The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

THE WALLED CITY

Written by: Ryan Graudin

Published by: Little Brown books, September 8, 2015

My star rating: 5 stars

THE SYNOPSIS:

730. That’s how many days I’ve been trapped.
18. That’s how many days I have left to find a way out.

DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible….

JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister….

MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She’s about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window…..

In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

This book sat on my shelf for a good 6 months and now I regret not picking it up sooner!! I bought this one shortly after reading Ryan Graudin’s other book Wolf By Wolf. I enjoyed that one very much as it’s a historical fiction which is one of my favourite genres. I especially enjoyed that it was an alternate historical fiction where Hitler wins the war. But I have to say that it seemed a bit young for me and focused too much on a romantic relationship where I wish it would have been a little more political, dirty, calculated and bad ass. But this post isn’t about that book. I’m just mentioning it because, as much as I did enjoy the book, I still found faults with it. The Walled City however – I found no faults at all!

This book is historical fiction based on an actual place called the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. The city spread less than 7 acres I believe and there were over 33,000 people living within its walls. Kowloon city no longer exists as it has since been torn down and turned into a park.

Jin, Mei Yee, and Dai all live within the city’s walls dealing with poverty, crime, gangs, drug lords, and the sex trade. Jin is a girl disguising  herself as a boy to keep hidden under the radar of the gangs. If it’s found out that she’s a girl she may end up in one of the many brothels or she may end up dead. Dai, a boy with secrets that haunt him, runs into Jin thinking that she may be the key he needs to escape. Jin doesn’t trust anyone but he could know how to save her sister who was taken to the city many years ago. They have 18 days to work together and escape before it’s too late. No matter where you go, always look behind you and always carry a knife.

This book FAR exceeded my expectations. They author did a fantastic job building the world and the setting. After reading this book I felt like I knew exactly what this place looked like, the colours, the lights, and the buildings. When I further researched Kowloon City, a picture popped up and I was floored. I had never seen a picture of this city yet it seemed so familiar. Like I was already there.

The character development was amazing. The perspectives switched between Jin, Dai, and Mei Yee so you got the chance to see everyone’s day to day life, their thoughts, their feelings, and what drove them to this place. You get to fully understand their love, determination, will, trust, and loyalties.

But what I found most spectacular was the writing style. With a book that has such dark subject matter (prostitution, drugs, gangs, violence, murder), I didn’t expect to find such poetic beauty. While explaining all of the horrors held within the cities walls, Ryan Graudin managed to find the beauty in every situation and explain it to the last detail. Some authors write this way but you can see the effort. Some of the beautiful sentences seem forced and choppy, but not this one. Her writing just flows without effort and you find yourself pausing to re-read a sentence to fully comprehend what was just said.

If you liked Wolf By Wolf I highly recommend this one!!

Until next time, happy reading!