by Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #1
Pages: 487
Release Date: May 3, 2011
by Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper)
Goodreads / Purchase
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, 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 to determine who her friends really
are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes
infuriating 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 a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her
seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save
those she loves …or it might destroy her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene
with the first book in the Divergent series--dystopian thrillers filled with
electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and
unexpected romance.
I really wanted to love this book. I really tried to love this book. I just couldn’t. And I really wish I could. I just had too many issues with it, the first
being that there was no world-building or explaining whatsoever. Roth talked about the factions in the
beginning, but didn’t explain why
there were factions. She didn’t explain
what happened to make the society what it was, didn’t describe the setting,
just went right into the book. She
didn’t even explain why Tris had to go through training! I mean, you figure it out at the end of the
book, but for the rest of it before you are completely clueless. The writing, for me, was okay. I didn’t really like the story line or the
staging because it was all very obvious and lucky. The romance was also very poorly done, in my
opinion, and kind of annoying. Even the
ending was annoying. Have you guys seen
the movie Hanna? Cuz I was getting flashbacks of that movie
the entire ending. I didn’t like how
dramatic it was.
Also, none of the action/fight scenes were very well done in
this book. The one thing that I did like
about this book, though, was the beginning, and also the fact that Roth wasn’t
afraid to do the unthinkable (like killing some *cough* characters). Since you
all have probably read this book, I think you know what I mean.
My really big problem with this book were the
characters. I absolutely hated
Tris. There wasn’t really any character
development of any of the characters,
but Roth at least had a go with Tris, and I know she intended Tris to come
across as independent and strong, but instead she came across as arrogant and
kind of a bitch.
Here are some examples of Tris’s bitchyness:
His feet were just
inches from my head. I should comfort
him – I should want to comfort him,
because I was raised that way. Instead I
feel disgust. Someone who looks so
strong shouldn’t act so weak. Why can’t
he just keep his crying quiet like the rest of us?
See? Not only is she
being a total snob, but she thinks that, just because this guy is big and
strong, he shouldn’t cry. What? WHAT?
And wait, it gets better.
“You think I have to pretend to be vulnerable?” I ask, raising an
eyebrow.
I’m not sure if it’s
smart to forgive her or not…But my mother would tell me that people are flawed
and I should be lenient with them.
“I didn’t think it
would affect you this way.” Then he
looks down and shrugs. “Sometimes I
forget that I can hurt you. That you are
capable of being hurt.”
Okay Tris we get it.
You're above everybody, better than everybody, stronger than everybody,
and everyone needs to come to kiss your feet.
And Tris wasn’t the only character I didn’t really
like. Four was there too. He wasn’t a particularly appealing, sexy character;
he was kind of just there. Roth didn’t
really develop him or give him any personality.
This idea is really so, so good, and I’m so sad that I
didn’t like this book, especially since everyone else has. There was just too much wrong with this book
that I couldn’t pass up. But I will go
check out the movie.
And yes, I do realize that it is kind of pointless to post
this review because I will probably not get any comments actually agreeing with
me because everyone else has loved this book.
I get that, but I still wanted to put this out there.
1.5 pink flowers
