The Walled City - Ryan Graudin

Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. These are the three rules you follow if you want to survive in Hak Nam, the Walled City where everything goes. Prostitutes, drug lords, murderers, thieves, and society's worst all make their homes in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods, away from the watchful eyes of the main city's law enforcement. But it's not just criminals who live in Hak Nam.

Based on a real place, the Walled City follows three young people who struggle to survive within the city's boundaries. Mei Yee was sold by her father and taken from her home to a brothel owned by the most notorious drug lord in the city, Longwai. There, she catches the eye of a wealthy client from the main city. He offers her the chance to get away from the brothel, but recent events give her mixed feelings about leaving. Jin Ling lives in Hak Nam as she desperately searches for her sister in every brothel she comes across. Forced to disguise herself as a boy to avoid scrutiny, Jin picks up the skills necessary to survive in Hak Nam and the enemies to use them on. Her inability to check Longwai's brothel on her own leads her to break one of the rules and work with a boy that says he can help. Dai is in Hak Nam after being accused of a triple murder in the main city. To avoid arrest, he flees to the Walled City for sanctuary while his family tries to clear his name. While there, he runs errands as a drug boy to collect information that could get him pardoned in the main city, but he is running out of time to complete his mission. When he tries to infiltrate Longwai's brothel, he takes on Jin as a partner to increase his chances of success. As the clock winds down for the Walled City, the three main characters are drawn together in a desperate struggle for survival.

This book had a lot of parallels to the Hunger Games, but it's very intense; there's no funny Capitol people to break up the violence of the arena and no reprieve from the madness in the city. Mei Yee's forced prostitution, and that of all of the girls she lives with in the brothel, is disturbing at best. Despite its intensity, I could hardly put the Walled City down, especially knowing that it's based on a real place. I stayed up long into the night reading to the end because I just had to know what happened. If you're looking for a read that's in your comfort zone, this probably isn't for you. If, however, you're interested in reading about the gritty struggle to escape a horrible life and the choices that came with it, you might try this novel.

Pros:

• Intense, non-stop action keeps you interested
• Historical storyline based on the Kowloon Walled City
• Well-developed characters

Cons:

• Language
• Intense, non-stop action might be a little much for some readers
• Mei Yee's situation (including sexual abuse) is definitely intense for young readers

If you prefer watching the book trailer, here it is.