Divided by Elsie Chapman

Posted May 27, 2014 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Divided by Elsie ChapmanDivided by Elsie Chapman
Series: Dualed #2
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on May 27, 2014
Length: 320 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:

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.

Divided by Elsie Chapman is book two of Dualed and picks up a few months after the end of book one. West is now a complete and seems to be moving on with her life. She has a loving relationship with Chord, a good job with Baer, and no one is trying to kill her. When a member of the Board approaches her and threatens all that she now holds dear, West must become a striker again. But at what cost?

I loved this sequel! I so torn reading book one. I felt no empathy for West and at times found myself intensely disliking her. That changes in this book. A member of the Board asks West to become a striker again. She has just three targets, then he promises to do two things for her: remove her striker marks and make sure that any child she has is born without an Alt. How can she pass that up? Being a mother myself, I can tell you I would make the same decision she does. I would accept that job and kill three people, especially if it meant my son would never have to go through the horrors that West has.

And without spoiling anything-because this book needs to experienced first-hand-West finds a way around the Board’s request but still completes her task, that is till she reaches the last target. Let’s just say the last target is already a complete and someone she recognizes, someone very close to her. At this point in the book, we see a turning point for West’s character. Before this last strike, she relied in herself, lying to those she loved and cared for to protect them. Then this last strike makes her do a 180. She confides in not just Chord, but Dire and Baer as well. I thought the showed a strength and defining moment for her.

The plot flowed quickly and I found myself unable to read it fast enough! Between the action and suspense of West being a striker again to her romantic encounters with Chord, the story flew by. There are quite a few answers in this book to questions that I had in the first, like how was Kersh founded, who started the Alt program. So if you’ve read book one and were like me (on the fence), I really believe that will change once you read this installment.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! It had a little bit of everything I like in a young adult dystopian: a strong heroine/hero, a little romance (basically if there is a chance for Chord and West to kiss they do), lots of action, and some mystery/suspense. FYI though this book isn’t as violent as book one, it still contains some pretty gruesome violence especially for a YA book. Other than that it’s a pretty clean read. If you like a good YA dystopian, you should really go check this one out for yourself.

About Elsie Chapman

ELSIE CHAPMAN is a Canadian living in Tokyo with her husband and two children, where she writes to either movies on a loop or music turned up way too loud (and sometimes both at the same time). Visit Elsie at elsiechapman.com and follow her on Twitter @elsiechapman.

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