SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
In the Land of Elyon all of the cities are surrounded by a massive wall. Alexa Daley has grown up with it her whole life. But she secretly dreams of finding out what exactly is outside. Is it really as dangerous as people say? She ends up investigating, and discovers a plan to invade her city.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Alexa Daley is the daughter of the mayor of Lathbury. She secretly desires to know about the world beyond the walled towns. She is small for her age of twelve years and cannot imagine anything is special about her. But she is an inquisitive girl, and her desire to learn helps push her forward.
Yipes is the small, agile man that guides Alexa when she gets out of the walled area. He is quiet at first, but eventually talks more after the truth is revealed. He and Alexa become close friends. Yipes is rather blunt and tends to say things no one else does.
Pervis Kotcher is the head of the city guard. He does his job well, but is such a disagreeable person that Alexa goes out of her way to avoid him. Even so, he manages to cause trouble for her. In the beginning, he comes across as the main villain.
Darius is a wolf that Yipes leads Alexa to. In turn, he leads her to a small tunnel. Although Alexa is intimidated by him, and doubtful about his trustfulness, eventually she comes to trust and rely on him.
Murphy is a squirrel who Alexa meets. He has a hard time staying still and is rather excitable.
PACING
Pacing is really the only criticism I have for the story. The beginning may start with a drastic event, but it then flashes back for four chapters to give us some background of Alexa and Bridewell, as well as the story behind the walls that surround all the cities. And there is five more chapters before Alexa makes a discovery that sets the rest of the story in motion. I understand why this was done, but I think it could have been shortened and the information condensed better.
ANIMAL CAST
One of my favorite aspects of this story were the animals. They don't all have a big part, but in the woods we are introduced to a massive amount of animals. Some might be annoyed by this list of seemingly inconsequential creatures, but I loved it. I wanted Carmen to go on and name more. I think this comes from reading so many books about animals as a child.
ECHOES OF NARNIA
I thought it was obvious once we meet the creatures, who talk of Elyon, that he is similar to C.S. Lewis' Aslan. They say he is on the move, a line straight from the fantasy novels. Also, they call the Land, the Land of Elyon, implying that Elyon is the ruler and creator of all. There isn't any preaching in this book though, so if you are an atheist or agnostic it shouldn't bother you. The villains are not people who hate Elyon, and the good guys don't seem to have enough knowledge to follow him.
THEME
I would say a large part of the story is realizing that God(Elyon) can use anyone to do great things. Throughout the book it is clear that Alexa does not think highly of herself. She considers it incredible that she should be put in such a situation to do amazing things. And yet she always at least tries. There is nothing amazing about her. She is not particularly smart, athletic, bold, or pretty. She seems quite average. And yet she is the key to protecting a city.
GENRE
I mentioned how the pacing is rather slow in the beginning. Well, this really isn't a action story, but more of a mystery with puzzles to solve. Alexa finds various clues through the Jocasta during the story. Most don't make sense right away, and we are left wondering what things mean. This, more than fast pacing, pushes our desire onward to read. Although there are many chapter endings that are cliff-hangers, they are ones that leave us confused, so we want to read on. Not the classic-something really drastic and action-packed has happened, what will happen next-kind of thing.
CONCLUSION
Carmen creates an original story with charming animal creatures and a likable heroine. The very slow pacing in the first part is the only thing that affects the story negatively. I give “The Dark Hills Divide” three and a half stars.
What do you think? Have you read this book? Agree or disagree with any of my points? Please let me know!
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