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A review by sherlockk_
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
4.0
Review posted on Thrice Read
I first heard about Ryan Graudin from booktube. There was a lot of buzz around her book Wolf by Wolf. I absolutely loved Wold by Wolf. (Just ask Eden, I all but forced her to read it. She also enjoyed it an posted her thoughts here.) I hadn’t heard much about The Walled City by Graudin. I saw it at Blue Bicycle Books over the summer and picked it up on a whim. Well, I finally got around to reading it and I am so glad that I picked it up.
This story was like nothing else I’ve ever read. It’s a dystopian novel that feels completely authentic. That is because it is based on a real place. This walled city was a real place that Graudin researched for inspiration. The work that Graudin did to learn about the city and its inhabitants really shows. It is a situation that seems unbelievable yet is entirely realistic.
Beyond the world building I loved the characters and relationships within this book. The focus in this book is familial. Rather than going for the typical love triangle Graudin chose to focus on the love of family. That gave this book a totally fresh feel. Many times with YA we don’t get to see a lot about a character’s family. I really appreciated that Graudin took the relationship of the siblings and put that at the forefront. Those ties were the most important in this story and that made it so much deeper and richer.
This book was much more than I anticipated. I’ve become weary of dystopian because of the overload we had years ago. However, this book goes against the overplayed tropes. It stands out amongst other dystopians and I really appreciate that. If you are looking for an action packed read you should definitely pick up Ryan Graudin’s The Walled City.
I first heard about Ryan Graudin from booktube. There was a lot of buzz around her book Wolf by Wolf. I absolutely loved Wold by Wolf. (Just ask Eden, I all but forced her to read it. She also enjoyed it an posted her thoughts here.) I hadn’t heard much about The Walled City by Graudin. I saw it at Blue Bicycle Books over the summer and picked it up on a whim. Well, I finally got around to reading it and I am so glad that I picked it up.
This story was like nothing else I’ve ever read. It’s a dystopian novel that feels completely authentic. That is because it is based on a real place. This walled city was a real place that Graudin researched for inspiration. The work that Graudin did to learn about the city and its inhabitants really shows. It is a situation that seems unbelievable yet is entirely realistic.
Beyond the world building I loved the characters and relationships within this book. The focus in this book is familial. Rather than going for the typical love triangle Graudin chose to focus on the love of family. That gave this book a totally fresh feel. Many times with YA we don’t get to see a lot about a character’s family. I really appreciated that Graudin took the relationship of the siblings and put that at the forefront. Those ties were the most important in this story and that made it so much deeper and richer.
This book was much more than I anticipated. I’ve become weary of dystopian because of the overload we had years ago. However, this book goes against the overplayed tropes. It stands out amongst other dystopians and I really appreciate that. If you are looking for an action packed read you should definitely pick up Ryan Graudin’s The Walled City.