Book Review: The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Book Review:  The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

A big thank you goes out to Netgalley for giving me this ARC of The Walled City by Ryan Graudin.  

Summary by Goodreads:  

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.

My Thoughts:

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.  In the beginning, I did have difficulty getting into the book right away and put it down a few times.  I turned to Goodreads to check how others reviewed this one - definitely mixed reviews - but those who finished spoke very highly of it.  It was in the reviews that I realized that The Walled City is based off an actual place in Hong Kong where criminals, gangsters, prostitutes, and homeless children lived.  I googled images (see below) and began reading more about life in this city.  Horrifying!

Once I realized that this wasn't a typical dystopian novel, I began to imagine real children living in this despair doing whatever they need to just scraping by to survive.  That is when the story became engaging and I wanted to read more.  If you are willing to give it a chance, your eyes will definitely be opened up to horrific ways that humans were being trafficked and treated in other parts of the world.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139914/A-rare-insight-Kowloon-Walled-City.html 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139914/A-rare-insight-Kowloon-Walled-City.html

Book Trailers:  Check out these trailers to learn more about The Walled City.