This review is part of Melody’s Summer Reading: Diversity Spotlight. Enjoy!
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
ISBN: 978-0316405058
Source: Bought
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There are three rules in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Right now, my life depends completely on the first. Run, run, run.
Jin, Mei Yee, and Dai all live in the Walled City, a lawless labyrinth run by crime lords and overrun by street gangs. Teens there run drugs or work in brothels—or, like Jin, hide under the radar. But when Dai offers Jin a chance to find her lost sister, Mei Yee, she begins a breathtaking race against the clock to escape the Walled City itself.
I don’t know what I was expecting from The Walled City but this book exceeded my expectations! In The Walled City, we follow three POVs, a girl pretending to be a boy while on a mission to rescue her sister, a boy with 18 days to complete a mission, and a girl imprisoned in a brothel these two both find themselves in on their missions. I loved all of their POVs. For a moment there, it was hard to keep the three straight but their journeys are all so different and distinct, it soon becomes very clear where each of them are on those journeys and how they all connect. I loved all three perspectives, I felt very grounded in each one and I really enjoyed seeing the different dynamics each person had with the people around them, relationships that often helped them live to see the next day.
The setting is China which was wonderfully brought to life by Graudin. Round of applause for her research here because it shows and pays off so well. The setting of this walled city, ruled by drugs and human trafficking, is actually based on the real life Kowloon Walled City which astounded me because I didn’t even know about Kowloon. Talk about danger and mystery. This is not an easy book to read as it’s set in a very dark and disturbing setting where the stakes are very high and the tension is so thick, your heart will race. You will root for these characters to stay afloat in a city where everyone seemingly drowns. There’s plenty of action in this novel but there are also very poignant moments and the balance in tone here is beautiful. I really enjoyed it all.
If you’re looking for a pick me up book, The Walled City is the exact opposite of that. You have to have thick skin to read this book. It’s not an easy one to get through simply because of the subject matter at hand. But the characters. They fight. They fight to survive and they fight to tear down the walls in their lives and seeing that fight is worth every single minute. I knew that I’d like this book but I didn’t know I’d enjoy it as much as I did and I’m so happy to say that this one really surprised me in the best way. I loved how the story unraveled and came together and I think Graudin is a fabulous storyteller and writer. Definitely give The Walled City a read if you’re looking for a really intense stand alone novel.
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin is available today.