It is still a bit troubling, since she wonders if there are times that lying might be a good thing. Someone might try to justify the lying on the basis of circumstantial need and the fact that in most instances Alexa really did not lie but just omitted certain facts. Characters that lie repeatedly are a big pet peeve of mine…that is unless the author is trying to show children the repercussions of lying, which doesn’t clearly seem to be the case here.” It does appear as if a great deal of emphasis is placed on her lying. She’s always doing it, even though she knows it’s wrong. Kathy Davis of said, “The only objection I have regarding the book is the protagonist’s nasty habit of lying. My wife Karen purchased a copy from either Scholastic or the Children’s Book of the Month Club.

Discovering a strange and ancient enchantment, she learns of a danger that could destroy everything she holds dear and change the land of Elyon forever. Set in the fantasy land of Elyon, with the cities of Bridewell, the capital, Lathbury, Turlock, Lunenburg, all of which are walled and connected by walled roads, and Ainsworth, it tells the story of twelve-year-old Alexa Daley, daughter of the mayor of Lathbury, who spent a summer in Bridewell, explored the old lodge where she stayed every year, and found a way out of the city into the Dark Hills. This book 1 in “The Land of Elyon” series which, I thought was intended to be a trilogy. The Dark Hills Divide (published in 2005 by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York City, NY 10012).

Language level: 2 (a few euphemisms and some childish bathroom-type humor)įor more information e-mail Patrick. Publisher: Scholastic Inc., reprinted in 2010

The dark hills divide series