A review by bookclaire4eva
Divided by Elsie Chapman
4.0
Until about halfway through Divided, I definitely preferred Dualed and felt that it could have stood alone just fine, not as the first in a series. By the end of the book, however, Chapman added enough complexity to the story to make a series necessary given the nature of the young adult genre (keeping the books shorter and more easily digestible). And aren't these dystopian books always trilogies with past-tense titles (like Matched)? Score a million for publisher marketing departments.
But I digress... Anyway, I still don't like West a whole lot, and I don't think I'll ever buy her as a super-skilled dangerous assassin (maybe if the story weren't told by her in the first person, insecurities, weakness, and all). As in Dualed, the supporting characters were far more compelling and believable. Don't get me wrong, I still cared what happened to her, but she just doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. I guess she's like Katniss Everdeen that way. Snuggly as a porcupine, right? But no less interesting.
As expected, there are certain young adult dystopian formula elements in the story. The isolated society, the nasty conditions of membership, evil powers-that-be, and the allure of the world beyond the walls. I saw it all coming, and I'm sure you will, too. But that doesn't eliminate the excitement, or my desire to read the rest of the story, whenever it comes out. Chapman puts in a couple interesting twists, enough to keep me engaged.
While the Dualed series isn't the most awesome series I've ever read, it's definitely worth your time, as long as you don't take the premise too seriously. Just suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.
Oh, and by the way, Divided does not reveal everything. Where would the fun be in having all the answers? Nowhere, that's where.
Take It
I received an advance copy of Divided from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
But I digress... Anyway, I still don't like West a whole lot, and I don't think I'll ever buy her as a super-skilled dangerous assassin (maybe if the story weren't told by her in the first person, insecurities, weakness, and all). As in Dualed, the supporting characters were far more compelling and believable. Don't get me wrong, I still cared what happened to her, but she just doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. I guess she's like Katniss Everdeen that way. Snuggly as a porcupine, right? But no less interesting.
As expected, there are certain young adult dystopian formula elements in the story. The isolated society, the nasty conditions of membership, evil powers-that-be, and the allure of the world beyond the walls. I saw it all coming, and I'm sure you will, too. But that doesn't eliminate the excitement, or my desire to read the rest of the story, whenever it comes out. Chapman puts in a couple interesting twists, enough to keep me engaged.
While the Dualed series isn't the most awesome series I've ever read, it's definitely worth your time, as long as you don't take the premise too seriously. Just suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.
Oh, and by the way, Divided does not reveal everything. Where would the fun be in having all the answers? Nowhere, that's where.
Take It
I received an advance copy of Divided from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.