Divided

Divided by Elsie Chapman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elsie Chapman, you have done it again with this sequel. It does not disappoint.

We return to the story of West Grayer, who now teaches weaponry at a local high school. She also attends the school. She is in a committed relationship with Chord, her dead brother's best friend. And they continue to live in a dystopian society where every person has an alternate, and when they are "activated" at some point during age 13-18, they must kill the other one. It is a society of assassins.

West was a "striker" in order to learn how to defend herself. This is essentially an assassin-for-hire; someone you can pay to kill your alt for you. It served her well, but is against the law and marked her for life. This doesn't matter to Chord but does play largely into the plot.

West is a fascinating character. She is private, logical, driven. She is able to evaluate a situation's politics and make good decisions as to what to do and why. She is sly, clever, detail-oriented. She is also able to defend herself well. And yet in spite of all these things, she admits to being terrified. She has enough wits about her to control her fear, though. And it's a good thing, because in this dystopian world, there is plenty to be afraid of.

While West tended to be desperate in Dualed, she is more conflicted in this sequel. Chapman balances West's drive with her conscience; West is haunted by the things she did in order to survive. When put in an impossible situation, the only thing she did that bothered me was to be unaware of the inevitable consequences of her actions. I knew what would happen, so shouldn't she? And yet Chapman is able to tell West's journey to the end so well that I didn't even mind. I wasn't really smarter than her, I just saw it coming. Perhaps West did as well, since so much of her thought processes were both hidden and revealed.

I did love the romance, which was grounded and consistent. West didn't trust anyone in Dualed; now she's learned to trust Chord and grows in her relationship with him. There are also other relationships which she views with compassion rather than the cold calculating style she had in Dualed. It is a natural progression for her character.

The plot is action packed and full of surprises. The fight scenes are stellar. The betrayals and details of the society are revealed, which accented the world-building nicely. It made for a great package that was both engaging and entertaining. The series would make a great movie.

I'm sad to see this dualogy end. The characters are great, the plot is great, the writing is great. It's got the total package. Thanks, Elsie Chapman, for the ride!


View all my reviews