The Bookish Mindset

Overview:

Title: An Echo in the City
Author: K.X. Song
Published: August 2023
Genre: YA Literary
Themes: Civil War, Relationships

One sentence summary: What happens when the two sides clash and truths need to be revealed?

One sentence review: The grip this book had on me was like few others.

Review:

What does is mean to be in love with the opposition? To not be able to tell them the truth? This is Kai’s reality. Enrolled in police training, he’s the enemy of the protestors.

One of which is Phoenix. New to the protesting scene, she’s ready to fight for Hong Kong. Her pictures paint a thousand words as she shares with the world what really is going on.

What happens when the two sides clash and truths need to be revealed?

OH MY. The grip this book had on me was like few others.

Set in amidst the protests, the hurt and the chaos, I felt it all.

This is a book about figuring yourself out and then moving the Earth to make it happen. It’s a YA but it feels so adult, you’ll forget you’re talking about teenagers. With each new generation you’ll always have the naysayers, but young adults and teens pick up so much and they know what is right and wrong. They know they want to fight for their home and they have the energy for it. Phoenix and her friends do just that and I love it.

An Echo In The City is a love story but it doesn’t centre around love. It’s not just about Kai and Phoenix, it’s about their clashes of views, it’s about the protests taking over their lives and changing them in ways they never imagined. It’s about the struggle one parent households can have. It’s about having the courage to be yourself.

In case you couldn’t tell, I loved it. This moved me to tears multiple times and I’m considering starting it again just to be a part of it.

If reading more is something that you’re looking at doing this year then should check my reading challenge out here! Read nine books from nine prompts over the first six months of the year and be entered into a draw to win a bundle of bookish goodies.

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And don’t forget to check out my other blogs and reviews – you can find books with similar themes in the same folder link below, or click back onto blogs to see the whole offering.

Last updated 02/04/2025