Divergent Collector's Edition

I thought that maybe I had grown out of this series. Turns out I have not. Still, my favourite. I had so much fun and it was nice to have a glimpse from the author's point of view of how everything started. Note: the deckled edges were actually quite comfortable to turn the pages while reading. Although they are not your friend if you want to flick through.

Another dystopian tale in the vein of the Hunger Games, yet with a different twist. Instead of being seperated into geographical districs, human kind is seperated by personality type. Upon turning 16, young adults are given an aptitude test to see which type they best fit in. Most generally stick with their birth type, but some choose to change factions (a huge deal, no longer can they be part of their family). And then, there are some who display "divergence" and do not fall easily into one category. This is true of Tris (Beatrice) who begins life as an Abnegation (self-less, humble, do gooders) but finds out she is Divergent and instead chooses to leave her faction for the Dauntless (warriors, brave, ruthless). While trying to complete her initiation into this faction, a variety of events unfold which will test her abilities, and show her that perhaps society isn't meant to be so divided. Nice to see another strong leading lady, and nice that her love interest treats her as such. No wilting flowers here. Lots of violence and blood.

I was sort of afraid to pick up this book in the beginning because of all the hype and the number of people who told me to read it. But I'm so glad I did. I love the characters, I love the plot, and it's easily one of my most favorite dystopian novles! It's engaging and certainly draws you in. I will be the first to tell you that I busted out sobbing because of the feels Veronica stirs up! All in all if you love dystopian novels, or you're just looking to get attached to characters and have a good cry, I totally recommend it.

I probably can't review this book any better than people already have before me. Nonetheless, there are some things I feel obliged to say. Mostly, this book is stupid. The premise is completely stupid. It's basically about a society where 90% of the working class is "factionless", and the rest of society is divided into five factions based on what quality they value most – Abnegation for selflessness, Dauntless for courage, Candour for honesty, Erudite for intelligence, and Amity for kindness. If you think that more than one of these qualities is important, you are "Divergent", which is apparently extremely unusual and considered so much a threat to the status quo that people try to kill you. Yep, just for having a personality that isn't completely centred on one quality. On top of this, at the end of the book, (view spoiler)[the Erudite come up with the genius plan to destroy the factionless, who they see as a drain on society, even though they do almost all the work that makes society function (hide spoiler)]. Wow. So, you can read a lot of reviews about how stupid the premise of this book is, and I recommend you do, because they were so entertaining that they inspired me to stick with this book when I was 27% done and dismayed at how unexpectedly bad it was. But for now, I'd like to move on from the premise. The characterisation was bad. It seemed like most of the characters were depicted in terms of the faction(s) they were associated with and had no personality or development beyond that. Some characters are one-note sadists, others one-note loudmouths, others one-note selfless people. Even when characters did demonstrate a new side to them, it never really felt like they were showing off a new side; it was more like some new, different character had usurped their body. That was the vibe I got. The main character never really clicked with me. To be honest, I never really got how she was supposed to be ~*~sooooooo speshul~*~ just because she was neither purely brave, nor purely selfless, nor purely smart, but brave AND selfless AND smart. EXACTLY WHO IS ONLY ONE OF THOSE THINGS?!? And because of her specialness, she excelled at every mental test thrown at her, so much so that her passing her initiation was never in doubt… it just made no sense. Her love interest didn't seem like a fully-formed person either, just your requisite badass with a tragic past. The romance itself was okay, just a bit boring because I didn't care about either character. And as for the plot? Well, I can't say there wasn't one, but it's a bit thin. The good thing is that it's a quick read – reading this in a Kindle app on my phone, I'm not sure how this was 487 pages; maybe they were 487 really short pages? Anyway, that is what saves this book from a one-star reading. It's not a painful read, just mind-boggingly stupid. Which means you get all the entertainment value of complaining about how stupid it is, so really, it earns that extra star. I probably won't buy the next book, but if someone were to leave it lying conspicuously in front of me, I'd give it a read. This book is bad, but at least it's a semi-fun kind of bad.

I just had to re-read Divergent after I realized that I never reviewed it the first time. What can I say? When a book takes your breath away as easily as this one does, it's hard to write a coherent review. Now that I've taken another shot at it, well it's not going to be much easier but I'll try to make sense! Let the fan girl reviewing commence! Veronica Roth has built an entirely new dystopian society. One that relies on factions to keep things at peace. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that peace is only a superficial sham. What follows is a story that made me burn through these 400+ pages in a matter of hours. Divergent isn't something that you should start to read before bed time. It's the type of book that you'll want to finish once you start, whether you currently have the time or not. The writing is gorgeous, the society is perfectly built. Let's face it. There isn't a single thing that I didn't love about this book. Which brings me to the characters. Seriously, the best part of this story. Tris and Four normal people. Realistic in their flaws and strengths. They are strong characters who are so easy to get behind. Tris isn't a shrinking violet. She isn't someone who sits around and waits for other people to take care of her. No, Tris can take care of anything that comes her way, even when she's terrified while doing it. She may selfish and temperamental at times, but that just shows the reality of who she is. Pardon my French, but Tris is bad-ass! Then there is Four. Tris' equal and opposite all rolled into one. Strong willed, and yet with a heart. I loved how he didn't treat Tris as a weak-willed girl. He treated her as someone who was worth his time. Oh, and the best part? No love triangle! Do you know how refreshing that is? It's just Tris and Four, two people who are stubborn, strong-willed and care for one another despite all odds. This was a huge part of why I loved Divergent so much. I've been looking for a series to fill the hole that The Hunger Games series left behind. Something with a driven plot and a kick-ass heroine. This book? Completely filled that void. I finished reading Divergent with my mouth wide open. All I know now is that I need to get my hands on the next book in the series as soon as possible. This is book addiction at its finest, and I'm more than willing to give in to it.

I was sucked into Dystopian Chicago rather quickly, my imagination easily sliding into the pages as I read along. It helped that Tris Prior is about my height in real life, we also have the same blonde hair. She was this tiny sixteen year old girl from Abnegation who did what she was told despite knowing in her heart that she wasn't like her family. ...And then she took the plunge into another faction away from her family... That's something that I still can't do to this day, so clearly I still have a lot to learn from Tris Prior. Maybe that's why I re-read this series so much. Anyway, as the book went on, I fell in love with Four. He was Tris' rock when she needed him but he also didn't treat her like she was a delicate, breakable thing either. I fell in love with their love story. I'm still bummed that parts of this book didn't make it into the movie. I made a timeline for the events a while back, they can be found in this post, and I also have a little reference sheet with all of the characters, the factions, places, etc in a google docs file. This series really helped me, and I'll forever love Veronica Roth for that.

I was sucked into Dystopian Chicago rather quickly, my imagination easily sliding into the pages as I read along. It helped that Tris Prior is about my height in real life, we also have the same blonde hair. She was this tiny sixteen year old girl from Abnegation who did what she was told despite knowing in her heart that she wasn’t like her family. …And then she took the plunge into another faction away from her family… That’s something that I still can’t do to this day, so clearly I still have a lot to learn from Tris Prior. Maybe that’s why I re-read this series so much. Anyway, as the book went on, I fell in love with Four. He was Tris’ rock when she needed him but he also didn’t treat her like she was a delicate, breakable thing either. I fell in love with their love story.

I absolutely love this book. I was hesitant at first because I am not one to read a book just because it is a movie. My friends convinced me and I have no regrets. The population of Chicago has been divided into factions based on five standard values: bravery, intelligence, honesty, kindness and selflessness. Once you have chosen which of these virtues is most awesome of all you are placed into a community of like-minded individuals who will then become your only friends, peers, colleagues and the pool from which you will select your husband/wife. I love the different factions you can choose to join. The other thing I like is that they get to PICK. That is so refreshing. Many of the dystopian books the heroine can’t (or it is hard to) get out of the circle that they are in (The Selection, The Hunger Games, etc.). You are immediately pulled in because Tris is told she is Divergent (which means she is more than just a faction) and she cannot tell anyone what she is unless she will be killed. Then she picks the most dangerous of the groups, going against what her parents’ group. Talk about your awkward situation. Then there’s the love interest, the mean people, the best friends, and the strange people. There is betrayal, there is trickery, there is love and there is mystery (all the things that a book should have!). You find yourself wondering what happens next, if Tris is ever going to find out why she is apparently dangerous to the community and if there are others like her. THERE IS A LOVE LINE. That’s right folks: a love line, not a love triangle. Can I have a hallelujah? There is finally a book that tells you that you don’t need two men chasing after you. You don’t need to have a best friend who is in love with you and a mysterious dude who is in love with you. You don’t need to love two guys at once. It is completely possible to love one person and have them love you and only you back. HOOORRAY! Don’t trust the movie on this one. It is an okay movie, but you don’t get the full effect and the feelings Tris feels. The book (as usual) is so much better than the movie and I am telling you to read it. You won’t regret it.

How did I possibly wait so long to read this? Obviously I had no idea how amazing it would be, or I probably would have read it MUCH sooner! After my strong unwillingness to put the book down several times, I quickly realized that Divergent was going to be one of my favorite books. It starts off fast, and gets faster as it progresses. The storyline is precise and captivating. I haven't been this engulfed in a novel in quite some time. The characters are, simply put, perfect. You love 'em, and you hate 'em. They are each individually developed to perfection, leaving no loose ends. I can't say enough about this book. If you haven't read Divergent yet, I suggest you do. I can't wait to start reading Insurgent ASAP! It blows my mind that Veronica Roth is only 23 years old. I can't wait to see where this story will head next!

Reread | May 2020: this was not as good as I remembered BUT still entertaining and I will always be trash for books set in Chicago. Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Full review/potential spoilers alert: http://bookgirl.co.vu/post/7284939519... Divergent is the first novel in a trilogy that holds the story of a choice and a whole lot of determination in a dystopian but familiar setting of Chicago (one of my favorite American cities!) through the eyes of main character Tris Prior. It is something that was recommended to me through a friend on Tumblr, after we’d had a discussion about The Hunger Games and the trend it has started in many young adult plots. One day I saw it on sale and picked up a copy for myself and my best friend, as we both had grown attached to the trend that came about with the strong female lead in The Hunger Games. However, it is important to note and to always remember that although these stories have a similar setting, they aren’t the same. It’s a completely different story being told, and it is rather lovely. It has all the positives of good story telling: great setting, complications, action, romance, kick ass leads and more. If you have yet to read this, get on it as soon as you can! 'Cos it's hot, hot, hot.

PERFECT. JESUS. For about the first third of the book, I didn't feel like I could relate to Tris that well. I was okay with that, but it was hard for me to get super into the book. And then I dunno, it just got so interesting and intense and I really fell in love with the characters and Roth's writing style. I know there are lots of novels that are set in dystopian societies and authors are trying to make them seem so, I dunno, romantic and like exciting? But this book isn't like that. It's not about how romantic it is to live in this type of society, it's about how factions change you and how you become someone different with one decision. This book was just really really good, I couldn't put it down after a while! If you loved the Hunger Games, as I did, you will for sure love this. Sad in the end but so, so worth it.