Review: Divided (Dualed #2) by Elsie Chapman

Divided

(Dualed #2)

Elsie Chapman

5/27/14

Random House

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.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound / Book Depository

Last year, Elsie Chapman’s Dualed thrilled and enthralled me with it’s unique, twisted premise and surprising heroine, and I’m happy to report that the second book in this duology, Divided, is a solid, equally captivating read, with plenty of action, twists, and romance.

West Grayer thought she was done killing. Her Alt is dead and West is deemed the worthy one, but then the Board comes to her with an offer she really can’t refuse: just three more kills and West can finally be free of her past. But when one of her targets turns out to be eerily familiar and long silenced truths start trickling out, West must decide what and who is worth killing for.

Picking up several months after the ending of Dualed, in Divided we find our unexpected heroine, West, grappling with her Striker past and bravely trying to forge a future for her and her boyfriend Chord...something the Board is not making easy. Once again, Elsie Chapman has crafted an intelligent and thought-provoking story with complex layers, page-turning action, and wonderfully built characters.

Over the course of these two books, I’ve come to really connect with and root for West as she bravely and desperately tries to survive in this intense, almost impossible dystopian world. West isn’t your typical YA heroine, which makes her that much more fascinating and relatable. She’s so breathtakingly flawed and real; as selfish as she is protective. She’s a killer and her reasons for killing are not always noble; she doesn’t enjoy killing, but she doesn’t kill simply out of survival either. Chapman does a superb job of delving into the psychological and mental complexities of this girl. West is put into impossible, terrifying, heartbreaking situations and I loved every twisty minute of wondering how she would get out of them.

And this dystopian world is further explored and expanded in Divided. Chapman takes us deeper into Kersh’s torrid history and exposes some of it’s surprising secrets. I feel like I got a much better sense of this society and its reasons for making Alts, in book two. However, I still found the overall world-building a bit lacking and incomplete. I know the main focus of this duology is on West and the walled city she lives in, but I really wanted to learn more about the Surround...mostly because Chapman does such a great job of building such intrigue about it!

There’s quite a bit more romance in this book than in book one, and I actually really enjoyed these elements. West and Chord have a very sweet, yet intense and realistic romance. This is most definitely not insta-love or make-you-wanna-puke-cheesy-love either.

Thankfully, Chapman gives readers, and West, a satisfying, yet unexpected ending...but, I’d TOTALLY be up for more thrilling escapades with West ;)

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: With its exciting twists and turns and thought-provoking premise, Divided is a thoroughly engrossing and entertaining ending to a wonderfully innovative duology.

MY RATING

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ELSIE CHAPMAN grew up in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, before graduating from the University of British Columbia with a BA in English literature. She lives in Vancouver 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). For more information, please visit Elsie at ElsieChapman.com.

Divided Blog Tour {Author Interview & Giveaway}

I'm thrilled to have the Divided Blog Tour stopping by today! Check out my Interview with author Elsie Chapman and enter the Giveaway for a copy of Divided...

Divided

(Dualed #2)

by Elsie Chapman

5/27/14

Random House

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.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound / Book Depository

What three words best describe Divided?

Twisty, action, conflict.

Grab a copy of Divided and answer the following:

favorite chapter? Chapter 10 (intro of a pivotal character)

favorite page? Page 152 (Chord’s only human, after all)

favorite setting/place? The mirror maze.

hardest chapter or page to write? Chapter 12 (a lot of people and dialogue to juggle)

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser: “I need my Alt to learn how to chase.”

How did your experience writing this sequel, Divided, compare or contrast with writing the first book, Dualed? Did you find writing a sequel to be harder or easier?

Writing Divided was such a different process than writing Dualed. It felt more calculated and deliberate, whereas with Dualed, a lot of it just…happened. Some of that comes from using an outline vs not, and being able to see more of the book right from the very beginning instead of diving in and figuring it out that way. Writing a sequel can be easier because you’ve already got the groundwork set up; but, at the same time, you’re limited to that same groundwork, which can be frustrating. It’s a toss-up!

Your character West is one that I really love and connected with; she’s such a complex, surprising, and realistically flawed heroine...what do you think sets her apart from other YA heroines? What, to you, makes a heroine unforgettable or worth rooting for?

Thank you! Well, I really wanted West to feel real. Not invincible, not totally kick-ass with no vulnerabilities or doubts. She’s only fifteen. She’s going to question everything, herself most of all. The best reading experiences come from sitting back and being okay with letting a character just be—to let them mess up and have to fix things because it’s cool to see how they get out of it. There‘s a lot of great YA heroines out there—I find myself drawn to the ones who are both strong and weak.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of being a published author? The hardest or most surprising aspect?

Rewarding: Hearing from readers who really connect with your books. It’s always going to feel amazing and a bit surreal.

Hardest: The emotional ups and downs that come with being out there.

Surprising: How writing the next book is always going to be just as hard as the one you just finished.

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at staying up late.

I’m really embarrassed to admit the number of hours I’ve spent on Tumblr.

The last great book I read was Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Divided, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

Something dark, maybe with a hidden centre. Like a Ding Dong, except in cupcake form. Ding Dong Divided???

Thank you so much for stopping by today, Elsie!

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

ELSIE CHAPMAN grew up in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, before graduating from the University of British Columbia with a BA in English literature. She lives in Vancouver 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). For more information, please visit Elsie at ElsieChapman.com.

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Dualed Ambuzzador Tour {Review & Giveaway}

I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of the DUALED AMBUZZADOR BLOG TOUR and to share my review with y'all today...

Dualed

Elsie Chapman

2/26/13

Random House

Format: ARC

Source: pub

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You or your Alt? Only one will survive.The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

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Fresh ideas and worlds are getting harder and harder to come by in YA dystopian books, but Elsie Chapman's Dualed offers readers a suspenseful and action-packed story with an intriguing premise.

In a war torn future, the city of Kersh is a small safe haven and in this city every citizen has an Alt (a twin) that is raised by another set of parents. Each set of Alts must prove their worth by fighting each other to the death (within a month of their “assignment”) by their twentieth birthday. All West Grayer knows is grief and loneliness, but she is determined to be the surviving Alt and goes to extreme measures to make sure she's prepared when her time comes. But fighting against her identical Alt proves more difficult than she ever imagined and fear, doubt, and love get in the way.

Dualed has a captivating and explosive premise that is explored through the eyes of an unlikely heroine. Elsie Chapman has created a story that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. This is one of those books that is bound to inspire some great discussion about life, murder, and what one is capable of in impossible situations.

The idea of two Alts, two identical adolescents, that must fight to the death for a chance of survival is a refreshingly gritty one. I really like the intensity of the life or death tone of the book. Chapman starts with a bold premise, that is both fascinating and unsettling, and she really follows through with this tone and doesn't shy away from the dark and macabre. This premise isn't without its flaws in logic though, but I think this has a lot to do with world-building that is slightly lacking. The world-building that is present is definitely complex and excellently crafted, it just doesn't seem quite complete yet. I don't feel like I've been given a clear and complete look at this dystopian world and why it is the way it is. And I'm hoping this explored more in-depth in book two.

But, what the story lacks in world-building, is made up for in emotional and psychological development. Chapman really throws the feels at ya! West's impossible and difficult situation is heavily and fiercely felt throughout Dualed. All her pain, grief, guilt, and determination feels incredibly real and organic. West doesn't start out as a badass or ruthless person, but the desperate position she's in requires her to either give up and die or do whatever she has to to survive. She chooses the latter and I really loved watching her transform into the capable, cunning, kick-butt young woman she has to become.

The main focus in Dualed is on West's hunt for and showdown with her Alt, but there is a bit of romance. The romantic elements didn't thrill me, but I do like West's love interest Chord and the dynamic between the two. I found the ending satisfying, but I'm definitely eager for more.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Dualed packs a wicked punch and offers readers an intelligent story, with a great mix of action, suspense, and romance, that will leave readers entertained and thoughtful.

MY RATING

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Elsie Chapman

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

ELSIE CHAPMAN grew up in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, before graduating from the University of British Columbia with a BA in English literature. She lives in Vancouver 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). Dualed is her first novel.

To celebrate the Dualed Blog Tour Random Buzzers will be hosting a Twitter giveaway! Just tweet the blog tour schedule link: http://www.randombuzzers.com/blog/view/the-buzz/follow-the-ambuzzador-dualed-blog-tour/2013/03/14/ and use the hashtag #Dualed! We'll be randomly picking two winners every day to win a copy of Dualed! Remember to follow us on Twitter as @Randombuzzers!