The Dark Hills Divide (The Land of Elyon Series #1)

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for Teens Read Too

Twelve-year-old Alexa Daley's summer trip to Bridewell with her father is something she's looked forward to. She can't wait to explore, and comes prepared to get a better look over the immense walls that have blocked her view of the forests and the Dark Hills all her life. She never dreamed her explorations would take her outside the walls and lead to a strange little man who guides her to an ancient enchantment. Through the power of the enchantment, Alexa learns of a deadly plot that threatens to destroy Bridewell. Alexa can't save Bridewell alone, but there's a traitor in their midst, and she's not sure who she can trust. Choosing the wrong allies could prove fatal. Carman has an amazing imagination, and his skill in crafting a story seems effortless. THE DARK HILLS DIVIDE, the first story in THE LAND OF ELYON series, is magical and draws the reader in with lovable characters, a mystery full of danger, and a setting that evokes the imagination. I first borrowed THE DARK HILLS DIVIDE from my local library several years ago. Picking up Alexa's story again was like reuniting with an old friend. I knew I had loved the book back then, but had forgotten how much. I can't wait to reacquaint myself with Alexa's next adventure in the second book, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THORNS.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Hills Divide was one of those rare books that my teacher had given to me at the start of middle school that I just didn't want to end, and when I finished it, I went looking for the next one almost immediately. I first read The Dark Hills Divide in sixth grade. It's not a hard book to read, but it's still fun and exciting. Now I'm in ninth grade, and I still love the book. I've read the series many times over and over again. I just never get sick of it.
The Dark Hills Divide is about a little twelve-year-old girl who is ordinary beyond ordinary, and through her curiosity for the lurking world outside the three story walls that surround her home, she subconsciously weaves herself into a magical and passionate tale. I think the title is brilliant. In the beginning, the Dark Hills are part of the outside world that no one knows anything about and doesn't want to know, for that matter. But as Alexa journeys through them and experiences their power, something changes in the atmosphere. It's almost as if the Dark Hills lose their darkness in a sense. But don't let me spoil it. Read it!
The Dark Hills Divide is a fiction book filled to the brim with talking animals, miniature humans, and criminal bandits that live underground. I'm sorry to say there aren't any pictures, but Patrick Carman does an outstanding job of creating images in your head. The book has a pretty amazing setting with maps for underground tunnels, above groun secret passages, and the library. To fully understand what's going on, you have to keep in mind where Alexa is at all times. Don't worry though. It's not that complicated once you start reading.
If you like The Dark Hills Divide, you should also read the second and thrid books. The series has a fantastic ending. You may think that the first book is a little slow, but boy does it speed up. Or you may think that the first book is excellent, and then you'll be lost for words for the third book. I promise.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dark Hills Divide

This book is slow to start but once you get into it you will love it! The characters are wonderful.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cool book!

This book was one of the two books I chose to read for the summer. At the beginning, I was very confused and didn't understand anything. But after a while, everything began to make sense. It's a great book if you're into magic, mysteries, and adventures. I am thinking about reading the second book and the rest of the series, since the ending left me hanging. This is a good book, give it a shot! =D

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

i love that book!!!! i thought it was thrilling,enthralling,and soooo great. i recommend reading it majorly!!!!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Best Book Ever

it is just wonderful, perfect, outstanding, spectacular, magnificent, remarkable, and everything else!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Is this book worth reading?

This book was outstanding. I enjoyed it the most beacuse it was able to keep me reading. With the thrill and suspense of this book i recomend it to others now. It mainly hits the points that keep you wondering and it rarely ever trails off into a boring sleepy time type thing. all i say now is try and read you may never know what this book could have in store for you...

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is the greatest book ever!!

I love this book so much. I love that the animals can talk. The whole book is awsome.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fasinating

this was one of the best books i have ever read i never expected who the bad uy was i just couldnt belive it i recommend it to anyone who likes a great mystery i tried to figure the ending out 3/4 of the way through and i was totally wrong this is a great book!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant wait until the second book comes out

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Magical

The Dark Hills Divide is an awsome book for 4th, 5th or 6th graders. The main character is a twelve year old girl named Alexa who finds a key that leads her into secret underground tunels that goes up through the dark hills and finds all the magic and mystery in her great adventure.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Just the beginning to a huge adventure...

The Dark Hills Divide is an interesting story. You go on an adventure with Alexa, the main character, and fall in love with the new world she has fallen upon. She gets the ability to talk to animals, becomes best friends with a squirrel, and is put to tasks to help save what the animals desire most. Although, the adventure started with the animals, Alexa turns out finding interesting facts about herself and becomes to realize the animals are just the beginning of what she is to encounter.

Great Book!

Love it!

Amazing, Unique Book... A MUST READ!

In The Dark Hills Divide, a twelve year old girl named Alexa Daley goes on a quest to escape the confines of the walled in network of four cities which exists in the mystical Land of Elyon. Alexa, at the beginning of the story, travels with her father to the center city, Bridewell, for a meeting (He is the mayor of Lathbury, one of the four cities). Since she was young, she had wanted to get outside the walls and this was the time to do so. A series of events eventually draws Alexa beyond the walls where she finds a stone that allows her to talk to animals. She uses this during a meeting in the forest to meet with the ¿Forest Council¿. She discovers that when building the wall, convicts were used and once the walls went up, they were released into the Dark Hills. She finds out they are planning an invasion. She then goes back to Bridewell, tells the leaders of the city, and they all plan for the invasion. It turns out that there is an inside man who is then discovered, killed, and the invasion ultimately fails. Some messages that I saw was to leave nature alone and don¿t mess with or destroy it. This was a major theme as well because the author really emphasized this. Another message I saw was to stick to promises made. In the book, a promise was broken causing major consequences. I also saw the theme of being close to nature. It promoted an affinity to nature which was significant. One thing that I really liked about this book was that it was original. There is no other book I could say this book is similar to. In addition to this, I really liked that it was never slow. It always kept me interested. Finally, the book finished without leaving the reader hanging, but still lead into the next book in the series. There weren¿t many things I disliked about this book. One small quirk that I had about the book however, was the fact that it did not give much background information, although not needed to understand the story. Also, it had a little redundant writing. You should read this book because of its uniqueness and marvelous plot. It has a lot of detail and it also does not bore the reader. The book is exceptionally interesting, because of the fact that it has a lot of different aspects to the overall story. There is mystery, action, and more in this story. I recommend the rest of Patrick Carman¿s Land of Elyon books and his The 39 Clues series. I also recommend his Atherton series. In addition to these books, I suggest Rick Riordan¿s The Lost Hero and its sequel. My overall rating on a scale of 1-5 is a 4.5 to 5. I definitely recommend this book to all. It was a great read and I enjoyed it immensely. You should definitely give it a try.

Hannahs headline

I cany believe im reading this book,it is so good even though its not as good as the others such as:into the mist,stargazer,the tenth city. I love it! Plus...its a a high level and i love high level books!

great story

loved the book but it had a few plotholes and repitition such as alexa finds yipes and yipes takes her to darius and darius takes her to malcolm and malcolm takes her to ander but it hardly affects the books quality. its well written and the characters are very well developed (i love the wolves). i was kinda unimpressed by the ending, though. her stone stops working and sebastien isn't her dad, which would be more dramatic. and i dont get why the cats have to get squashed. i love cats! overall i think that this is a wonderful book to read in your spare time.

Read thwas ok

It kindia made me fall asleep but u have to reab skeliton creek it soooooo much fun

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful Writing and Enrapturing Story

This is a story that everyone would love; especially adventurous kids. This expands imagination and vocabulary knowledge. Patrick Carman is brilliant and immediately captures attention with his creative and indepth characters and continues it with fantastic storylines for the rest of the series. It is great! I would recommend it especially to kids ages 10-14.

...Unforgettable!

Any young reader will fall in love with this series! The characters are strangely compelling, and you will find yourself falling in love with Alexa and her host of talking animals. I have reccomended this book to tons of people and only one ever put it down (I think she was reading too many books at the time)! If you are looking for a book that's just plain fun, this book and series are probably just the thing you're looking for.

This book is great reading!

I purchased this book in the series for my sister. She thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the sequels.

TERIFFIC!

I really liked this book and think that kids through the grades 3-6 should read this book. I have personally read this book and would give it a 5 out of 5! Young readers should read this book.