Customer Reviews

Divergent (Divergent, Book 1)

5 star:		(284)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Divergent is based around a surreal world divided into factions. Each faction is different and it's "members" have unique qualities and personality traits. There are five factions: Candor, Erudite, Abnegation, Dauntless and Amity. At the age of 16 all children must undertake an aptitude test to determine which faction they are most suited to - But they don't have to pick this one. So what is divergent? Well, the main character Beatrice or "Tris" as she is most referred to as is a divergent - this means that instead of suiting only one faction she suits a number of factions. This means she must choose between the faction her family belong to, Abnegation or another faction - but deserting her family would be the ultimate betrayal.

As Tris decides which faction she will choose she undertakes a number of initiation trials which are completely gripping - what a page turner! The relationships between the other initiates are explored and sometimes they are more enemies than friends.

Divergent is a brilliant read, I loved the new ideas and the new world that had been created. Tris is a fun, intelligent character with lots of wit - I thought she was fantastic and really surprising at times. I read this in two sittings it was that good - I'd more than recommend this book to both young adults and adults alike.

If you loved "The Hunger Games" then you'll definitely love this, but if you haven't heard of that either then give them both a go!

Veronica Roth's Divergent is a difficult book to ignore if you have the YA dystopia bug. The five star reviews number in their hundreds and with its sequel Insurgent imminent and The Hunger Games - the YA dystopia against which all others are currently judged - riding high at the box office and in the book lists, to not read Divergent seems somewhat rude. Therefore, not wishing to be impolite, I took the plunge.

Divergent takes place some time in the future in a city that was once Chicago. Every citizen now lives as a member of one of five factions, each defined by their overriding personality trait: Abnegation (selfless), Amity (kind), Candor (honest), Erudite (seekers of knowledge), Dauntless (brave). Each faction contributes to society in accordance with this trait. For example, members of Abnegation rule, Amity members are peacemakers and farmers and the Dauntless police this world. But there are those who fall outside the Factions, living a life worse than death as the Factionless. They drive the buses.

At the age of 16, the young are assessed to determine which Faction they suit but they must still make the choice of Faction on their own. Most opt for their home Faction but there are some who make a jump, turning their backs on their families. One such girl is our heroine. Known as Beatrice in Abnegation, she picks the name of Tris in her chosen Faction of Dauntless, although her fellow initiates name her `Stiff'. Divergent follows the initiation or training sessions that Tris and her friends (and the not so friendly) must undergo before they are selected to be members of Dauntless or, if they fail, cast out to be Factionless.

Through these trials, during which the initiates are taken to their very limits in physical and mental torture, each inflicting the same on their classmates, Tris learns that there may be an alternative Faction. Those initiates who don't perform as they should in the sessions may well be Divergent and, should that be discovered, they will be dead shortly afterwards. That is because they can beat the system.

Without doubt, this is a pacey novel. It's not a short book but Divergent is very difficult to put down. This is largely because of Tris - she has a habit of manipulating her way into our care. She's 16 but she constantly stresses how young she looks, how small she is. And in describing the truly horrible rituals she undergoes, it's difficult not to feel outrage on her behalf and sympathy for her suffering and admiration for her bravery. This is increased as we watch a girl emerge from self-sacrificing Abjugation rules to being able to express herself with tattoos, colourful clothes, even jumping off a train just for the thrill of it. Throw in a love interest that is delicately dealt with - no Twilight angst here - and you're going to care for young Tris.

Despite my strong feelings for Tris, I found Divergent a frustrating novel. There is no sense of the world at all. This is a big failing for a dystopian novel to my mind. Part of the fun is finding oneself in a familiar world transformed and distorted. We're told it is Chicago but this isn't a recognisable place or even environment. There's little description of Dauntless or any of the other factions. We're briefly told that Dauntless is dark, tall towers are mentioned, canyons frighten and trains travel outside the Factions but there is very little other than that. There is no sense of the state of the place. And what about outside? What about the rest of the world?

The idea that society can be divided into such convenient Factions is not believable. It seems preposterous to me that anyone could be anything other than Divergent. The fact that the novel presents inter-Faction fighting doesn't help the sense that this division could never happen. And where are all the adults? There's barely a sense of them in Dauntless.

Tris might be a fascinating heroine but the repetitive insistence on her small stature and undeveloped, childlike appearance doesn't tally with her increased strength and makes her relationship with Four incongruous and a little uncomfortable. She is also not always likeable - as the novel progresses there are actions that are not necessarily forgiveable. I wonder if they will be remembered in Insurgent or if they are already forgotten.

My main problem with Divergent though is the fact that the vast majority of it comprises the ritual trials that Tris and the others must undergo in order to be accepted as Dauntless. This means hundreds of pages of teenagers being forced to fight each other literally senseless in ugly duels as well as drug-induced confrontations with their greatest fears, facing a multitude of different horrendous ways of meeting a terrifying, painful death. Violence spreads outside the Pit, young people are reduced to the depths of despair while others are tormented by memories of abusive parents. It's all rather... unsavoury. As for the finale, it felt, to me, rushed and surprise-free.

Nevertheless, despite these rather major gripes, I read Divergent quickly and I will read Insurgent when it's released in May. There is a great deal of promise here and I was frustrated that the novel as a whole didn't live up to that potential. Perhaps Insurgent will prove a pleasant surprise.

As an older reader, this should probably not appeal to me but it does and I loved it. Off to read the sequel now.

I'd seen many favourable reviews for this book before reading it myself, which is always a dangerous thing. Hype and hoopla surrounding a book can often lead to high expectations not being met. And although this wasn't quite as mind-blowing as I'd hoped it would be, it was still a very good, very well-written read, and has great potential for future plots.

I loved the whole idea of the different factions and how it forces our young characters to examine their own personalities and decide exactly what kind of person they want to be. The system initially seems to work well, although it's odd to our eyes, but soon cracks begin to show and insurrection seems inevitable.

There were a couple of great characters in there, including the main one, Tris, a young girl with unique qualities and a great sense of honour, as well as others that were not quite as well fleshed out as they could have been.

It's quite a violent world for ones so young, but anyone who's read the Hunger Games will be accustomed to reading about those type of things by now. And they are also handle realistically here, which I appreciated.

Unlike the Hunger Games, which gets off to a very quick start and maintains a fast pace throughout, Divergent slowly creeps up on you instead, culminating in a fantastic tension-filled ending. The training section is long (perhaps overly so), but the plot twist at around 3/4 of the way through was thrilling and also slightly terrifying.

The romance was pretty cute. The boy (I shan't say his name for fear of spoilers) is a total sweetie-pie, and admires our heroine despite her own insecurities about being so small/looking so young.

I will definitely be reading the rest of the series, but since I've heard Insurgent has a killer cliffhanger, I've decided to wait until book three comes along, which will be on September 26th 2013.

Recommended to fans of the Hunger Games and other YA dystopians.
4 Stars ★★★★

After the first few pages of world-building, where there was more "tell" than "show", this book really took off and left me reading it far into the night, against all sensible judgment about the need for sleep. Once I had finished, I passed it to my 12-year-old daughter, who apparently read it for three hours on the coach after a gruelling swim meet, unable to put it down and take a much-needed nap.

Basically, Roth's world is set in post-apocalyptic Chicago where there are only five choices for people to make in life: Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Erudite, or Dauntless. (I love these name choices: talk about enriching the young-adult vocabulary!). Beatrice, the main character, has grown up in the self-effacing faction of Abnegation, but at the age of 16, chooses the risky, violent, extreme faction of the Dauntless. Roth takes the reader through a breath-taking initiation period where Tris, as she now calls herself, struggles to leave her Abnegation past and cast her lot with the often-merciless culture she now finds herself in.

Toward the end of the book, a sinister plot is unleashed, pitting herself against some of her new-found friends, and throwing her back amongst some old ones.

The ending absolutely cries out for a sequel, and you'll be glad to know, it's already available: Insurgent. Unfortunately, I haven't been as enamored with the sequel, but that's another story.

It's fair to say that my expectations before reading Divergent were very high. When a book wins awards like this one did in 2011, and is consistently billed from all corners as 'the next Hunger Games', it is a classic scenario where a book is being set up for a fall. Or, just maybe, it might live up to that expectation.

The basic plot to Divergent is quite straightforward. In the future the population is split into five factions based on personality traits and life choices. Children live in their parents' faction until the age of 16, when they go through a process that ends in them choosing their own faction. Usually they pick the same faction as their parents, but not always. Beatrice is part of the Abnegation, a faction that values selflessness above everything else. Yet she feels that she doesn't quite belong, and when she is assessed as having the qualities to potentially belong to three factions, she has a decision to make as to whether to stay loyal to her family in Abnegation, or move to another faction, a choice that could cost her much more than her family.

In Divergent Roth has created a simple but compelling back story by splitting the population into factions. The book follows the individual journey of Beatrice, but having the other factions in the background gives a real sense of relativity to proceedings. It is clear at all times that the main story is not taking place in a vacuum, which makes the world appear more substantial.

It is fair to say that the main plot is extremely well put together, with well paced developments, set pieces and twists keeping the reader very much hooked on proceedings. But the standout aspect of this book is the character development of Beatrice. It is rare that I am genuinely enthralled by the development of an individual character, even the protagonist, as much as I was with the development of Beatrice. But in her Roth has created a compelling character that I was genuinely rooting for.

In many ways Divergent ticks all the boxes you would expect. But like all exceptional authors, Roth ties these aspects together in a way that makes the book more than the sum of its parts, with every individual aspect judged to perfection. The characters are distinct, the dialogue is sharp, the action sequences are exciting and the plot is interesting. Even the love story is handled with a subtle and measured approach that shows a combination of great writing ability and sound judgement.

To put it simply, Divergent is the product of an excellent idea that has been superbly executed. Fans of Hunger Games will feel right at home with this, but beyond that Divergent is an essential read for anybody with even the slightest interest in science fiction, whether teenager or adult, which when all said and done is the vast majority of people. An outstanding début.

The first thought that came into my mind when I put this book down was, `I can't believe I waited for so long to read this'. Veronica Roth's Divergent is without a doubt one of those books that will grow on you in a heartbeat. I had high expectations about this one and it didn't disappoint. I am completely and utterly in love.

Dystopian is still a new genre to me because I've never really read any dystopian books before I started blogging but after reading some really outstanding novels, such as Susanne Winnacker's The Other Life or Divergent, it quickly became one of my favourite genres. Roth's story is so unique, but at the same time so believable that you won't be able to put it down.

On top of everything else, I love the world she describes in this book. This whole dystopian Chicago is divided into five factions and just like in real life, there's some tension and rivalry among them. I love the fact that even though it's a completely fictional world and it feels so different from what we're used to now, it's still similar to our world in a way. As for the characters, Roth did a fantastic job. Divergent is narrated by Beatrice (or Tris) who is a tough and very brave girl behind the fragile exterior. Her bravery is just astonishing and you can't help rooting for her to survive throughout the story and to come out on top in this crazy world.

Character-wise, I think Four was -and I'm sure most female readers will agree with me here- my favourite in this book. Even though I'm actually 4 years older than he was in the story, I totally understand why thousands of readers will fall in love with him in a second. I love how tough he is but how there is a vulnerable side to him as well. What's not to love?

If you're looking for a fast paced dystopian book and you haven't read Divergent yet, do pick it up as soon as you can. Don't let its length put you off, you'll breeze through the story in a day. It's definitely one of my favourite reads this year.

I loved this story and the entire idea of it. I can't wait to devour Insurgent! I've enjoyed reading this book more than once. I would totally recommend it!

Divergent is a brilliant book!

The first person protagonist, Tris, is a conflicted character. She doesn't quite fit in to any of the five factions of society and is instead labelled as "Divergent": a dangerous thing to be. She feels that she doesn't quite live up to anyone's expectations, least of all those of her selfless family. Divergent is largely a book about a girl trying to find out where she belongs and how she fits in in a world where society is divided.

There is political struggle, indoctrination, and the idea that a uniform mass can be controlled if they aren't allowed the freedom to think outside the box in which they have been contained.

Another aspect of the book which I loved was the romance between Tris and Four. Theirs is a relationship based on equality and mutual admiration. They both have their weaknesses but they find solidarity in allowing their strengths (which would not be seen as admirable in their faction) to shine in each other's company. There is fire between these two characters, but the story doesn't get bogged down in their relationship. If it did, I might not have liked it as much because that would have been too predictable.

Reading this book will make you wonder where your own strengths lie, and it will make you want to be brave, kind, selfless, smart and honest in equal measures. It will make you want to be divergent.

... ...it will also make you want to jump out of a moving train just for the sheer thrill of it! However, while that joy remain's out of reach for most of us, the much safer thrill of reading this book is within arms reach.

I picked this up reseaching for a YA novel I'm planning to write, having come across it during a few searches and 'best YA read' lists.

I'm a little older than the target audience (by about ten years...) but I can see why this would appeal to teenagers. The themes are identity, belonging and uncertainty - typical motifs for YA fiction.

The writing is of a decent quality with some fairly strong characters. I felt like the author didn't really get 'alternative' kids, presuming it's all about needles and tattoos (the word 'tattoo' must come up about 600 times) and playing dares with each other. It seemed a little contrived. The idea of 'one person being special because they're different from most other people' is a little tired, and made the whole thing pretty predictable.

Story-wise there's stuff going on but it felt a little drawn out, with several fairly unrealistic decisions by the characters and some bland villains. The motivation of half the main players was pretty obscure, as if being part of a faction was all that life was about. Don't these people have proper jobs? Where does the food and supplies come from? Half the time they seem self-sufficient, the rest is conveniently skipped over. There seems to be no economy in this world, making it all seem as though it's built on sand. Disappointing.

The ending was alright and there's potential for some sequels, but if they arrive I doubt I'll be picking them up.

A bit of a failure.

4 / 10
David Brookes
Author of 'Half Discovered Wings'