The Dark Hills Divide, the first in the Land of Elyon trilogy, is told from the point of view of Alexa Daley, the twelve year old daughter of a prominent politician. Each year the pair traverse the walled-in roads to the fortress city of Bridewell, where Alexa does everything she can to find a way outside the walls she's lived behind her entire life. When Thomas Warvold, the man behind the building of the walls, dies, Alexa finally gets her chance and uncovers a conspiracy which has implications for everyone in Elyon.
Featuring secret tunnels, prophecies, talking animals, puzzles, and conspiracies, The Dark Hills Divide should be an engaging and exciting middle grade read, but unfortunately any excitement built disappears as the plot fades behind clumsily-handled world-building. There is more telling than showing in this book and I couldn't help wishing Patrick Carman had written at least one or two more drafts of this story before getting it published. The characters who trust each other seem to have little developed reason to do so and the ones who are found to be on the antagonizing side of the main conflict are dropped there with no further questions asked.
Aasne Vigesaa does a decent job narrating the book (especially when doing the dialogue for the hyperactive squirrel, Murphy), but I don't know that any narrator could have helped this somewhat confused effort.
