The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman

One of the places that I love to go to for books is a little second hand bookstore which is across from the mall. They sell all kinds of books for decent prices, but don't normally get in a lot of the more well known YA series. What they do get is some amazing collections of middlegrade books.

The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman was one of the many amazing middlegrade books which this store has housed over the last few months. They had it on display in the window, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was something I was going to be interested in.

The story follows Alexa, a young girl from the land of Elyon. She and her father have travelled to what is the equivalent of their capital city in order to go over some business, just like they do every year. However, something different happens this year: Alexa finds a way passed the large stone walls which not only surround all of the cities, but the paths to and from them as well. It is a fantastical tale of her adventures and what she has to do in order to save her city and the people she loves. 

First of all, I would like to say how much I love this cover. It was what drew me to it when I saw it in the window of that store. The style is so unique, and so classic for a Scholastic book. It also ties really well into the story, and the basic feeling that you get from looking at the cover is the same feeling which will follow you throughout the rest of the book.

Now for the book itself. As it is a middlegrade book, the language is simple, easy to follow, and gets straight to the point. I feel as if there wasn't a lot of world building, however if I were a young child reading this, there would be enough information about the world to make me believe that there was at least a sliver of a chance that it was real. 

As it is a fantasy novel, I was expecting there to be a lot more magical elements to it, but there wasn't a whole lot of magic. There was some, of course, but it wasn't part of the main story. It was actually more of a tool for the main character to use in order to help her on her quest as opposed to being the only way that she would have been able to complete her quest at all. However, I feel as if this was a good thing. It gave Alexa the feeling of a very strong little girl, someone very smart and independent, which I think is a great example to be setting for children. 

Over all I really enjoyed this book, and I will continue to read the series in the future.

STAR RATING: ★★★★