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A review by bequibuho
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
4.0
I believe this book was inspired by a real city in Hong Kong. It was completely ungoverned so it quickly became a den for criminals. This book contained to carry on its strong Asian influences, you could see it in the setting, mannerisms, and culture.
This story was told through three point of views, but mostly through Dai and Jin. These were the POVs I preferred. Dai is older he has been in the city for more than a year. He is working on trying to get closer to the king pin of the city. He met Jin and convinced him to help run drugs for that crime boss.
Jin and her cat were probably my favorite characters. Jin is a young homeless girl dressing as a boy to avoid be taken to the brothels. She is trying to find her older sister and help her escape.
These two characters were more engaging and had more visible character arcs. Mei Yee had a quieter impact compare to the other two. I felt she was more of the driving force that propelled the other two characters forward.
I really enjoyed this story overall. There were gangsters, crime bosses, brothels, friendships, family, and so many trust issues. This story wasn’t afraid to get gritty and dark like the forbidden city it takes place in. This is a long book just over 400 pages and unfortunately it wasn’t always able to keep its momentum. I don’t think the book needed to be that long. Graudin does have a flowerly way of writing and there were so many moments were it didn’t match the situation.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book. I give it a B.
This story was told through three point of views, but mostly through Dai and Jin. These were the POVs I preferred. Dai is older he has been in the city for more than a year. He is working on trying to get closer to the king pin of the city. He met Jin and convinced him to help run drugs for that crime boss.
Jin and her cat were probably my favorite characters. Jin is a young homeless girl dressing as a boy to avoid be taken to the brothels. She is trying to find her older sister and help her escape.
These two characters were more engaging and had more visible character arcs. Mei Yee had a quieter impact compare to the other two. I felt she was more of the driving force that propelled the other two characters forward.
I really enjoyed this story overall. There were gangsters, crime bosses, brothels, friendships, family, and so many trust issues. This story wasn’t afraid to get gritty and dark like the forbidden city it takes place in. This is a long book just over 400 pages and unfortunately it wasn’t always able to keep its momentum. I don’t think the book needed to be that long. Graudin does have a flowerly way of writing and there were so many moments were it didn’t match the situation.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book. I give it a B.