Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Pages: 487 pages
Published: February 28th, 2012
Genre: YA dystopian
I was glad to be roaming back into the genre I was born to read: Dystopian. I had such high expectations in starting this trilogy because of all the hype around the movie, and not to mention, the new movie Insurgent. To some extent, this book did achieve my expectations but there were also some dull moments in the book that had me rethinking whether I should continue the series or just read the first book.
Divergent takes place in a broken society split into give factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the intelligent), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Candor (the honest). These five factions are all based off of a certain virtue, an ideal that the creators thought was lacking in their old society. Each faction is unique and stays very humble to their ideals, even to the point of depth. But in the depths and small holes of society there are those certain few that are, say, different than others. They are called Divergent and the main character Tris, falls under that group as she has an ability to manipulate simulations in ways others can't. The Divergent are scorned and considered dangerous. So her job is to make sure no one ever finds out, not even her own parents.
The beginning of the book was surprisingly slow. For a YA dystopian I would've expected a more upbeat beginning, but the middle and the end of the book make up for the dull beginning. I think the reason I hated the beginning of the book so much because of the setup of the plot and the world building. I feel like the author was giving us quite a lot of an information dump. I'm usually fine with stories that need a lot of time to develop some background information and set up world for the characters to live in, but it wasn't done so great in this book.
What I liked? The plot was so different from anything I'd ever seen before. Not similar to The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, and yet the book became something else all on its own. There was a steamy romance, just like there should be one in every YA dystopian novel. And the romance wasn't anything annoying or distracting, it just kind of flowed through the book like it was meant to be. I mean no annoying characters in a book finally!
I'd like to commend Veronica Roth on another thing she did superbly well in her book. Yes, let's talk about how she described the simulations, like when we're actually following Tris and Four into their fear simulation. It's hard to talk and write about one's subconscious when you're not really experiencing it first hand, but Veronica Roth seems to have left me flabbergasted! When we were in Four's fear simulation, omg guys, the way she described his fears!! It made me feel like I was actually in the book helping him conquer his fears. It's extraordinary, really something to look forward to in the next two books ya know: more subconscious scenes, more romance.
After taking the faction quiz my results came out inconclusive.... LOL JK! I'm Erudite! I was hoping to get Dauntless, but Erudite is still a fine faction to be apart of. Now ladies... let's talk about Four, or Tobias (whatever you want to kill him). LOOK AT HIS FACE!! LOOK AT HIS DAMN SEXY FACE!! I swear I just want to meet him someday. I must take this time to thank the bloggers and booktubers of the world for convincing me to read Divergent. I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK! Happy reading everyone and join be back in a few days for the review of the second book in the Divergent series, Insurgent.
Four + Tris Four-Ever!
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 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.
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I was glad to be roaming back into the genre I was born to read: Dystopian. I had such high expectations in starting this trilogy because of all the hype around the movie, and not to mention, the new movie Insurgent. To some extent, this book did achieve my expectations but there were also some dull moments in the book that had me rethinking whether I should continue the series or just read the first book.
Divergent takes place in a broken society split into give factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the intelligent), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Candor (the honest). These five factions are all based off of a certain virtue, an ideal that the creators thought was lacking in their old society. Each faction is unique and stays very humble to their ideals, even to the point of depth. But in the depths and small holes of society there are those certain few that are, say, different than others. They are called Divergent and the main character Tris, falls under that group as she has an ability to manipulate simulations in ways others can't. The Divergent are scorned and considered dangerous. So her job is to make sure no one ever finds out, not even her own parents.
The beginning of the book was surprisingly slow. For a YA dystopian I would've expected a more upbeat beginning, but the middle and the end of the book make up for the dull beginning. I think the reason I hated the beginning of the book so much because of the setup of the plot and the world building. I feel like the author was giving us quite a lot of an information dump. I'm usually fine with stories that need a lot of time to develop some background information and set up world for the characters to live in, but it wasn't done so great in this book.
What I liked? The plot was so different from anything I'd ever seen before. Not similar to The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, and yet the book became something else all on its own. There was a steamy romance, just like there should be one in every YA dystopian novel. And the romance wasn't anything annoying or distracting, it just kind of flowed through the book like it was meant to be. I mean no annoying characters in a book finally!
"We're all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own. I don't want to do that. I want to be brace, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest."
- Divergent, Tobias
I'd like to commend Veronica Roth on another thing she did superbly well in her book. Yes, let's talk about how she described the simulations, like when we're actually following Tris and Four into their fear simulation. It's hard to talk and write about one's subconscious when you're not really experiencing it first hand, but Veronica Roth seems to have left me flabbergasted! When we were in Four's fear simulation, omg guys, the way she described his fears!! It made me feel like I was actually in the book helping him conquer his fears. It's extraordinary, really something to look forward to in the next two books ya know: more subconscious scenes, more romance.
After taking the faction quiz my results came out inconclusive.... LOL JK! I'm Erudite! I was hoping to get Dauntless, but Erudite is still a fine faction to be apart of. Now ladies... let's talk about Four, or Tobias (whatever you want to kill him). LOOK AT HIS FACE!! LOOK AT HIS DAMN SEXY FACE!! I swear I just want to meet him someday. I must take this time to thank the bloggers and booktubers of the world for convincing me to read Divergent. I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK! Happy reading everyone and join be back in a few days for the review of the second book in the Divergent series, Insurgent.
Four + Tris Four-Ever!
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