Anne Opotowsky

A saga of ambition, loyalty, and the walls we build both inside and out, animating historical 1920s Hong Kong with powerful modern resonance. In 1925, Hong Kong struggles with growing pains. Two destructive Opium Wars have transformed what once was a sleepy tropical inlet into a bustling international crossroads, full of risks and wonders, torn between Chinese and British cultures. When Song Lu starts his new job as a Dead Letter Carrier, the curious teenager is drawn to the mysterious Walled City of Kowloon, a lawless urban enclave and haven for refugees... but an alarming trend of missing children will drive him deeper and deeper into the city's secrets. Meanwhile, his best friends Yubo and Xi find their own paths to adult power and responsibility, with dark and irreversible consequences. Emmy Award-winning writer Anne Opotowsky and stunning artist Aya Morton present "a multi-tiered tale of fleeting innocence, child theft, criminal acquisition, opium addiction and the earliest days of Kowloon's illegal ghetto." (Shelf Abuse)

Walled City Trilogy

Emmy Award-winning writer Anne Opotowsky and stunning artist Angie Hoffmeister present the second volume in this massive saga of ambition, loyalty, and the walls we build inside and out; animating an irresistible historical setting with powerful modern resonance. Book Two of Anne Opotowsky's epic Walled City Trilogy leaps simultaneously forward and back. In 1905, a child is kidnapped and brought to Hong Kong, growing into a clever and reckless young man looking for answers. In the 1930s, the British are shaping that island into the free-trade playground for which it will soon become famous... while China's internal strife borders on chaos. The eccentricities of Hong Kong rub off on everyone, the greed is more palpable, the lust and caution ride herd on both the young and old. Within the Walled City itself, the population has grown by leaps and bounds, despite attempts to clear them out. Both the British and the Chinese now declare it a lawless ghetto, a legal No Man's Land... so the city evolves into an astonishing world of its own. In this chaotic yet harmonious world, the three boys from Book One -- Song, Xi, and Yubo -- are finding three very different ways to become men. Abductions, obsessions, refugees, and star-crossed lovers intertwine throughout this staggeringly ambitious and gorgeously illustrated saga... while the undercurrents of power, manipulation, and loss begin to show terrible cracks in the walls.

Nocturne - the Walled City Trilogy 2

Aya Morton

Wolfgang Bylsma

Imperialist controlled Hong Kong, the British ruling classes and the dynasty-influenced Chinese all create an amazing labyrinth for His Dream of the Skyland, book one in The Walled City trilogy. The Chinese colonial-inspired illustrations create an utterly distinct experience, immersing readers in a world that is opulent, dark and absorbing. Readers will be entranced by the story of Song Lu, a young boy living in Hong Kong in the 1920s, who gets caught up in the dark underbelly of the city. With two more books in the series to come, this marks the beginning of a truly epic tale.

Anne Opotowsky

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