The Divide

by C. B. Rowan, Christina Camacho (Editor), Lisa Vargas (Editor)

439 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2026

Reviews

[Madeleine Aimé]

This review is based on a free ARC provided by the author.

“Scream” Meets “Divergent”

Less “dark academia” and more “sci-fi conspiracy” that merges YA conventions with a high-tech institution divided into two sectors based on socioeconomic status; the culmination of all these elements creates a horror-lite experience similiar to a guilty pleasure you’d find on TUBI. I am only 35 pages in and I can identify that I am not the target audience: I prefer decadence braided with coziness–prefects, common rooms, dusty tomes, and one elaborate mystery as opposed to many micro-oddities that I fight to keep up with. The dialogue is very rapid and flat: no character has stood out to me as having unique quirks or traits. I will follow up when I finish the novel, but it seems daunting so far.

There's a bit of bloat in the prose that tends to match this staccato: "sentence / clarifying statement x1 or x2 / qualifying statement":

"She was scared. Not annoyed. Not guarded. Scared."

"The word was gone. Not crossed out. Not erased. The page was blank. Completely blank."

I have a feeling that if 20%-40% of follow-up details were scrubbed away, this would be a more polished and economical debut novel.

[BrendanStrickland]

The Divide was definitely a new type of book for me. Which I am glad I stepped out of my normal go too’s to read it. I will say I struggled a bit throughout the book. It did not end up being a page turner for me, which was hard because I love a book that can keep my focus at every turn of a page. After a while I will say that it had me start questioning all kind of things and was curious as to how far Westbridge would truly go in their studies and science. By the end I found I was interested in seeing what would happen to our main characters. I would suggest giving it a read, because this might be a book just for you.

[jess]

Holy cow. I couldn't put this book down. I loved every second of this book and I was desperate to see all the pieces come together. The writing was amazing, and I truly loved the pacing of the book, although it ends on a MASSIVE cliffhanger, I cannot wait to hopefully see the next part of this book. I absolutely loved the thriller aspect of this book, and it truly made my heart rate go up whenever there was a tense moment.

[Jess]

This book had me intrigued from the very first page! The writing, the vibe of the story, the humor sprinkled into the mystery, just all around a great read.

[Chelsea]

ARC review: “A system designed to preserve itself would eventually treat the truth as a threat.”
Westbridge Academy is your average boarding school: uniformed students attending classes, living on campus, wearing metal electronic wristbands that track their every mood, and a barrier that separates the scholarship students (east side) from the tuition students (west side) that doesn’t allow either side to interact with one another. Totally normal right? That is, until some cracks start appearing in the system causing students from both sides to ask questions and search for answers they never saw coming.

This book had a very slow burn which really drew out the mystery and the atmosphere of Westbridge. Each chapter leaves you with more questions that you will need answered as our main characters discover exactly what the school is hiding. I believe this will be a part of a series and I am excited to dive deeper into the world of Westbridge Academy.

[Lucy]

Many thanks to the author for gifting me the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I went into this not knowing what to expect and it had me hooked, despite being a slow burn.

I usually don’t like a slow burn, but this was 100% necessary to drizzle in the mystery and allure of Westbridge Academy.

This was a mind scratcher for sure and left me with as many questions as the characters!!

I unfortunately did not click with any of the characters and would have liked some more information on them so I could invest in them. Although I did like the way they interacted, it felt very real the way they communicated with one another.

I am super keen to read the next story(and not just cos that cliff hanger was intense!) and think this will make an excellent series when completed!

I did feel like there was a lot of repetitive phrases, but that did not take away the momentum for me.

[Kiara K]

Absolutely phenomenal! This book had me hooked from the very beginning. The way this story is written had me on my toes wanting more and more. From wristbands and cameras that know everything to hidden things in front of your face, there’s always something to dive into. The way the characters engage with one another and great attention to detail had me stuck in my own little world every time opened the book up. I truly cannot wait until the second part comes out so I can continue on the journey! Definitely one of my favorite books now by far!

[Melanie]

To say I enjoyed this book is a complete understatement. It was gripping from the very first chapter, and the momentum made it genuinely unputdownable. I knew right away it was going to be something special. The Characters were brilliantly written-especially the banter between Kai and Lark- and the suspense built with every single chapter, constantly leaving me wondering what would happen next. I truly hope I don't have to wait long for the next instalment!

[Kez]

This book is excellent and infuriating all at the same time (but not in a bad way). Whenever I thought I knew what was happening, some new information came to light, and it turned out I was wrong. There were no obvious giveaways about the plot, but there was enough information to keep you invested and hungry for more!

I do have one complaint, though. I am DYING to know what happens next and now I have to wait for book 2!

[CKreads]

Wow! I was hooked from the first chapter. This book kept me guessing the whole time. Every time I thought I figured out what was happening, something new came along and proved me wrong! What the heck is going on with this school? I hope I don’t have to wait too long to find out more!
Thank you to the author, CB Rowan, for a free ARC copy. This voluntary review is my honest opinion.