Divided by Elsie Chapman

Series: Dualed (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: action, assassins, murder, post-apocalyptic

Setting: A city called Kersh in the future

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: West Grayer

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 309 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Random House

Summary/ product description: “The hunter becomes the hunted. . . .

West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life.

The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future.

How far will the Board go to keep their secrets safe? And how far will West go to save those she loves? With nonstop action and surprising twists, Elsie Chapman’s intoxicating sequel to Dualed reveals everything.”

My Review:  I wasn’t sure how Dualed would have a sequel, but I think Divided did a good job. I liked the first book better, but this book had even more assassin stuff and action. The main character is pretty interesting, but also similar to other heroines in dystopian books. West is very blunt in her narration. There’s not a lot of humor, but with the story line it works well.

She’s pretty serious and similar in personality to Katniss from the Hunger Games, but without much sarcasm. She’s also only 15 and has already killed. In the previous book she killed her Alt and assassinated other Alts. West faces the dilemma of being told to assassinate 3 other Alters in exchange for the safety of any future children she’ll have. Is there anyway to be safe in a world where everyone must kill?

The side characters still don’t feel very developed. Cord is West’s boyfriend, and also completed like her. There’s West’s trainer, Baer, a little kid named Dess and other characters. We also got to know more about the history of Kersh. They never say what country the book’s set in. It could be Canada or even Japan, since the author is a Japanese Canadian. It’s most likely in North America, somewhere on the coastline. We find out about why there are Alters and what Kersh used to be.

I can’t say I truly enjoyed Divided because I ended up skimming a lot of parts. I lost interest in some parts, but some of the action made up for it enough to be 3 stars. I like dystopian series and this one is very unique compared to other ones. The world building is good. The idea of everyone having a doppelganger that they have to eliminate. It’s a good concept, but the story wasn’t as fast paced as I hoped.

I recommend this to fans of Enclave by Ann Aguirre, The Hunger Games, and various other dystopian series.

Cover Art Review: I love the repeating girl and guy in the mirrors and the hexagonal floor tiles. The color scheme is good. The turquoise, violet and red go together.