Friday 4 November 2011

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Summary: Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances. -From GoodReads

Review: Though I very much enjoyed it, Divergent did remind me of a couple of other book I've read in the past few years, the first is, of course, The Hunger Games, the second, to my surprise was Vampire Academy. Similarities between Vampire Academy and Divergent kept coming up as I was reading this. The young prodigy falling in love with her instructor, the mother who holds a mysterious secret, the young couple going on the run to avoid authority. It's not exactly the same, but it's certainly similar, though in the case of Divergent, it's better. I found Tris to be a far more likable character than Rose from Vampire Academy, and thankfully the supporting characters were better as well, no weak characters to protect, no one holding Tris back.
The comparison between Divergent and the Hunger Games are far more obvious, but the details are certainly different. They're both young adult, dystopian novels, they're both about 17 year-old girls training to be strong and fight. Katniss is however, nothing like Tris as a character. Tris is more relate-able and for me and therefore, easier to like. Their upbringing and families are totally different as well, which leads to the difference in their characters.
Saying that either Vampire Academy or The Hunger Games is the same as Divergent, however is like saying Harry Potter is like Harry Dresden because they're both wizards, named Harry, who do magic. They aren't the same, and in the case of Divergent, it's a better spin on the similar ideas.

The book is not perfect, there are a few scenes and situations that could have been better. As with any dytopian novel, if you think too hard about the "world" they live in, it's easy to poke holes and find unanswered questions. It's told through the eyes of a teenager, who doesn't question the way the world works, or how it got that way, therefore as the reader, we're left wondering how our world devolved into theirs. Another complaint was the description of the "test" that determines the factions. It was the determining factor for the rest of the book, and an event much referenced. It was far too simple. As a reader I found it hard to believe that this test could determine anything much less how these teenagers will spend the rest of their lives. That being said, it was easy to overlook these things and as you get caught up in the action and adventure of rest of the story.

Bottom Line: A blend between Vampire Academy and The Hunger Games, but easier to read and better. Grade: A-.

9 comments:

Kate Evangelista said...

I actually just read this. Great insight into the book. :-)

lian92 said...

thats just your opinion i think you shoudnt write it as if evryone shoud agree with you for me hunger games had more twists and was far more supirior i found katniss a stronger heroine unlike tris she didnt depend on her perents or a guy to save her she was the one saving them

Hey Lady! said...

@lian92:

Reviews by definition are opinions, the opinion of the person writing the review, in this case, me.

I welcome debate about my opinion, and I appreciate that you disagree with me, I hope you'll come back and comment again!

lian92 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
lian92 said...

i am sorry for sounding hursh its just i got a bit tired reading reviews when people seem to think there opinion is the only one i usually like a discussion like i think so and what do you think. Anyway i`m glad you liked the book, it wasn't bad for me, i just found that the jobs for spoiler factionless like bus drivers may be a bit offensive to real people with this jobs, but this just mine opinion

lian92 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

by the way have read Blood Red Road?It's also similar to the Hunger Games and the fighting scenes a lot like Divergent, onle a bit more vialent and not so long. The main character is hard to like at first, but she becomes likeable eventually, still she is a very different character from Katnis, Rose or Tris

Anonymous said...

SORY FOR MISTAKES IM RUSSIAN

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the wonderful book! I finished it a few days ago and cannot get it out of my

head. It is pure magic. It was everything I hoped it would be and much more. Thank you so much. You

are a great writer...fifty shades movie