The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Hills Divide, the first in a series written by young-adults author Patrick Carmen, takes place in the town of Bridewell, a small village in the fictional Land of Elyon, and is narrated by none other than a small, mousy twelve-year-old named Alexa.

The story opens with Alexa taking a nighttime stroll with her friend. Thomas Warvold is known to be quite the adventurer - and he has the stories and fables to show it. As old as he is smart, Warvold tells Alexa a strange fable he learnt on a journey long-forgotten of six blind men and an elephant - each man touched a different part of the elephant and claimed it to be a different everyday item. All men were wrong, but all were right, as he puts it. But as soon as Warvold has finished telling his fable, Alexa realises that her oldest friend is dead.

With the second chapter the story cuts far back before the death of Thomas Warvold. It begins with Alexa and her father, the mayor of the town of Lathbury, riding the road to Bridewell, and she demands to be told the story of the walls that surround Bridewell and its three neighbouring towns.

Throughout the course of The Dark Hills Divide, Alexa discovers secret messages in gemstones, learns to speak with the animals just beyond the walls, and with the help of these animals manages to uncover the troubling mystery behind Warvold's untimely death.

The Dark Hills Divide is only the first of five books in The Land of Elyon series. Books two, three and five continue the plot of the main story, while the fourth book delves even deeper into the past, uncovering even more mystery. With every book in the series Carmen brings about an entirely new plot, antagonist, setting, and/or companion, without forgetting the importance of the older ones.

This is an absolutely wonderful book to read if you've a few hours to spend doing so. It's short - only 251 pages of story - but what it lacks in quantity it greatly makes up for in quality. Children, teens and adults alike will love this small, action-packed, adventurous, sneaky little book. So if you have an hour or two, you can stop by a local bookstore or library and likely finish the entire book in one sitting; you won't be able to put it down!