The Nameless City - Hicks, Faith Erin

Beautiful, compelling, sweet. The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks is a graphic novel about a young native girl, a sheltered outsider, and their determination to save the home they love.

When aloof and immune Dao (the most recent nation to have conquered the Nameless City) soldier, Kaidu arrives to the Nameless City to train, he instantly falls in love with this city rich in history and diversity. Trouble is brewing, though, and his father, General Andren is in the middle of it.

Rat, a native orphan living with the monks hates the Dao and everything they stand for. They stole her parents away from her, and now they’re taking her city, too. When she makes an unlikely friendship with Kaidu, she knows that she will do anything to keep the city, and her friend, safe.

This book almost made me cry. With gorgeous pictures and well written dialogue, it has what every good book does: a heart. It’s well-paced, and enough details are given without doing any info-dumping so that readers won’t feel lost, or bored.

I give the Nameless City a 9/10. It’s not my usual genre, but a friend recommended it to me, and I’m glad they did. It was odd, finishing the book so fast and I decided to read it a second time, taking care to appreciate the artwork and facial expressions instead of only the writing along the way. Would definitely recommend to readers of all ages.