Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1)

The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1)
The Dark Hills Divide - Land of Elyon, Bk 1
Author: Patrick Carman
ISBN-13: 9780439865982
ISBN-10: 0439865980
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 18

4 stars, based on 18 ratings
Publisher: Scholastic
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

17 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 4
These are excellent books! There are many books about boys having adventure, but Alexa is a young girl with an excellent spirit for adventure.
Lelopit avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 273 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
The Land of Elyon Book 1
12 year old girl tries to find the mystery of the house and land she lives in. Great young reader mystery
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 4
My son enjoyed this book very much.
artsyangel2007 avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 99 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
One of the best young adult books since Harry Potter! Vivid writing, passionate characters and a true sense of adventure throughout this whole book. A masterpiece of adventure for anyone!
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book was a good book. It gave great details and never got you bored. Something was always happening. You really got attached to the characters.
miss-info avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 386 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
As an adult reader of children's fantasy, I liked the book, but on occasion I felt it was just a little juvenile for my tastes. I liked the writing style, and I had very good visuals in my head as the story went along. I think I would like to read something this author wrote for grown-ups.

One thing I appreciated: when the main character tells a lie, it hurts her conscience, and she knows things will have to be made right later. When she steals something from her mother, she admits it, and is accepting of the coming discipline.
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is a wonderful book for young adults.
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
YA book--I liked the first book, but the 2nd book in what I expect will be a trilogy got tiring and dragged a bit. In Book 1 Alexa helps to topple the walls that have surrounded everything and kept supposedly evil out.
miss-info avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 386 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
As an adult reader of children's fantasy, I liked the book, but on occasion I felt it was just a little juvenile for my tastes. I liked the writing style, and I had very good visuals in my head as the story went along. I think I would like to read something this author wrote for grown-ups.

One thing I appreciated: when the main character tells a lie, it hurts her conscience, and she knows things will have to be made right later. When she steals something from her mother, she admits it, and is accepting of the coming discipline.
GeniusJen avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

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.
swapgal avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was just okay. I found the plot sort of confusing. Random things happened, but there was no purpose to a lot of it, and the reader is left with a TON of stuff unexplained. I know that some things were meant to be unexplained so that they could be told about in the sequal-- but there was still way too much going on that didn't make sense.
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 377 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The first book in the Elyon trilogy. This was a fun story about a girl who escapes from her walled city only to find out that she is the only one who can save her people from attack by the evil that lurks outside the walls.
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
Great kids book! Wholesome.
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on
One daughter liked it, the other was more luke-warm in her appreciation.
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
A kids book (4-6th grade)
reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 12 more book reviews
Brand New Book, Hardcover, never read... had it for a few months... My daughter isn't into these books like all her friends... I hear they are good... but she never even opened the book... She rather have horse books... LOL!
amichai avatar reviewed The Dark Hills Divide (Land of Elyon, Bk 1) on + 368 more book reviews
"Twelve-year-old Alexa Daley is spending another summer in Bridewell with her father. She looks forward to exploring the old lodge where she stays each year, with its cozy library and maze of passages and rooms. She's also eager to finally solve the mystery of what lies beyond the immense walls that were built to keep out an unnamed evil that lurks in the forests and The Dark Hills--an evil the townspeople are still afraid of.

As Alexa begins to unravel the truth about what lies outside the protective barrier she's lived behind all her life, she discovers a strange and ancient enchantment. Armed with unexpected new power, Alexa exposes a danger that could destroy everything she holds dear--and change The Land of Elyon forever."

(from the back cover)