Where the Rock Splits the Sky Hardcover – March 25, 2014

A pretty good premise, but for some reason it just didn’t click with me. The story of a girl searching for her father in a world changed by the alien “Visitors,” where the moon has been split and the sun stopped in the sky. The inhabitants of the west have reverted back to the old West, using horses for transportation, etc. I liked Megan Bridgwater and her friend Luis. The girl they pick up along the way in their journey, Kelly, was pretty annoying though, and some of the things she does just don’t make sense. I think the story got off track for me when they reached a town and Kelly went off on her own, playing poker and using one of their horses to bet with, and it just got weirder from there. The rest of the story was somewhat interesting, especially the concept of a “land river," and there was quite a bit of action, but although I know it was a fantasy, some of Megan’s inner monologues just sounded like nonsense to me. It all wraps up neatly at the end, maybe a little too conveniently, but even so, that was a plus for me.

this book was really cool!!! there should be a sequel. i don't quite get the whole visitor thing or how the moon was destroyed. or even how the earth stopped spinning. I don't know how the moon being destroyed stopped the rotation of the earth. weird.

Four things to note about Where The Rock Splits The Sky - it has just 266 pages, yet has a well paced story that doesn't feel rushed in any places. It's a Sci-Fi Western that people will probably try and squeeze it into the Dystopia category (the 3 users on Goodreads, I'm looking at you). Although it has some Dystopia elements, I don't think it's fits the modern definition of Dystopia enough to fit it into that definition. As far as I can tell, it's a stand alone novel, which I know will appeal to the many readers who are tired of waiting three years to finish a story that could be wrapped up in one book.Finally, it has a really freaking long title and I keep writing When instead of Where.I don't think I've ever read a YA western story, which surprised me when I realised this. The 'Wild West' is a staple the Hollywood movie's diets and I've seen all kinds of Westerns portrayed on TV from West World in 1973 with the amazingly talented Yul Brynner, to comedy movies like Wild Wild West and more recently The Lone Ranger. But the Wild West doesn't feature much in books these days, despite it being hugely popular on the Big Screen. Where The Rock Splits The Sky manages to take all the classic Western elements and a lot of desert, add Sci-Fi and make a really, really good story.Aliens are becoming more popular in YA books and it was refreshing to have a YA book where the girl doesn't fall in insta-love with an alien. The aliens, or Visitors in this story are not something you want to fall in love with, especially when a few of them are hiding in reanimated corpses and have maggots crawling out of their eyes *shudder*. That was really freaking gross. Almost as gross as the rain of fish. We have three main characters, Megan, Kelly and Luis. Megan is our main character and we see everything from her point of view. Luis is kind of her sidekick and follows her everywhere and Kelly they pick up a few chapters in, we find her in a floating town with no idea what has happened to the world. Kelly was my favourite of the group and the one I related to the most, constantly cracking jokes. I wasn't sure about Luis as there was almost no description of him that I can remember.Although I had a little difficulty getting used to the story (nothing is explained, you kind of just have to pick it up as you go along), I really enjoyed the in between parts of Where The Rock Splits The Sky. There was quite a bit of traveling but it was interspersed with strange towns where something weird happened each time - they met Kelly, cleaned bat poo, almost got arrested for underage gambling... meanwhile trying to keep out of the way of Jetho's Gang, a pack of Visitors that are on their trail. It's a thrilling read that I enjoyed very much and I was rather sad when it ended. If you love Sci-Fi, Western or just Adventure tales, I highly recommend this book.

Curiouser and curiouser…The peculiar situations that are constantly unfolding in Where the Rock Splits the Sky are completely engrossing. The planet has stopped turning and in the area of Texas where Megan has grown up, they are locked in a forever sunset. What would it be like for it always be that time of day!? – and to have no moon because it crumbled apart 20 years ago? While the earth doesn’t rotate anymore it does continue on its orbit around the sun. Billions of people are dead and millions disappeared having been abducted by the aliens or just weird phenomena. Occasionally some return and people are frequently inhabited by the visitors (aliens) themselves. Some technology still works but it doesn’t work everywhere and towns are spread across the countryside broken up by dangerous lands between that defy all natural laws once you step within them. These lands are constantly shifting their borders sometimes releasing one town to swallow up another. It’s all so eery and sets a great tone for the story and the three teens moving through it.The Zone creates the perfect opportunity for the author to showcase some off the wall things that were in turn shocking, hilarious and unsettling. There was no way to know what the heck to expect next and this more than anything else kept me reading. I definitely did like the combination of science fiction, with an almost magic like feel, to that of a futuristic western.Here is where the other shoe dropsSo hands down, Where the Rock Splits the Sky is a good story but it fell short of my expectations. I really wished I could have loved it instead of only liking it. However, there were a few key things that really hampered my enjoyment and more than peeved me as I continued reading. Some things I can get used to while reading others…not so much.The hauntingly vivid writing style sucked me in and really made me see and feel all the things being described. But! But but! The dialogue pulled me right back out of the story. Every time someone opened their mouth it all felt too forced together because of their warring speech patterns. Megan talks like an adult who is trying to sound sophisticated, Kelly – like she’s a 10 year old trying to impress the big kids, always cracking lame jokes and Luis’s first language is Spanish so all of his dialogue is in broken English. There is some very slight use of Spanish, usually without translations, some is decipherable but could probably also leave you feeling like you want to look up the words to be sure. I never like that feeling. The characters themselves are done in extremes. Overly serious, overly hammy, or lacking a personality that I can attach to because of the disconnect in dialogue.. Due to each of the characters personalities and dialogue styles veering drastically in different directions it made those parts of the book not gel together for me.There is however on the flip side some really great and hilarious moments. So don’t get me wrong thinking its all bad. I did still like the characters otherwise I wouldn’t have continued reading.-------------“Will you be able to drive it across the gap?” I have no idea what this vehicle is capable of.“Sure. Just put you belt on, will you, goddammit?”“¡Rápido, Kelly!” Luis cries.Kelly turns the engine on and looks at me. There is a reckless glint in her eye. “Always wanted to do this.”“What?” I ask. The truth is I am a little shaken by the crooked death-wish smile she throws me.-----------Where the Rock Splits the Sky is an intriguing read if a touch irritating at times. I felt like a bouncy ball as I was reading, taking turns between in love and annoyed with it. The things that bothered me I truly believe might not matter to other readers at all. I know if it weren’t for these little things bugging me I would have loved it because all of the oddball things were so much fun. Overall it was still a good read and one that I’d say other sci-fi young adult, post apocalyptic readers will really enjoy.

An interesting read