The Land of Elyon
April 29th, 2007 by Ravenhurst
My daughter read the three books in the Land of Elyon, by Patrick Carman, and enjoyed them immensely.
She asked me to read them, and I agreed.
I enjoyed the first book, the Dark Hills Divide, more than the next two books. The Dark Hills Divide stars a girl who lives in a group of three cities. The three cities have been completely surrounded by a large wall through the efforts of one of the founders of the cities. This wall is meant to protect the cities from the outside and does so rather well, limiting trade with the outside to that which can be tightly managed and keeping the villagers safe. The girl, Alexa Daley, however is a wanderer and does not enjoy being kept within the walls. When she manages to escape, she finds that she is missing out on a magical but dangerous world.
This book is excellent. Patrick Carman keeps the story to a manageable level, not “biting off more than he can chew” so to speak. The characters and the plot are very enjoyable. What is most impressive about the book, however, is the fact that the story is very original. If I had to compare it to a similar book or books in the fantasy genre (or in any genre for that matter), I don’t know if I could.
The Dark Hills Divide stands well on its own. You don’t need to read the next two books in the trilogy to get a complete story. The ending of the first book is satisfying enough on its own.
On the other hand, the second book, Beyond the Valley of Thorns, and the third book, the Tenth City must be read together to get a complete story.
Beyond the Valley of Thorns takes place immediately following the Dark Hills Divide. Without giving away anything that happens in the first book, the second and third books take up with Alexa again. This time her quest takes her far from home, away from the relative safety of the three cities and out into the wondrous and dangerous Land of Elyon with some old friends and some new ones.
Beyond the Valley of Thorns and the Tenth City are much darker than the Dark Hills Divide. The Dark Hills Divide might be slightly scary for young children, but the evil in the next two books are much darker and more gruesome. Be advised of this before allowing your children to read them. If I were to compare it to well-read books, your children should be prepared for situations like those of the Harry Potter books.
That’s not to say that the books are not worth reading. I had a hard time putting them down. With them being books written for younger readers, I was able to finish the second two in a matter of a couple of days.
All in all, the trilogy was very original, very well-written, and in all ways a great series of books to read, for adults and for young adults.