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jgurniak's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't mind it in the beginning but I really couldn't get into after a while. There was just something lacking that I can't seem to put my finger on.
nconliss's review against another edition
The dialogue was boring and The re-naming of the mythical creatures was a chore I didn't want to have to keep going through.
thatgirlwiththeteapot's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. It was eye catching, and had an interesting premise, and yet I found myself extremely bored with it. The characters took a long time to be likable. I found them very one-dimensional until the last ten chapters or so, and out of about thirty chapters, that's a long time to not care about the main characters. There were also quite a few sections that were very educational. The characters would stop using their normal speech patterns to explain some form of science, and it was almost textbook like in these parts.
Once I got past these parts, it was okay. The final ten chapters or so really were quite nice, yet I'm still not sure if its worth reading an entire series if all of these books are like this.
Once I got past these parts, it was okay. The final ten chapters or so really were quite nice, yet I'm still not sure if its worth reading an entire series if all of these books are like this.
lestaslettering's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't keep my interest long enough for me to finish it although I got pretty close and I still remember the story even after abandoning the book several weeks ago. That must count for something, at least, I think.
temporaryhouseplant's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
pumpkincore's review against another edition
3.0
This review pertains to the entirety of the Divide series to save time; however, I will try to keep this review free of detail-specific spoilers that you can't figure out from reading the book summaries. Anything more explicit than that will be marked by SPOILERS! in the line preceding it. With that said:
This was a hard series for me to get through. The reading level itself is very elementary: the sentences are short and choppy, detail isn't particularly complicated, and any invented words are accompanied by a short dictionary-of-sorts at the opening of every book. The difficulty came from the fact that the entire series is fairly slow paced. All the real attention-grabbing action happens in short bursts, followed by a lot of feet-dragging. Once I forced myself to sit down and read it, I finished the book in a few hours. If you have a stronger will than I, you can probably knock off the entire series in a couple days and check them off your reading list.
I suppose my job here is to tell you if you want to.
While certainly not on my list of favorite series, it wasn't awful. At times it was witty and clever. I was a little frustrated at how little Felix's heart condition ACTUALLY contributed to the plot. Its highest purpose seemed to be to give an excuse for mixed feelings about staying in the new world he fell into or working to find his way home. Understandable, I suppose: any teenage boy who finally has a chance to do something besides read and sit in hospital beds without passing out is going to have mixed feelings about leaving it behind. I'm just not very satisfied with how little of a challenge it proposed. It put a clock on the first book's plot progression, but we rarely witness any complications due to the illness. Felix appears to be an intelligent, strong, determined, and well-meaning boy from the get-go. It didn't seem realistic to me, but as the purpose of fiction is for the reader to suspend belief for a while, it's forgivable.
SPOILERS (sort of).
The second book was rather dull. I barely remember it. I do remember reading it fairly quickly because it didn't stop and start and the action was fairly better paced, but in itself it wasn't a very memorable plot.
My biggest problem with the Divide series -- what keeps it from remaining on my bookshelf or becoming a book on my to-read-again list -- is how the series ends. It's as though Elizabeth Kay had two endings in mind (a forgivable occurrence) but couldn't make up her mind on which to use and so went "Let's use them both!" She slapped them together in some half-cooked plot twist and handed it over. And her editor didn't go "Hey, Elizabeth, wait a minute. You really need to pick a course and dedicate yourself to it." But she didn't. Instead, I had Voltaire's Candide echoing eerily in my head at the best of all possible worlds scenario that readers were left with. I haven't met a single one who was happy with it.
"But Ris, that's just because no one ever likes when a series ends."
Okay. Then go read it for yourself, and tell me if you agree or disagree. But personally, I'd keep this on the shelf for a bored-in-the-middle-of-the-summer read for the kids and move on to something else.
This was a hard series for me to get through. The reading level itself is very elementary: the sentences are short and choppy, detail isn't particularly complicated, and any invented words are accompanied by a short dictionary-of-sorts at the opening of every book. The difficulty came from the fact that the entire series is fairly slow paced. All the real attention-grabbing action happens in short bursts, followed by a lot of feet-dragging. Once I forced myself to sit down and read it, I finished the book in a few hours. If you have a stronger will than I, you can probably knock off the entire series in a couple days and check them off your reading list.
I suppose my job here is to tell you if you want to.
While certainly not on my list of favorite series, it wasn't awful. At times it was witty and clever. I was a little frustrated at how little Felix's heart condition ACTUALLY contributed to the plot. Its highest purpose seemed to be to give an excuse for mixed feelings about staying in the new world he fell into or working to find his way home. Understandable, I suppose: any teenage boy who finally has a chance to do something besides read and sit in hospital beds without passing out is going to have mixed feelings about leaving it behind. I'm just not very satisfied with how little of a challenge it proposed. It put a clock on the first book's plot progression, but we rarely witness any complications due to the illness. Felix appears to be an intelligent, strong, determined, and well-meaning boy from the get-go. It didn't seem realistic to me, but as the purpose of fiction is for the reader to suspend belief for a while, it's forgivable.
SPOILERS (sort of).
The second book was rather dull. I barely remember it. I do remember reading it fairly quickly because it didn't stop and start and the action was fairly better paced, but in itself it wasn't a very memorable plot.
My biggest problem with the Divide series -- what keeps it from remaining on my bookshelf or becoming a book on my to-read-again list -- is how the series ends. It's as though Elizabeth Kay had two endings in mind (a forgivable occurrence) but couldn't make up her mind on which to use and so went "Let's use them both!" She slapped them together in some half-cooked plot twist and handed it over. And her editor didn't go "Hey, Elizabeth, wait a minute. You really need to pick a course and dedicate yourself to it." But she didn't. Instead, I had Voltaire's Candide echoing eerily in my head at the best of all possible worlds scenario that readers were left with. I haven't met a single one who was happy with it.
"But Ris, that's just because no one ever likes when a series ends."
Okay. Then go read it for yourself, and tell me if you agree or disagree. But personally, I'd keep this on the shelf for a bored-in-the-middle-of-the-summer read for the kids and move on to something else.
plindq's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, goodness, I loved this book when I read it. It was intriguing and well written for my fourth grade mind and one of the few books that were actually kind of at my level. It was long, but I finished it quickly because of my interest level. Thinking about it, I want to reread it, but I don't have access at the moment and I'm really scared it won't be as I remember it, so I'm very torn.