Thursday, March 26, 2015

Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

My Thoughts:

I really wanted to like this more…  Sadly, that’s not what happened.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it!  It was an easy, fast paced read, but I just didn’t get all the “edge of your seat” action that was tauted. 

I really like Tris.  Her inner struggles about who she is and where she belongs are relevant to pretty much everyone at her age, so she’s very relatable.  She’s not some curvy, gorgeous, super human girl that gets everything she wants.  She struggles between doing what’s right and what she wants to do.  I love her.

I also like Four.  I like that he isn’t all goo-goo ga-ga over Tris.  Yes, he likes her, but he doesn’t seem like the typical YA love interest.  He isn’t easy on Tris because he has feelings for her.  He pushes her harder, instead.  He knows that she is capable of great things and won’t let her give up, even when she is so homesick and wants to leave.  In short, I like their love story.

Also, I liked that this book was mostly clean.  It was violent, but there wasn’t a whole lot of language that I remember.  I don’t know why that bothers me so much.  Maybe it’s because most of the time, I feel like bad language is thrown in just for shock value or to be “cool”.

Overall, I give this a 3.  I haven’t decided if I will continue to read rest of the series or not. (Thoughts?  Is this a series that gets better as it continues?)  My problem is that I love the characters, but not the writing.

One more thing:  Excellent casting!


Language: mild
Violence: heavy
Drug/Alcohol: mild

Sexual Content: mild to moderate (there is kissing, talk of feelings, and desires but no sex)



5 comments:

  1. Oh dear. I /just/ got this novel from the book store because I felt like all that hype just had to mean something. Sad that you're review isn't over-the-moon superduper ecstatic, I really had to work up the courage to buy another Dystopia after Shatter Me pretty much traumatized me for life (such a bad and problematic book oh my god...)

    I'm not the right person to ask when it comes to whether you should contuinue a series, I usually quit a series right away if I don't like it. I didn't even read the last vampire Academy book even though I've read the other five.
    Don't waste your time on things you don't like! :)

    -Jen @ The Bookavid

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    1. Meanwhile, I am rabid over Divergent. RABID, I tell you. BEST BOOK EVER. (the rest of the series is just okay, but Divergent has me hooked for life.)

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    2. Jen, I say give it a go! It was a good story, but the writing is what got me. I have odd tastes when it comes to writing style. I am not usually a fan of First Person POV, with few exceptions... :)
      -Shannon

      And Kestrel, I remember reading in a group conversation (I think) that you were head over heels for this one, and if you think the others are "just okay", I don't know if I'll even try haha :)

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  2. Love your reviews and I actually just wrote up a review on Insurgent the second book in this series. If I'm being honest, and with myself too, I don't think it's worth it to continue. I did like the book but I had to push myself to finish it and I couldn't finish Divergent at all. The movies are different from the book so really it's up to you!

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    1. Aww thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them since I'm kind of new to this :)
      I will have to go check out your review on Insurgent!

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