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Title: Dakota Divided

Author: Josh Clark

Narrator: John Glouchevitch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-24-14

Publisher: White Feather Press

Genres: Teens, Fiction & Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Dakota Lester has never been accused of being popular, having friends or even being remotely attractive. Convinced that by becoming a sarcastic, obnoxious cut-up he can win friends and maybe even climb out of Infinity High School's social septic tank, Dakota adopts the persona of Lester the Jester to mask the hurt of being unaccepted both at school and by a father who walked out on him when he was younger.

Skinny as a rail and as athletic as a lima bean, Dakota wants nothing more than to break into student government, if only to sniff the hair of senior super-beauty, Addie Wilkins. But when Infinity High School's own in-house bully, Blake Blanton, tags Dakota as his personal chew toy, Dakota quickly finds himself immersed in a dangerous world of vandalism and moral ambiguity.

Warring with a lack of identity and burdened by feelings of abandonment by his father, Dakota begins to cozy up to the life of a con-in-training while also trying to discern his feelings for his best friend, a misunderstood emo artist named Erin. With Blake Blanton thumbing Dakota's pressure points, Dakota must face his own personal demons and determine whether he can accept himself for who he is and not for what others want him to be.

Dakota Divided is a tale of feeling comfortable in your own shoes and being able to love and forgive even in the toughest of circumstances. Witty, heartwarming and real, Dakota is able to make you laugh and cry-sometimes at the same time.

Members Reviews:

Great example of teen peer pressure and bullying

I received a copy of this book from the author. It is the first book in the Dakota Lester series and it has readers wondering what they would do... stand up to a bully and risk you and your friends getting beat up, or go along with the bully's plans and do things that are against your morals? In Dakota Divided, Clark's character, Dakota Lester, continually faces this decision. He is caught between a rock and a hard place and for him it seems there isn't a right way out of his situation.

Dakota feels like an outcast in school and he also struggles with his feelings toward his father who walked out on him and his mom when he was younger. He hides the pain of being unaccepted by using wit and sarcasm to become "Lester the Jester". In order to get noticed by his crush, he decides to run for freshman class president, but his social status is hurt when the school bully Blake Blanton starts picking on him. In order to protect himself and his friends, Dakota starts to go along with and execute Blanton's "assignments". How long can he deal with Blanton until his actions catch up to him?

Just like you might hit pause while watching a movie during a suspenseful scene, at times I had to put the book down and walk away. Clark puts Dakota in multiple situations where he must choose to stand up for himself and what he believes in or to continue being bullied. These moments will have readers screaming at Dakota to say "no" to Blanton and his friends or at least for Dakota to tell someone about what is going on in his life.

Clark's style of writing is so natural and easy to read. He mixes humor throughout the book which helps to lighten the mood when dealing with the serious undertones of the story. Dakota is completely relatable. Either you are like him or you know someone who is like him. He masks his feelings.