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Friday, November 7, 2014

Blog Tour- THE WALLED CITY by Ryan Graudin and a Giveaway!


Hey y'all! I have an awesome stop for you today, a playlist from Ryan Graudin's THE WALLED CITY and there's videos for some of the songs that I love and YouTube links for the rest! The book came out Tuesday so make sure to grab your copy. Oh and make sure to stick around and enter the epic giveaway! 

Haven't heard of THE WALLED CITY Check it out!



Title: THE WALLED CITY 
Author: Ryan Graudin
Pub. Date: November 4, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 448
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

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.




Now on to the playlist!


THE WALLED CITY Playlists

Most of my projects have a single playlist, but THE WALLED CITY was unique in that it sported three different lists! The novel is told from three POVs, each of them very distinct and different. I had to compile a trio of lists to capture each character’s unique mood and voice.

JIN LING

Most of Jin’s songs have a very quick tempo, which makes sense because she spends a good deal of her time in the book running. Her voice is also very punchy, so I tried to listen to songs that accented that trait in her.


This song was one of the first I ever added to my playlist. It was actually one of the initial “seeds” of inspiration I had for THE WALLED CITY. It popped up on one of my Pandora stations one day, and, upon hearing it, I immediately started imagining chase scenes through slums. I have a lot of Yoshida Brothers songs in THE WALLED CITY’s playlist, but this is the first.


Another excellent “chase” song from the Inception soundtrack. Whenever I listen to this I can just see Jin squeezing through alleyways and jumping off of roofs, trying her best to get away from Kuen and his pack.


This song is less “sound-track-y” than the others since it has lyrics, but it still has the punchy, running tempo that is so common to Jin’s tracks. The (very few) words in this song really speak to journey Jin’s character takes throughout the story.


I looooooooove Zack Hemsey’s work. He is both a soundtrack composer and a really gifted rapper. The album I listened to on repeat for THE WALLED CITY is called “The Way” and is purely instrumental. To me these songs hold the same sense of longing, desperation and hope that the book holds. This track especially sounds like Jin to me, since it has a very punchy tempo.


MEI YEE

The songs on Mei Yee’s list are very different from her sister’s. Her’s are much slower, flowing and longing. Since she spends so much of her time physically trapped in a single place, dreaming of a different life, many of her songs whole that dreamlike quality.


This was one of the first and most played songs on Mei Yee’s playlist. It is both stagnant and longing, a sense I really wanted to convey while Mei Yee stares out of her barred window. The haunting minor key also fits well.


This is one of the Yoshida Brothers’ slower songs, and it fits Mei Yee’s scenes very well. When I hear it I can’t help but think of Nuo and her zither, playing in a room full of opium smoke.


Another haunting song, with a heavy sense of foreboding. I listened to this a lot while writing the hallway scene, where Mei Yee stops in front of Sing’s door. The frantic strings match Sing’s desperate situation.

“Canvas” – Imogen Heap



I love Imogen Heap, and this song does such an amazing job of threading opposites together. Light-hearted chords with mournful lyrics, despair with lingering hope. I listened to this song a lot while writing the window scenes between Mei Yee and Dai. Mei Yee is understandably torn during these encounters, wanting to believe there’s a way out, but not fully embracing it. “I just can’t find the strength to keep you taut.” is a line from this song that really speaks to her character.

DAI

Dai’s playlist is packed with lots of lyrics. Some of these songs are deeply angry, others just rueful. All highlight the many different sides of Dai.

“Bleed It Out” – Linkin Park



This song actually has some personal history for me. In 2007, I took a trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where I lived with a family in the slums for six weeks and worked with a program called Children at Risk. That summer was my first real encounter with third-world poverty and the suffering of street children. It was a hard, overwhelming experience, seeing so many children who deserved so much better in life. As I was flying home, I wrestled with a lot of helpless, angry feelings that I couldn’t do more for these kids. This song was on the airplane, and listening to it helped me channel some of my emotions. Dai has to work through a lot of the same anger and sense of helplessness through all of the horrors that he encounters in THE WALLED CITY.

“Some Nights” – Fun.



I’ve been a fan of Fun. since their album “Aim and Ignite.” This song perfectly encapsulates Dai’s insomnia, guilt, nightmares and denial of identity.

“Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck. Some nights I call it a draw.” + “But I still wake up, I still see your ghost. Oh Lord I’m still not sure what I stand for.” = Dai in a nutshell.

“Pompeii” – Bastille



I love this song so much. And as hipster as it sounds, I will tell you I was listening to it well before the radio caught on and played it approximately one-bazillion times. Bastille does such a good job of conveying regret and the destruction of dreams in this song. This one really speaks to Dai’s past and how he deals with it: “Oh where do we begin? The rubble or our sins?


This song is by the same artist who is on Jin Ling’s playlist, though this is one of his rapping tracks. All of the characters in THE WALLED CITY are searching for a place of safety and belonging, but Dai’s desire for home is the strongest. “Finding Home” is an excellent song in conveying this sense and restlessness of needing to be somewhere else.




Thanks  for sharing Ryan I loved this playlist!!!



About Ryan:


Ryan Graudin grew up in Charleston and graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Creative Writing in 2009. She is the author of All That Glows and The Walled City. She resides near Charleston with her husband and wolf-dog. You can find her online at www.ryangraudin.com.

Her work is represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.




Giveaway Details:

(1) Grand prize pack: It includes: A finished copy of THE WALLED CITY, rice candy, a miniature lucky cat, a traditional Chinese paper cutout of a dragon, and a pamphlet from the real Walled City Park! US ONLY


(9) winners will receive: A finished copy of THE WALLED CITY. US ONLY.


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Check out the Tour Schedule for more awesome posts!

 Week One:
10/27/2014- Novel Novice- Interview
10/28/2014- Seeing Double In NeverlandReview
10/29/2014- Reading YA RocksGuest Post
10/30/2014- The O.W.L.Review
10/31/2014- ParajunkeeInterview

Week Two:
11/3/2014- Xpresso ReadsGuest Post
11/4/2014- Reading with ABCReview
11/5/2014- Bibliolatry MeInterview
11/6/2014- Once Upon a TwilightReview
11/7/2014- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post


8 comments:

  1. I've seen this book around on a few different blogs and it looks very interesting. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.

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  2. This sounds like a page turner and heart-racer. Got to read!!

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  3. Sounds like a great read. A friend of mine has already read it and she really liked it. Thanks for the chance!

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  4. I loved this one! I really enjoy the playlist, I think I like Dai's music the best :)

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  5. This really looks good and I really like the playlist. The different playlists is a unique way to get a feel for the characters. Thank you for this giveaway and congratulations on your new book!

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  6. This book looks and sounds amazing and I love the cover! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

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  7. Ryan Eagle Scammer are everywhere! Some people are lucky if they know how to identify them, but a big regret for others who were once swindled by them or are about to be conned.

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