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A review by bookishly_faith
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
4.0
I'm starting to think that Ryan Graudin is going to be one of my fave authors. Of course, this is the 2nd book I've read from her, but I just have a feeling. (I'm kind of tempted to try reading [b:All That Glows|12711662|All That Glows (All That Glows, #1)|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1371657763s/12711662.jpg|17845486] but the ratings and reviews are off-putting.) I loved [b:Wolf by Wolf|24807186|Wolf by Wolf (Wolf by Wolf, #1)|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1424193184s/24807186.jpg|44446095] and this book was just as lovable. I think I might be a sucker for [a:Ryan Graudin|5228256|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1371310709p2/5228256.jpg]'s historical fiction books. (They just seem so well researched and are so original!)
[b:The Walled City|18196040|The Walled City|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1404844357s/18196040.jpg|25605139] is told from the POV of 3 characters. Jin is basically Mulan. She's disguised as a boy and is trying to find her sister, who was sold into prostitution, in the Walled City. Mei Yee is Jin's sister and she is struggling to have hope as a prostitute for a drug lord. Dai is trying to bring down this drug lord so he can be free of his murder charges. All of these characters meet and they have a relationship that is tested by the Walled City's
The cool thing is that the Walled City was legitimately a place near Hong Kong. There are some pictures at the back of the book that are really fascinating. The other things I liked about this book were the imagery, the characters, and the setting. I was a huge fan of the world this book was set in. Admittedly, it took me a while to figure out this was a historical novel, but I was fascinated with this concept of a city where there are little rules. I could picture this place so vividly simply because of [a:Ryan Graudin|5228256|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1371310709p2/5228256.jpg]'s writing style. I was so happy that she didn't whitewash this Asian city.
I also really liked the characters. I appreciated their strength and I loved seeing them evolve together in this book. Jin and Dai's friendship was my favourite! (With Jin and Chma's relationship in second.) The epilogue was adorable! Guess what, friends? There was no love triangle in this book!
So yes, I loved this book. I could see how some might find it a little slow, but I really do love character driven novels!
[b:The Walled City|18196040|The Walled City|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1404844357s/18196040.jpg|25605139] is told from the POV of 3 characters. Jin is basically Mulan. She's disguised as a boy and is trying to find her sister, who was sold into prostitution, in the Walled City. Mei Yee is Jin's sister and she is struggling to have hope as a prostitute for a drug lord. Dai is trying to bring down this drug lord so he can be free of his murder charges. All of these characters meet and they have a relationship that is tested by the Walled City's
The cool thing is that the Walled City was legitimately a place near Hong Kong. There are some pictures at the back of the book that are really fascinating. The other things I liked about this book were the imagery, the characters, and the setting. I was a huge fan of the world this book was set in. Admittedly, it took me a while to figure out this was a historical novel, but I was fascinated with this concept of a city where there are little rules. I could picture this place so vividly simply because of [a:Ryan Graudin|5228256|Ryan Graudin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1371310709p2/5228256.jpg]'s writing style. I was so happy that she didn't whitewash this Asian city.
I also really liked the characters. I appreciated their strength and I loved seeing them evolve together in this book. Jin and Dai's friendship was my favourite! (With Jin and Chma's relationship in second.) The epilogue was adorable! Guess what, friends? There was no love triangle in this book!
So yes, I loved this book. I could see how some might find it a little slow, but I really do love character driven novels!