Publisher: Orion Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Published: 6th November 2014
Number of Pages: 448
Book: For Review*
Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Action-Adventure, Contemporary, Gritty-Realism, YA, YA-Adult Crossover
Recommended
Age: 14+
Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing,
Alcohol, Drug and Sexual Assault References
Author's
Site: Ryan Graudin
“There are three rules of survival 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.”
These streets are a maze. They twist into themselves – narrow, filled
with glowing signs and graffitied walls.
DAI traffics drugs for the most
ruthless man in the Walled City. To find
freedom, he needs help from someone who can be invisible…
JIN LING hides under the radar,
evading the street gangs as she searches for her lost sister…
MEI YEE survives trapped in a
brothel, dreaming of escape while watching the girls who try fail and die.
Damaged and betrayed, can these three find the faith to join forces and
escape the stifling city walls?
Review:
“Hak
Nam Walled City. A recipe of humanity's darkest ingredients - thieves,
whores, murderers, addicts – all mashed into six and a half acres. Hell
on earth, he called it. A place so ruthless even the sunlight won't enter…”
In a city full of violence, correction,
death and abuse, run by a vicious and all-powerful gangster, three teenagers
try to find a way out...
Dai has been trapped in the Walled City, smuggling
drugs, whilst he attempts to clear his name of a crime he did not commit so he
can finally go home. And he is running out of time.
Jin Ling knows that girls cannot survive in
Hak Nam, and so she disguises herself as a boy, stealing to survive, doing her
best to seem invisible. She is searching for her sister, who was sold by
their father and is being used as a slave in a brothel. All Jin Ling
wants is to save her sister.
Mei Yee is Jin's lost sister, trapped in a
brothel. She knows that to attempt to escape will get her a fate worse
than death – but that doesn't mean she doesn't dream of freedom.
Alone, these three teenagers stand no
chance of escaping the Walled City. But can they make it out together...?
With just eighteen days left...?
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked
up The Walled City. Certainly
not just how brilliantly dark, dangerous and addictive it turned out to be.
From the moment I began The Walled
City, I was just hooked. I was thinking it would be a dystopian, a
fantasy, but it was just... real. Too real at times. And that was
just so gripping, so shocking. And so utterly original. I've never
read anything like The Walled City
before – and that's saying something. I've read a lot. It might not be for everyone, but it was absolutely
addictive and amazing and stunning and eye-opening for me.
Jin Ling was brilliant – clever, brave,
fast, caring. I loved seeing her with her cat, Chma, and with Dai, loved
when she thought of her sister, who she protected as best she could. She
was just such an amazing character, one I truly rooted for, from the very
beginning, because Jin was fierce, loyal and fearless.
Dai was an enigma – to begin with.
And then... I got him. And I loved him. He was brave and
solitary and clever and caring. He was haunted, like everyone in Hak Nam,
desperate to get out, but he knew how to save himself, was willing to sacrifice
himself for others. He was, in short, a hero – just as Jin was a heroine.
Mei Yee was perhaps the quietest and subtlest
of the heroes, the one who was doubly trapped. She wasn't badass like Jin
and Dai, but she was brave in her own way. She may have started out as
the typical damsel in distress, but she wasn't helpless. Mei Yee was
clever and brave and strong – stronger than she thought, than I thought.
There were few other characters in the book
with large parts – after all, the second rule is to trust no one – but the
minor characters all felt so real to me, even the ones that were just memories.
But none were as vibrant and alive as our three narrators.
Because the writing was just... wow. I love multiple perspectives –
like love them to death. And I adored getting to read from Jin, Dai and
Mei Yee's points of view – it made everything so much more vital and intriguing
and gave the book more depth. And Graudin had a way of writing: dark,
gritty, suspenseful, addictive. It utterly put me under a spell and kept
me hooked from the very first line to the very last.
The plot was just nonstop: always running,
always fighting, always hiding, always sneaking... It was relentless and
so addictive. And the way Graudin wove these three people together, wove
their lives and chances for escape together, was nothing short of genius.
And the action – the running and hiding and fighting... It was like a
blockbuster movie put into words. Like reading a gritty thriller movie,
watching it all play in my head... And yes, some might be... disappointed
by the ending. But I, personally, loved it. So... there.
This world... it was stifling, oppressive,
so very dark and bloody. I can't believe that this city really existed
once, where children are just... It’s horrible. And it's still
happening, isn't it? All over the world, so many children are at risk –
and this book is, as Ryan herself says, inspired by children who are invisible
to most. It's the dark, hidden world no one wants to admit exists.
Maybe The Walled City is a
dystopian, set in a dystopian world inspired by this city that once existed.
But, to me at least, it felt too damn real to be dystopian. So real
and so brutal. I can't say it's a world I loved reading about, but it was
amazingly crafted – and made the three teenagers feel all the stronger for
simply surviving in it.
I've read few books that feel utterly
original and utterly amazing. That leave me speechless, leave me reeling.
Leave me... different. But The
Walled City... it was one of those books. It took my breath away, had
me utterly hooked from the very first line. The Walled City... It's probably the most original thing I've
read for a long time and it was stunning.
I will say that The Walled City isn't for everyone. It is dark. It is
brutal. But it's the kind of book that makes you think – without forcing
a message down your throat. It shows a city based on one that once
existed. It shows a city ruled by corruption, gangs and violence.
It shows you how hard children have to fight to survive, what they are
forced to turn into when confronted by the hopelessness and death around them.
It shows you survivors, surviving in their own way, and it makes you feel
like you're besides them as they fight. It's an amazing book that is hard
to read at times, but all the better for that fact.
The
Walled City blew me away: it is deep,
dark, pretty damn near perfect – I was left speechless for days, unable to say
anything but 'My god, READ IT' to all
my friends. The Walled City was
simply stunning – I literally can't find the words to truly do it justice.
It put me under a spell, an enchantment, and has left me breathless,
needing, absolutely desperately
needing, Graudin's new book, Wolf
By Wolf.
And so I conclude this review by pointing
out that dystopian worlds don't have to be the same – with revolutions and warriors. They can be set in a world that is dreadfully
real, following three amazing characters as they try to save themselves.
You can write storylines worthy of films or comic books as YA novel, show
the darkest sides of the world and create something that is utterly unique,
utterly amazing and so freaking brilliant.
I know I'm rambling. I'm sorry.
But can't you see? This book, The
Walled City, is worthy of my rambling. It is worthy of nonstop
recommendations. I just... Ugh, I still don't have the right words.
Just, if want to think whilst being thrilled, if you don't mind darkness
and violence, and if you want brave, real characters, read The Walled City. You will not regret it. Trust me.
Trust the rambling. Read The Walled City now.
Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5
4¾ Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
The Fearless by Emma Pass
The 5th Wave by Rick
Yancey
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie
Blackman
Street Duty by Chris Ould
Happy Reading
Megan
* This
book was received from Indigo in exchange for an honest review
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