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A review by amyread_s
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
4.0
THE WALLED CITY manages to uniquely slot a dystopian crisis into a modern-day landscape. The Walled City, Hak Nam, is set right in the middle of a functioning civilisation, and serves as the local melting pot for criminal activity, drugs, prostitution, poverty. What makes the The Walled City a little more striking is that it is a fictional story based on a real place, Kowloon Walled City, which was demolished from 1993 to 1994.
The Walled City revolves around three main characters: Jin Lee, a young vagrant girl running around the city looking for her sister: Mei Yee, trapped in a brothel having been sold by her father, and Dai, a young boy with a tendency to save people, and a pretty big secret, who is dying to get out of the Walled City.
I really enjoyed this novel, the characters were a joy to read, there were some surprising twists and turns in the plot, and the links with a genuine historical place made it feel compellingly significant.
I can't deny that I noticed far too many similes, and clichés, in the narrative for my usual taste. It felt a little like they marred what was otherwise a well-written, beautifully sculpted novel. Definitely would recommend to any fan of fast-paced YA books.
The Walled City revolves around three main characters: Jin Lee, a young vagrant girl running around the city looking for her sister: Mei Yee, trapped in a brothel having been sold by her father, and Dai, a young boy with a tendency to save people, and a pretty big secret, who is dying to get out of the Walled City.
I really enjoyed this novel, the characters were a joy to read, there were some surprising twists and turns in the plot, and the links with a genuine historical place made it feel compellingly significant.
I can't deny that I noticed far too many similes, and clichés, in the narrative for my usual taste. It felt a little like they marred what was otherwise a well-written, beautifully sculpted novel. Definitely would recommend to any fan of fast-paced YA books.