The Dark Hills Divide facts for kids
The Land of Elyon - Book 1 - The Dark Hills Divide
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| Author | Patrick Carman |
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| Illustrator | Brad Weinman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Land of Elyon |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Scholastic Corporation |
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Publication date
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2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 252 |
| Followed by | Beyond the Valley of Thorns |
The Dark Hills Divide is an exciting children's fantasy and mystery novel by Patrick Carman. It is the first book in The Land of Elyon series. The story follows the adventures of Alexa Daley, a brave young girl. Her father, Mr. Daley, is the mayor of the fictional town of Lathbury.
Story Summary
Twelve-year-old Alexa Daley is spending the summer in Bridewell with her father. The book begins with Alexa taking a walk with her friend, Thomas Warvold. He is a famous adventurer. During their walk, Warvold shares a special story he heard on his travels. After he finishes the story, Alexa sadly discovers that Warvold has passed away.
The story then goes back in time to an event before Warvold's death. Alexa and her father, James Daley, are traveling to Bridewell from their hometown of Lathbury. During their journey, Alexa asks her father to tell her the story of the huge walls. These walls surround Bridewell and other cities. The story is about a young orphan named Thomas Warvold. He left his hometown on his thirteenth birthday. For many years, no one knew where he went.
Twenty years later, Warvold convinced others to join him in a place. Most people thought this place was haunted and dangerous. But over time, more and more people believed it was safe. The valley where Warvold settled became known as Lunenburg. It grew full and had no more room. One end of the valley was already a town called Ainsworth. To solve the space problem, Warvold decided to expand. He planned to build a walled road into the unknown. At the end of it, he would build a new town.
The people of Lunenburg were afraid of dangers outside the walls. So, Warvold decided to borrow workers from Ainsworth. These workers had broken rules and were marked with a "C" for their past. They would do the hard work of building the wall. There was one rule: after ten years, Warvold could send them back to Ainsworth. In three years, these workers built the wall to what is now Bridewell. Two more walled roads were also started. Over the next few years, the roads to Turlock and Lathbury were finished. This completed the kingdom. During this story, Alexa and her father have a fun race with a mailman named Silas Hardy. They meet him on the road.
Upon arriving at the Renny Lodge, Alexa is greeted by Ganesh, the mayor of Turlock. Warvold himself also welcomes her. After going to her room, Alexa uses a spyglass. She had secretly taken it from her mother. She uses it to look over the walls from her window. Pervis Kotcher, the head guard of the Turlock gate, interrupts her. He takes the spyglass from her. Luckily, Warvold arrives just then. Pervis hides the spyglass. Warvold takes Alexa for a walk, which ends in his death, as shown at the start of the book. Before getting help, Alexa takes a silver key from a locket around Warvold's neck.
During Warvold's funeral, Alexa quietly goes to the library. She falls asleep in her favorite cozy spot. Pervis wakes her up. He breaks her spyglass before giving it back. At dinner, Nicolas, Warvold's son, tells Alexa about his mother Renny's interest in Jocastas. Later that day, Alexa is in her favorite spot again. She finds that the library cats, Sam and Pepper, have medallions on their collars. These medallions have Jocastas carved on them. Alexa manages to look at Sam's medallion. But she gets a nasty scratch when she tries to look at Pepper's.
Later, Alexa uses the silver key to open a secret passage. It is hidden behind her favorite spot. At the end of the passage, outside the wall, Alexa meets a short man named Yipes. He seems to have been waiting for her. Alexa follows Yipes up Mount Norwood. They come to a glowing pond. Inside the pond, she finds a green stone. Once she puts it in her leather pouch, Yipes takes her to his house.
Waking up from her sleep, Alexa discovers she can talk to animals! Darius, a wolf separated from his family, leads her to a tunnel. This tunnel is under the walled road between Lathbury and Bridewell. At the end of the tunnel, Alexa finds that people who had broken rules live in The Dark Hills. Once she is back outside, a rabbit named Malcolm takes her to the forest king, Ander. Ander is a grizzly bear. Ander tells Alexa that she can talk to animals as long as she has the green stone and is outside the walls. He also tells her that the people living in The Dark Hills are planning to attack Bridewell. Their leader is someone they call Sebastian. He is a person who escaped and is now pretending to be a citizen of Bridewell. At the meeting, Alexa meets many animal friends: Murphy (a squirrel), Beaker (a raccoon), Henry (a badger), Picardy (a female black bear), Boone (a bobcat), Odessa (Darius's wife), and Sherwin (Darius's son).
The day after the meeting, Alexa is sent back through the secret passage. The green stone's special powers start to fade. Back in the library, she learns that Sam and Pepper are not to be trusted. When she arrives, Silas, who Mr. Daley has made his personal mailman, asks her where she went. Alexa tells a small lie, saying she was playing a game. During lunch, Pervis returns from his holiday and is locked up. Later that day, Alexa visits Pervis in his cell. They play a game of chess. The winner gets to ask five questions. Pervis wins and asks Alexa about the night Warvold died and her disappearance. Feeling she could trust him, Alexa tells him everything. The next morning, Alexa also tells her father about her adventure and the plan against Bridewell. Hearing this, Mr. Daley calls for a meeting.
During the meeting, the group includes Mr. Daley, Grayson (the librarian), Nicolas, Ganesh, Pervis, Silas, and Alexa. They create a plan to defend Bridewell and free Pervis. While looking at one of Warvold's favorite books, Alexa finds a note from Warvold about Sebastian. It tells her to read page 194.
Having figured out who Sebastian was, Alexa and Murphy go back to the secret passage in the library. They come face to face with Ganesh. At first, Alexa hits him in the knee with a fire poker. But Ganesh takes it from her and kicks her. After a wild chase, Ganesh admits that he poisoned Warvold. He also confesses that he is Sebastian. After this confession, there is a struggle where Ganesh is stopped. Yipes and Darius defeat the evil person. Yipes goes to the city to find help. Alexa is rescued by her father and Pervis, who take her back above ground. The green stone's power completely fades away.
The people from The Dark Hills attack Bridewell at midnight. But they eventually fail. In the end of the story, all the walls are taken down, except for the wall around Bridewell.
- This summary focuses on the main events. The book is told from Alexa's point of view.
Main Characters
- Alexa Daley: The main character of the book. She is the young daughter of James Daley, the Mayor of Lathbury.
- James Daley: Alexa's father and the Mayor of Lathbury.
- Thomas Warvold: The person who founded Lunenburg. This city eventually connects to Bridewell, Lathbury, and Turlock by walled roads.
- Pervis Kotcher: The head guard of the Turlock gate.
- Nicolas Warvold: Renny Warvold's son.
- Grayson: The librarian.
- Yipes: A small man who lives outside the wall.
- Pepper and Sam: The two cats that live in the library.
- Malcolm: A rabbit who introduces Alexa to Ander.
- Ander: The king of the forest. He is a bear.
- Murphy: The brave squirrel who goes with Alexa on most of her journey.
- Darius: A wolf who was separated from his family when the wall was built.
- Odessa: Darius's wife.
- Sherwin: Darius's son.
Books in This Series
- The Dark Hills Divide (Book 1)
- Beyond the Valley of Thorns (Book 2)
- The Tenth City (Book 3)
- Into the Mist (Prequel)
- Stargazer (Patrick Carman) (Book 4)
