Divided by Elsie Chapman
My rating: 2/5 cats
call it a 2.5
ranganathan, don’t fail me now!
so this might just be one of those YA books that doesn’t make it into the crossover appeal basket. and that’s fine—these books have an intended audience and i am way older than that audience and just because many books geared towards teens have gotten very sophisticated and challenging these days, it doesn’t change the fact that they were written with a different age group in mind, one which is still rosy with youthful glow and able to accept certain things without question.
but for me, this world just doesn’t make sense the way it is written. and i have read and enjoyed plenty of books whose world-building was implausible. i’m looking at you, divergent. but even there, veronica roth eventually, in the second and third parts, explained some of the things that made no sense. and this book also offers explanations to sort of mitigate the head-scratchers from dualed, but even these didn’t work, for me. there are just too many variables, too many moments where i was like “well, but if they can do that, why wouldn’t they just do that instead of going all roundybout?” and “how does this system prove anything when this and that can happen to so easily undermine it?” basically, everything i mention in my review for the first book plus more, new confusions.
so, bee in my bonnet and this not working for me aside, let’s just get into the more useful, readers’ advisory bits.
the book has plenty of things to appeal to its audience
1) strong female lead who isn’t all superhero infallible, but makes real human mistakes and has emotions and moral conflict.
2) many satisfying action scenes.
3) romance. if there is a moment for these two to kiss, they will take it. so much earnest, tender kissing.
4) male lead who is both strong and capable but also sensitive and respectful. and who overlooks a lot of character flaws and tiny betrayals in his woman.
5) good cliffhanger, paving the way for the next book, which i will probably also read, because it is opening the door to new territory. literally. and maybe that territory will make more sense to me.
so, for me—no, but reading other reviews on here, it is clear i am an outlier, and no one should ever allow their mind to be made up by a stranger.
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