Reviews

City of Secrets by Victoria Ying

2012hondacivic's review

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

pauline_mad's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.0

brookesinfinitebooks's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was a very enjoyable adventure novel! Fans of classic adventures like Indiana Jones will like this one. At times, the dialogue was used to infodump, but in a fast paced format it was nice to get this level of backstory. I'm looking forward to book 2!

gabalodon's review against another edition

4.0

Very cute graphic novel. One of the blurbs describes it as Ghibli-esque which is very accurate. There were a lot of loose ends and I still have a lot of questions about the basis of everything that ultimately happens (Why were things designed that way? How was this all originated? What is Vash's story? What was the fall-out from the climax re the war? What about Lisa's bro?). But overall, fun quick read. Hard to tell if she's planning a sequel, but maybe that's why some things were left open-ended.

samgray's review against another edition

3.0

Definitely hope this book is part of a series because there is so much left unexplained!

I wish there was space/time dedicated to laying out the specifics of the city and how the parts are manipulated. Without it, I was left disbelieving in the convenience of the levers to save the kids- like the levers and pulleys were just there to drive the plot the way Ying needed it to go during fight scenes.

Looking forward to more!

belathora's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

ina_hkh's review against another edition

2.0

I don't know how to sum up this plot in a few words, but in true Disney-style there's an orphan boy, and a rich girl who'd rather climb trees than become a lady. They become friends and have to save the city Oskars from... missils. From the neighboring city. Because I don't know. There's also a conspiracy, different social levels (literally), a secret society of protectors of the city, assassins, and the city itself which is loaded with levers and gears for reasons unknown.

The art works really well with the characters, and I'm guessing Ying has done a fair bit of character designs. Yet story-wise they seem flat and predictable, and the story itself feels a bit rushed at the end. Also the art works surprisingly bad for all the gears and intricate mechanics which plays a big part of the story, and you never really get a good idea of what's happening whenever a lever is pulled and something is moved. Except that something has moved.

tara1234's review against another edition

4.0

4.9 stars was confused in the beginning but it kept getting better:) so exited to read the next onee

theangrystackrat's review

adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

sailorkchick's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The main characters were enjoyable and good role models for boys and girls. The mystery was fun and engaging.

This novel deals with gender roles, secret societies & puzzles.

The main characters are fighting to stay alive with a secret society out to silence them. They need to figure out the cities puzzles to be able to save it.