The Dark Hills Divide: The Land of Elyon, Book 1 [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Patrick Carman (Author)
Key Phrases: fire poker, cat door, Renny Lodge, The Dark Hills, Pervis Kotcher (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Elyon is a land of dark hills, enchanted forests, and great walls that connect and encircle the cities of Lathbury, Turlock, Lunenburg, and Bridewell like spokes in a wagon wheel. On her annual summer trips to Bridewell with her father, the mayor of Lathbury, Alexa Daley spends much of her time dreaming of escape. Having lived within the walls all of her 12 years, she wants nothing more than to explore the uncharted wilderness beyond. But, the walls are heavily guarded, and frightening legends suggest that forests and hills are no place for a child--especially a young girl. When a mysterious conversation and an unfortunate accident put Alexa within reach of a way outside the wall, she must decide--heed the warnings of her elders, or satisfy her curiosity and unravel the mysteries of Elyon.

Told from the perspective of its smart, brave, and adventurous heroine, The Dark Hills Divide invites readers on a spectacular and mysterious quest that will appeal to boys, girls, and fans of both fiction and fantasy. Patrick Carman is a natural storyteller, and his delightful debut is full of mysterious plots, hidden passageways, and all manner of dastardly, hilarious, and noble characters. Perfect for fans of J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, and Cornelia Funke, The Dark Hills Divide is so compulsively readable that kids (and their parents) will be clamoring for the second book in the proposed trilogy, Beyond the Valley of Thorns, due in 2005. --Daphne Durham

Amazon.com Exclusive Content
Welcome to the Land of Elyon: Meet the Characters


Alexa Daley
The daughter of the mayor of Lathbury, Alexa is a curious, strong-willed, courageous twelve-year-old who acquires a stone of great power, and investigates and uncovers a terrible secret.

Yipes
The mysterious little man (not more than 2 feet tall) of the old mountain who befriends Alexa Daley on her journey outside the wall. Yipes introduces her to Darius, setting her on an amazing adventure.
Darius
An enormous wolf with a mysterious past, Darius is tasked with escorting Alexa to a meeting in the forest, and taking her to the dark tunnel where a secret is revealed.

Pervis Kotcher
Pervis, the crafty head of the guards in Bridewell, protects the city from the evil dangers he is convinced lurk outside the walls. He is a man with many secrets, great ambition, and a strong dislike for Alexa.

Sam and Pepper
Sam and Pepper live in the library, and curl up with Alexa while she reads and naps in her favorite chair. Alexa soon learns that these cuddly cats are not what they seem--they hide secrets of their own.

Thomas Warvold
The architect and founder of the walled cities, Warvold was an adventerous wanderer who traveled far and wide in the Land of Elyon.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6–This entertaining, accessible fantasy is the first in a planned trilogy. Alexa, 12, longs to venture outside the high stone walls surrounding the towns and roads of her kingdom. When the elderly founder dies unexpectedly, she uses his secret key to unlock a hidden passage leading outside the barriers. There, the local animals tell her of the devastation wreaked by the walls, dividing some of them from their food supplies, homes, and families. They offer to help her prevent an impending invasion that would turn the barriers into permanent military strongholds, in return for her help in bringing them down. There's nothing very original about the novel's preindustrial setting or appealing characters, and Alexa's voice varies occasionally from precocious fantasy heroine ("I…was immediately captivated by the audacious subject matter") to anachronistically modern preteen ("a wimpy meow"). However, the story moves along at a fine clip, with plenty of suspense and action to hold readers' interest. Double identities, mysterious codes, and Alexa's magical gift of speaking with animals all enliven the plot, and the highly cinematic writing style will allow readers to visualize her adventures clearly.–Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Orchard (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439700930
• ASIN: B000LP64OK
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,063,829 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous Addition to the Fantasy Genre, March 17, 2005

By	Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dark Hills Divide: The Land of Elyon, Book 1 (Hardcover)

Twelve-year-old Alexa Daley has always adored the summers that she spends in Bridewell with her loving father, as there is nothing more exciting than exploring the old lodge in which she stays year after year, for it contains a wonderful array of passages - which are much like a maze - and a cozy library where she spends hours poring over books. However, Alexa is a curious one, and she dreams of solving the mystery of what lies beyond the walls which keep out the evil that lurks among the forest and The Dark Hills. An evil which frightens all the townspeople, both young and old. With her inquisitiveness, Alexa begins to unravel the truth bit by bit about what lies beyond the walls, and with each new bit of information, she discovers an enchanting, yet strange world, where animals speak, and people are quite tiny. Soon she finds herself armed with a new power, and with it, Alexa uncovers a danger that could destroy everything in the beautiful Land of Elyon forever.

It's hard to find good fantasy books after you have read J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER series, but I will admit, THE LAND OF ELYON BOOK 1: THE DARK HILLS DIVIDE, is a wonderful addition to the fantasy genre. Patrick Carman has created an intriguing, yet fun new story that will have the reader on the edge of his/her seat from the first page to the last. His wonderful imagination brings the story, scenarios, and characters to life, and truly makes the reader feel as if he/she is right there alongside Alexa as she sets out on her journey. Overall, this is a wonderful new book that will be eaten up by fantasy lovers of all ages.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars interesting premise but passive character and little spark, June 11, 2005

By	B. Capossere (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dark Hills Divide: The Land of Elyon, Book 1 (Hardcover)

The Dark Hills Divide has a good if not all that original premise at its core--a kingdom of four cities completely walled in and a 12-yr-old heroine who longs to see what's beyond the walls. The walls were built a generation ago by Thomas Warvold, a well-traveled adventurer who came up with the idea to overcome people's fears of expansion into unknown and allegedly dangerous lands by building walled roads and towns using temporarily freed convicts as laborers. Decades later, Warvold's death sets into motion a slew of activity as the towns are threatened by those inside and out (internal kingdom strife, a possible high-level traitor, the supposedly re-imprisoned convicts) and previous assumptions are questioned (the dangers of the outside land, the effectiveness of the walls versus their societal cost, etc.)
At the center of all of this is young Alexa Daley, daughter to one of the town's mayors, friend and confidante of Warvold, frequenter of the kingdom's largest library, and all-around pest to the man in charge of the kingdom's safety--Pervis. When her dream of seeing what's beyond the walls comes true, Alexa uncovers a plot against her city and a possible traitor. She also discovers magical stones, talking animals, and a new perspective on the walls' consequences.
All of this could have been put to good use, but the book falls mostly flat. Part of the problem is that Alexa is, especially in the first half, far too passive a character. She is told what to do by adults or animals and then she goes ahead and does it. There's little sense of adventure or danger in what she does and simply declaring her adventurous or heroic or frightened doesn't make her so. The land outside the walls is covered pretty perfunctorily so it never really comes alive for us. The same is true of the land inside the walls, where we meet relatively few people (all of them seemingly old or middle-aged men--where are the women and children?) and get very little sense of culture.
The plot is also problematic. As mentioned above, there is little sense of danger or suspense for the first half of the book; the arduous journey/quest Alexa makes is mostly conveyed through telling us it's arduous and by describing her blisters. Again, there's little sense of substance to it. The puzzles in the story seem arbitrarily constructed and solved, adding little to the story and feeling therefore more of a gimmicky add-on because puzzle stories are "in" nowadays. And there are some plot points that don't seem to add up or don't flow very naturally from the story.
The second half of the book, as Alexa searches for the traitor among them, is better than the first, but not particularly strong itself, only in comparison to what comes before. In the end, the book as a whole is a disappointment, falling flat in most aspects of good fantasy--strong world creation, compelling plot, vivid characterization, imaginative spark. Not recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Beginning, February 22, 2008

By	Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dark Hills Divide (Hardcover)

Famous Children's author Madeliene L'Engle once stated that writing children's literature was harder than writing for adults because children ask more questions; children just do not accept what an author writes the way most adults will. Her statements have always stuck with me and since doing a children's literature course a few years back, I have continued to read children's and teen fiction regularly. Usually I look for books that have a lot of buzz about them, have then been nominated for a Newbury, or Mr. Christie, American Library Association or here in Canada a Governor General's Literary Award (more commonly know as the GG's.). If so I try to pick it up and give it a read. Because of that I tend to browse the children's and teen sections at Chapters when I happen to be in a store.

The cover of this book captured my attention and almost compelled me to purchase it. The representation of our Heroine Alexa is a very striking image. I purchased this book when it came out nearly 2 years ago and yet only just recently picked it up to read. I now regret that I did not read it sooner. In part, I hesitated reading the book because the cover art was so powerful and cast such a spell upon me, I feared the text not living up to the story I had begin to build in my imagination. Those fears were unfounded.

The Story is set in a walled kingdom. A Kingdom built like 3 spokes on a wheel. Alexa is from Lathbury, the south western spoke, from the hub of Bridewell. This walled Kingdom was built by the Warvold after his extensive travels in the wild mysterious world. He built walls around the central town of Bridewell, and walled roads out to the three surrounding towns of Lunenburg, Turlock and Lathbury. Yet upon the eve of his death, he hints to Alexa that the walls, once thought to be the salvation of the towns and their civilization, he now considers to be a mistake. Alexa begins an adventure shortly after the Warvold's death that will affect her and this kingdom for time to come.

Yet the Warvold's death has caused a society once stable and thriving to start to spin out of control. Alexa sneaks outside the wall and meets a dwarf and a talking wolf and is summoned to a council, the severity and importance of which not even the participants can realize. Can Alexa fufill a calling upon her life that the Warvold foresaw and that some others are trying to help happen and others wish to thwart?

This is one of those great books, originally written for children, that can captivate an audience of any age. Carman has an extremely mature voice and he writes in a manner of a master wordsmith. Carman only conceived of this series in his mid thirties; it is an extremely well- rounded and crafted world - a pleasure to visit, and I plan to re-enter the land of Elyon again and again.

(First Published in Imprint 2008-02-22.)