Divergent

By Veronica Roth
As a fan of the Hunger Games series, I decided to take on the hyped up Divergent series. It turns out the two are very similar, one just has a lot more rules. This new series by author Veronica Roth was clearly not written for adults, but more for teenagers. If you are going to be asking questions and looking for logic or explanations, you will most probably not enjoy this book.

This 487 page book is set in a futuristic, dystopian Chicago which has the the city divided into five factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, and Amity. These factions are based on the virtues cultivated by the members in each one. When teens reach the age of sixteen they have to take a test which helps them decide whether to stay in the faction they were born into or switch to another one for the rest of their lives. Very rarely, a teen is found to have two personality traits, they are then known as being ‘Divergent’.

Beatrice Prior ‘Tris’ was born into Abnegation, the selfless, however she decides to transfer to the Dauntless, the brave. This transition is initiated by the puzzling and inconclusive test results, which reveal that she has at least three traits. She is considered dangerous and has to keep her test results a secret or risk being murdered. This book takes us along on her journey as she experiences grueling initiation trials and many obstacles in her life in general. She is also trying to figure out and understand who she really is, whilst trying to make the faction cut.

Who is Veronica Roth? She was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Veronica attended  Northwestern University where she studied creative writing. She currently still resides in the windy city, Chicago with her husband. Divergent is her first published book.

Veronica writes in first person, we experience the story from Tris’ perspective. The narration is very good and most of the characters are believable including Will, Four and Christina. She is a master at writing engaging fight scenes and also has a great imagination as she was able to create many different trials and challenges. I love that every single day of the trials there is always something exciting that Beatrice experiences.

Unlike the Hunger Games series, the love story is not a main part of the story. Also this time around there is no love triangle involved. The romance itself is cute at the most, it never really got me feeling anything. I think maybe because it is cliche and predicable. The writing is simple and does not use any complicated vocabulary that requires you to sit next to a dictionary or Google definitions as you read.

I got a little annoyed that most of the book covered the trials and exercises. Only in the last hundred or so pages does the real story start to develop. The violence and brutality could have been toned a notch. The world building has its flaws. Many readers have difficulties believing in the world Veronica creates, mainly because it just does not make any sense. There also are many stereotypes and inconsistencies throughout the book. For example on Visiting Day, do the parents visit the children or the children visit their families.

Divergent is the typical dystopia novel. It promotes the empowerment of young girls. It also looks at other things such as friendships, determination, bravery as well as honesty. If you love action, romance and adventure you will enjoy reading this book. The twist introduced in the end was not expected, but thoroughly enjoyed. Unlike other trilogies, there is no cliff hanger at the end of this book, you will get full closure when you finish reading it. In all honesty, most adults will probably find this book annoying. I highly recommend it for teen girls who enjoy this genre.Read More Reviews Here…