Ok, I am trying to play catch up and post short reviews of books I have read. One small problem: some of them I read sometime ago and if I didn’t put some thoughts down on Goodreads or have a strong reaction to the book it is hard to remember anything more than a basic liked it or didn’t. I apologize for the brevity and thinness of some of the reviews that are to follow.
I picked up The Land of Elyon series at a local library sale for my daughter and as she began vacuuming up books at an alarming rate I decided to read The Dark Hills Divide to see what the series might be like so I could recommend it to her.
My reaction? Eh.
This very much felt like a Middle Grade or chapter book that wasn’t a good fit for me. I gave it three stars on Goodreads. I enjoyed it I guess but didn’t love it. Some Middle Grade/Chapter books just don’t have the depth, complexity or prose to hook me. This is not to say something is wrong with them, they are not for my age group after all.
I read it because the lead character is a girl, which is something my daughter enjoys. And for that, I think the book is likely to be enjoyed by elementary girls. If you aren’t looking for particular depth or powerful prose, and just want an interesting story you might enjoy this as well.
There is some interesting aspects of the plot and the world building but for me the story was too passive and lacked tension and suspense. For some reason the story just didn’t take off. It just sort of moved from one section to the next.
Usually, even with a series I don’t love I want to read the next book just to see what happens, but I after finishing this one I was not in any way motivated to start the next one.
I guess I should have my daughter read it and get her opinion.
