai and Mey Yee.
PLUS: The darkness of this book. This was like no other YA dystopian book I have read and trust me I have read many. Also there was absolutely no teenager drama. Whoop whoop!
MINUS: The only thing I can think of is the confusion with time that I have already mentioned before.
OVERALL: Great book, highly highly recommend!
MORE? MORE! @ P.S. I love that book!
Delightfully grim, gritty, heart-racing, and hopeful. Jin is a girl who has been passing as a boy in the walled city for 2 years, trying to rescue her sister who was sold into sexual slavery. Dai is a boy with only a handful days left in the walled city before he needs to complete an impossible task. This story, based loosely on the concept of a horrible similar city which did exist outside of Hong Kong, reads like a griping dystopian future novel which had me enthralled from page one.
I won't be writing reviews for the next 10 books because, hello, TEN BOOKS. So to summarize, beautiful writing, but indistinct voices.
3.5
3.5
3 stars
When I heard about The Walled City at the BEA Buzz Panel, I was immediately intrigued. It's based on an actual city, Kowloon Walled City, in which many of the horrid dystopian-like elements of the book did happen. It sounded action-packed and realistic yet disturbing. Ultimately, though I found the story entertaining, I felt it was bogged down in bad writing, bland characters, and only average world building.
The Walled City is a sort of historical fiction dystopia. In this city, crime reigns free. There is no governing body, no laws to be upheld, because... I don't quite know. Here's where the world building, to me, is pretty average. Hak Nam apparently fell into some kind of loophole when the countries surrounding it set up new governments, and so it was some kind of safe haven for anyone with a criminal record. I didn't feel like this was explained well enough. Perhaps it was because Graudin based it on a real place and either thought we'd know how that came to be or that we wouldn't care. I care. Dystopias have a history of why they came to be that way, so historical or not - I want to know. I was also confused because the city's gates are apparently open. I didn't understand why most people wouldn't just leave. Couldn't they move? Find a job somewhere? I mean, some people in that city work! They run food stalls and stuff... couldn't they do that elsewhere if the gates are just open? Even being homeless in some city that was NOT Hak Nam would be better than living in that dystopia. Or are they all criminals that would be thrown in jail the instant they step out of the city? Even the kids? But wouldn't jail be preferable to fighting for your life every day? SO CONFUSED.
Whoever told you this LIED.
But the dystopia element of the city was very well done. It sounded absolutely terrifying. Gangs run around freely, stealing, dealing drugs, and probably committing many other crimes. Everyone makes sure to have a weapon on them, because otherwise they could easily be assaulted or killed. Kids and women are sold into sex slavery. Should they disobey their masters, they could be injected with heroin until they form a deadly addiction to it. That last bit freaked me the fuck out. Not gonna lie. I couldn't decide for myself whether I found it realistic, but the terror was real and well-written. This made the story extremely dark and exciting.
Personality-wise, the characters weren't that interesting, but their individual stories definitely were. Jin Ling is a girl, disguised as a boy, who sneaked into the city to save her sister, Mei Lee, who was sold into sex slavery by their abusive dad. Dai is a guy with a mysterious past and mysterious motivations, but he seems to want to take down the leader of the Brotherhood - Longwai. The three characters are our POV characters and... well, they read the same. That's a bit disappointing. Mei Yee, as a captive prostitute, does sound different, I'll admit, because she's struggling with way more issues than the other two. As such, I think I liked her voice the best. Jin Ling and Dai, however, are almost interchangeable. I really couldn't tell them apart. And did I care for the ship? No. I felt that was entirely unnecessary and cliché.
But, overall, I was engaged in the story because I could understand their desire for freedom and I was scared for them. It kept me turning the pages, for sure. There were action-packed fight scenes, intrigue, suspicions, deception - so many of the things that make dystopias a hit for me. The story was by far the strongest part of the novel, because in spite of my dislike of other elements, I couldn't put it down.
The biggest detractor for me is the writing. Right off the bat, I realized that Ryan Graudin doesn't write in a style that works for me. The sentences are all really short and choppy. Lots of fragments. (See what I did there?) I realize that this is far from the only YA book that does this, as most are written in first person and people think in fragments. It's normal. But here, it was so omnipresent and overdone. And then there's the metaphors. Graudin loves metaphors but tries so hard to make them work, to make them super vivid, that they completely cease to make sense. Multiple times, I had to stop and stare at a sentence that was so weird, that I just could not understand. I'll show you my top examples:
How does the air wrinkle? Seriously, how? How does air wrinkle due to a sound?
How do you feel a sound??
This is the one that made me stare the longest. The "they" refers to words - he's overhearing a conversation behind a door. Franticness is decidedly not a word in the English language. But apparently words - sound - can "leak" under a door. And apparently it can also mix with the SMELL of lemons - from the cleaning solution.
Now I'm not saying that this writing is terrible, the worst, or incorrect. But it absolutely does not work for me. Some may like this over-the-top imagery, but to me it just tries too hard and ceases to make sense. Instead of immersing me in the story, it takes me out of it and makes me scratch my head in confusion. But these were by far the worst examples that I noticed - the end of the book was so action-packed that I was reading furiously and stopped nitpicking over mere sentences. So... I guess that would be my advice. Read quickly. Don't linger and think about how odd some sentences are.
Summing Up:
In spite of how far the writing drove me up the wall, I can't exactly say that I regret reading The Walled City. The story was dark and entertaining, and it did keep me on my toes. And yet, the characters were pretty bland and I cared nothing for the mini-romance. Thank god it was mini, I guess. Ultimately what I can say about this book is that I'm kind of glad I read it, I wish I'd learned more about the Walled City and how that came to be, but I don't think I would reread this ever and I'm not sure I would recommend it to others. In sum: a mixed bag.
GIF it to me straight!
That would be the writing slapping me in the face.
Recommended To:
Fans of action-packed, dark dystopias, which may have some world building / plot holes, like Dualed.
*ARC received for free at BEA in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.
When I heard about The Walled City at the BEA Buzz Panel, I was immediately intrigued. It's based on an actual city, Kowloon Walled City, in which many of the horrid dystopian-like elements of the book did happen. It sounded action-packed and realistic yet disturbing. Ultimately, though I found the story entertaining, I felt it was bogged down in bad writing, bland characters, and only average world building.
The Walled City is a sort of historical fiction dystopia. In this city, crime reigns free. There is no governing body, no laws to be upheld, because... I don't quite know. Here's where the world building, to me, is pretty average. Hak Nam apparently fell into some kind of loophole when the countries surrounding it set up new governments, and so it was some kind of safe haven for anyone with a criminal record. I didn't feel like this was explained well enough. Perhaps it was because Graudin based it on a real place and either thought we'd know how that came to be or that we wouldn't care. I care. Dystopias have a history of why they came to be that way, so historical or not - I want to know. I was also confused because the city's gates are apparently open. I didn't understand why most people wouldn't just leave. Couldn't they move? Find a job somewhere? I mean, some people in that city work! They run food stalls and stuff... couldn't they do that elsewhere if the gates are just open? Even being homeless in some city that was NOT Hak Nam would be better than living in that dystopia. Or are they all criminals that would be thrown in jail the instant they step out of the city? Even the kids? But wouldn't jail be preferable to fighting for your life every day? SO CONFUSED.
Whoever told you this LIED.
But the dystopia element of the city was very well done. It sounded absolutely terrifying. Gangs run around freely, stealing, dealing drugs, and probably committing many other crimes. Everyone makes sure to have a weapon on them, because otherwise they could easily be assaulted or killed. Kids and women are sold into sex slavery. Should they disobey their masters, they could be injected with heroin until they form a deadly addiction to it. That last bit freaked me the fuck out. Not gonna lie. I couldn't decide for myself whether I found it realistic, but the terror was real and well-written. This made the story extremely dark and exciting.
Personality-wise, the characters weren't that interesting, but their individual stories definitely were. Jin Ling is a girl, disguised as a boy, who sneaked into the city to save her sister, Mei Lee, who was sold into sex slavery by their abusive dad. Dai is a guy with a mysterious past and mysterious motivations, but he seems to want to take down the leader of the Brotherhood - Longwai. The three characters are our POV characters and... well, they read the same. That's a bit disappointing. Mei Yee, as a captive prostitute, does sound different, I'll admit, because she's struggling with way more issues than the other two. As such, I think I liked her voice the best. Jin Ling and Dai, however, are almost interchangeable. I really couldn't tell them apart. And did I care for the ship? No. I felt that was entirely unnecessary and cliché.
But, overall, I was engaged in the story because I could understand their desire for freedom and I was scared for them. It kept me turning the pages, for sure. There were action-packed fight scenes, intrigue, suspicions, deception - so many of the things that make dystopias a hit for me. The story was by far the strongest part of the novel, because in spite of my dislike of other elements, I couldn't put it down.
The biggest detractor for me is the writing. Right off the bat, I realized that Ryan Graudin doesn't write in a style that works for me. The sentences are all really short and choppy. Lots of fragments. (See what I did there?) I realize that this is far from the only YA book that does this, as most are written in first person and people think in fragments. It's normal. But here, it was so omnipresent and overdone. And then there's the metaphors. Graudin loves metaphors but tries so hard to make them work, to make them super vivid, that they completely cease to make sense. Multiple times, I had to stop and stare at a sentence that was so weird, that I just could not understand. I'll show you my top examples:
The air wrinkles with the sound of Dai opening the bag.
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin (ARC)
How does the air wrinkle? Seriously, how? How does air wrinkle due to a sound?
I felt the hush of rain on my skin.
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin (ARC)
How do you feel a sound??
They never slow, the franticness leaks under the door, mixes with the lemons.
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin (ARC)
This is the one that made me stare the longest. The "they" refers to words - he's overhearing a conversation behind a door. Franticness is decidedly not a word in the English language. But apparently words - sound - can "leak" under a door. And apparently it can also mix with the SMELL of lemons - from the cleaning solution.
Now I'm not saying that this writing is terrible, the worst, or incorrect. But it absolutely does not work for me. Some may like this over-the-top imagery, but to me it just tries too hard and ceases to make sense. Instead of immersing me in the story, it takes me out of it and makes me scratch my head in confusion. But these were by far the worst examples that I noticed - the end of the book was so action-packed that I was reading furiously and stopped nitpicking over mere sentences. So... I guess that would be my advice. Read quickly. Don't linger and think about how odd some sentences are.
Summing Up:
In spite of how far the writing drove me up the wall, I can't exactly say that I regret reading The Walled City. The story was dark and entertaining, and it did keep me on my toes. And yet, the characters were pretty bland and I cared nothing for the mini-romance. Thank god it was mini, I guess. Ultimately what I can say about this book is that I'm kind of glad I read it, I wish I'd learned more about the Walled City and how that came to be, but I don't think I would reread this ever and I'm not sure I would recommend it to others. In sum: a mixed bag.
GIF it to me straight!
That would be the writing slapping me in the face.
Recommended To:
Fans of action-packed, dark dystopias, which may have some world building / plot holes, like Dualed.
*ARC received for free at BEA in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.
Did you find this review helpful? Find more reviews at What She Reads
The Walled City held so many promises, I was so excited to read it. Unfortunately I can only put down a book so many times before I have to finally say "I give up". The Walled City opens up to a dark City run by drug lords and overrun by brothels, I felt this was incredibly dark for YA but it was out of my comfort zone and felt the intrigue to keep reading.
The thing that got me was how bored I was reading the story -- it was incredibly slow and I honestly felt no connection to any of the characters. When I got to the 34% I finally realised that this book is not for me, the concept was so strong yet I felt I was waiting a lifetime for anything to even happen.
Even though I didn't particularly enjoy this book I can tell a lot of research went into it as I believed it was based on the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. The characters were very realistic, I just wish I was able to finish the story.
The Walled City held so many promises, I was so excited to read it. Unfortunately I can only put down a book so many times before I have to finally say "I give up". The Walled City opens up to a dark City run by drug lords and overrun by brothels, I felt this was incredibly dark for YA but it was out of my comfort zone and felt the intrigue to keep reading.
The thing that got me was how bored I was reading the story -- it was incredibly slow and I honestly felt no connection to any of the characters. When I got to the 34% I finally realised that this book is not for me, the concept was so strong yet I felt I was waiting a lifetime for anything to even happen.
Even though I didn't particularly enjoy this book I can tell a lot of research went into it as I believed it was based on the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. The characters were very realistic, I just wish I was able to finish the story.
Did you find this review helpful? Find more reviews at What She Reads
Depending on which cover you get I think both covers reflect really well on what I was able to get through, on the cover above the black is very prominent and so is the red, creating a dark and eerie feeling. The graphics are beautifully done, probably my favourite thing about this book.
REVIEW
(DNF 34%)
The Walled City held so many promises, I was so excited to read it. Unfortunately I can only put down a book so many times before I have to finally say "I give up". The Walled City opens up to a dark City run by drug lords and overrun by brothels, I felt this was incredibly dark for YA but it was out of my comfort zone and felt the intrigue to keep reading.
The thing that got me was how bored I was reading the story -- it was incredibly slow and I honestly felt no connection to any of the characters. When I got to the 34% I finally realised that this book is not for me, the concept was so strong yet I felt I was waiting a lifetime for anything to even happen.
Even though I didn't particularly enjoy this book I can tell a lot of research went into it as I believed it was based on the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. The characters were very realistic, I just wish I was able to finish the story.
THE COVER
Depending on which cover you get I think both covers reflect really well on what I was able to get through, on the cover above the black is very prominent and so is the red, creating a dark and eerie feeling. The graphics are beautifully done, probably my favourite thing about this book.
QUOTE
I don’t want to tell this boy my name. Too many people have stolen it, used it in ways I never intended. You never know what a fragile thing a name is until it’s used as a weapon, screamed like a curse.