Divided: Sequel to Dualed

For more reviews, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.I’d actually decided not to read Elsie Chapman’s sequel to Dualed. Though I did enjoy Dualed (I was one of the few), I also was aware of its flaws and unsure whether I could overlook them again. However, Divided arrived unsolicited from YABC, for the very reason that I was one of the only people who read and liked the first book in the series. As such, I decided to give it a try. That turned out about as well as could be expected. Elsie Chapman’s Divided has a few things to recommend it, but the shitty world building is insurmountable.Divided falls into a subsection of dystopian novels written based on a really cool hook. Some author asked themselves “what if society made you do THIS?” and then they run with it. In theory, I love the idea of having to face down yourself. The concept is dark and creepy and it’s a good hook. Unfortunately, something being good in theory doesn’t make it good in practice. The compelling hooks that get these books picked up by publishers and anticipated by readers are the same things that keep the books from ultimately being particularly good.Recently, I wrote a post on books that I think are placed in the wrong genre and listed Dualed among them. As I said, the idea has merit. However, placing this idea in a futuristic US means that it needs to be plausible in our world with the rules it functions by. Perhaps, had Chapman done something more speculative (think What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang) and set Dualed in some sort of alternate universe where everyone was born a twin because that’s just how the world worked, the world building might have been believable. Unfortunately, as it stands, it’s not.In Dualed, I was able to sort of turn my brain off and not think too much about the world building, to let that slide somewhat and still enjoy the book. In Divided, I really couldn’t do that. Where Dualed had a paragraph of world building and then went off to play with action and stuff, Divided really wants to legitimize the world building. Chapman is trying to really explain the world she created and give more details. This does not, however, manage to make the world remotely believable and kept me from being able to ignore the illogic of the whole thing.The world of Divided has a lot in common with Divergent on the base level. Both are set in a city, cordoned off by fences from a nebulous but dangerous outside world. There is, in both societies, a spectacular lack of curiosity about what’s going on outside the electrified fences and great fear of the people outside trying to get into the really terrible city. The first thing I find hard to believe is that no one tries to sneak out to the Surround. Heck, even in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, teens were sneaking out of the fences into zombie-laden territory because people are curious. They know there’s danger in a more real way than either the people of Divergent and Divided do, but they still want to know what’s outside. The lack of curiosity in Divided seems very unlikely.Then there’s the whole concept. The people in the city are sterile. Thankfully, they have super science powers and are able to make babies with science. They decide to make everyone in twins (combining the DNA of four parents, each pair receiving one of the twins), who will then, at some point in their formative years, be activated and fight until one of them is dead and the other is “completed.” They set society up this way to limit the population, since a walled city doesn’t allow for population growth and to make sure that all of the adult population was tough and battle ready in case the scary whatever is out in the Surround should attack.Let’s ignore the fact that the Surround has never once given any sign they give a shit about the people inside the fences. The problems with this are bigger than that. Most glaringly, why the fuck are these people worried about population control? The government is literally in control of all baby production. If they don’t make a baby, it won’t exist. Just make the number of babies desired and BAM the population is controlled. How about the strong population thing to face the nonexistent enemy? Well, they could just train all of their people on weaponry or build an actual military. If they’re determined to do the fight to the death to see who’s strong and tough thing, they’d be better off putting all the kids in an arena and having them battle until half of them were dead.The alt system is flawed in so many ways, even by their own logic. Some complete by their alt dying of some other cause before they’re activated. This person then doesn’t have to prove themselves worthy of living in this shitty walled city. Then there’s the fact that both twins might be weak. Just because one managed to kill the other one does not make the winner the Hulk or Xena. All they’re achieving is making sure that most of their people are murderers. Plus, there’s also luck. The way the battles are set up, by which I mean they’re told to go find each other somewhere, anywhere, luck can easily win the day. They’re not put on an even playing field like an arena and told to compete. The weaker one could easily sneak up on the stronger and shoot him/her during sleep.Then there’s the plot of Divided, which all hinges on West make an overtly stupid and not particularly West-ish decision. She agrees to kill three more alts on the promise of future favors from the Board. WITH NO WRITTEN AGREEMENT THAT SHE WILL GET HER PAYMENT. This whole thing is so obviously messed up. Chapman tries to make the comparison with West’s prior choice to be a striker, but it’s really not the same at all, motivation-wise. It doesn’t seem like something West would do. However, I guess if she didn’t take the deal, there wouldn’t be a plot, so you do what you have to, I guess. It’s still weird to me that West is making a deal for the protection of her future kids and that no one thinks it’s odd she’s worrying about this at like 17 or however old she is.For all that, I didn’t precisely dislike Divided. I do still enjoy Elsie Chapman’s writing. West is still delightfully closed off and unfriendly. The action scenes, based on illogical foundations though they may be, are still entertaining. It’s not a great book, but it wasn’t terrible, world building and plot aside. I don’t know. I considered rating lower, but I didn’t dislike it when it comes down to it. I fully believe Elsie Chapman could write good books, since her characters and writing are good, but this series isn’t it.Unless you’re the sort of person who doesn’t mind at all if the world building doesn’t make any damn sense, do not read Dualed and Divvided. It will only make you sad and frustrated.

Divided, the second book in the Dualed series picks up shortly after Dualed left off. West has given up her past as a striker and is now helping Baer in a weapons class...or so she thinks. The Board has other plans. for her. The Board wants her to strike out three more Alts, the Alts of their children; in return West is promised a priceless reward for any children she may have. She also gets to use a fancy Board weapon that will promise a painless death. Troubles arise for West when she learns that the Alt's aren't exactly what the Board told her. Divided is a lot better than Dualed! First of all, the city of Kersh, it's beginning and some of it's rules are finally explained. West learns the truth behind the Kersh's founders which gives us insight into why the city runs the way it does. The origins of The Board are explained, too, which helps to explain why these seemingly corrupt Board members get to control everything. Finally, the origins of the war and the creation of Alts are explained. This helps to understand the world much better (I was wondering why no one had figured out sex yet). With West's striker offer and her decisions on how to carry it out, there is suspense and action built in throughout the storyline. In Dualed, there is a lot of waiting around. Lastly, it seems that West, Chord and Auden may have stumbled upon information and a way to begin changing their flawed society. Now, i am much more interested in seeing where this series is going. This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley.com and Random House Children's for access to this title.

I thought this was a great continuation of the story from Dualed. There was plenty of action, but still enough "thinking" for those who enjoy both type of stories. This one had a little more governmental corruption to deal with, and it will be interesting to see where the characters go from here as they discover more and more about their world and how to break free. I'm still thrown off a little by the technology and how it works, but that's usually how scifi works, so it wasn't a huge thing.

Recommended for fans of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games and James Dashner's The Maze Runner series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House BFYR for granting me the opportunity to read eARC in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review.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.In the sequel to Dualed, West Grayer does some emotional maturing, all the while struggling to reconcile her past with her present and future. For West had gone rouge, becoming a Striker to gain the skills she needed to survive when she became active and was pitted in a life and death battle with her Alt. And while those skills saved her life, she's feeling guilty in retrospect, having bought in to the propaganda the Board spews out about the Alt competition; the entire point of the Alts competing until only one remains is to eliminate those who would not be the best potential soldier should those from the Surround ever attack, as Kersh has limited supplies and must use them accordingly.She has taken a job as the Weaponry Assistant at her school, teaching with Baer, the person who led her to Dire and becoming a Striker. And she and Chord are spending more time together than apart. Plus she's seeing a therapist for the nightmares that haunt her. So altogether life is pretty good now that she's a complete. Silly West thinks that she is done being a Striker - she told Dire she was out and he agreed, though he wished she'd stay considering how good she'd become. However it seems the Board is not so willing to let her walk away from something they supposedly know nothing about.Bastian is a Level One operator for the Board, the top of the heap. And he's contracted West for three more Strikes in exchange for fixing it so that any future kids she has will not have Alts. West really doesn't want to do it, but he bullies her into it, including preying upon her guilt of possibly weakening Alt by being a Striker and therefore not necessarily allowing the worthiest person to survive. She has 24 hours for each 'contract' he will send to her directly. She thinks that he is doing this to protect Kersh and his kids, like any parent with the power would do. West negotiates for a prototype of a new weapon that kills painlessly if used correctly, which Bastian grudging yields to her, giving her only three pieces of ammunition for the gun, so she has to be perfect each time.Her first two hits go smoothly, but her third gives her the shock of her life. The third isn't an Alt, or an idle like the first two, he's a complete. So now she must protect him until she can figure out what the Board is up to, and the clock is ticking. She's going to need all the help she can get to survive this challenge.The energy and action is smooth and engaging in this sequel. Watching West begin to grow up and start making some smarter decisions is nice, but she still falls back into her old pattern of trying to do it all alone. And that means more lies told to Chord, the man she supposedly loves and trusts with her life.The thing that surprises me is how Chord keeps putting up with all of West's lies. She lied her way through book one, then swore she'd never Strike again. OK, so she meant it at the time, but when faced with an offer she couldn't refuse (both for her future kids and because the Board would likely kill her if she declined the offer since she knew too much at that point) she doesn't think to ask for help. She starts lying again. Sure she feels badly about it, but not enough to stop. Which is why I don't understand Chord staying with her knowing he can never trust if she's telling him the truth or not. It doesn't make sense to me, especially after all she put him through in the first book.But that issue aside, the ending of this book is jet-fueled action and suspense, and will keep you turning the pages to the very end. The quagmire of past and present colliding, as well as the answers to several mysteries being revealed will suck you in. And the final gauntlet that West, with the help of her friends, must pass through contains some truly compelling action scenes, with serious thinking on her toes if she wants to survive. Can West drop back into that cold place that makes her such a good Striker, and then stop herself in time? Will she be able to come back from the edge before she plunges to far over? And will there be anyone left in her life even if she can? The answers to these questions and more will be revealed in this book, but there is still enough material to head into a third book should Ms. Chapman decide to travel down that path, blazing a trail for the rest of us to follow. And follow we will if she does write a third book in this series.