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.
Review (With Spoilers):
I read Divergent by Veronica Roth because it came highly recommended; so many people said they enjoyed it. The synopsis sounded promising and I was excited to read it, however I was setting myself up for a big disappointment.
Characters:
Tris, the main character, seemed okay at first, however my estimation of her rapidly declined. She was so shocked when her brother chose to join Erudite and almost perceived it as a betrayal when she herself chose Dauntless. Furthermore, the unrealistic speed with which she discarded her faction traditions and values and took on those of Dauntless made her insincere and cold. Within the space of the first week she could no longer be recognised as having come from Abnegation, what with all her new clothes, tattoos and attitude.
The book did not explain why her divergence should make her better at using weapons; throwing knives, shooting guns and fighting in general. It did say why she would be better at simulations but not why she would be a superior fighter. It was too much, too quick.
I knew as soon he was introduced that Four, also known as Tobias, would be the love interest. From the moment he helped her out of the net, Tris experienced an inexplicable feeling towards Four.
Though Four was eighteen and Tris was sixteen, the very fact that he was her instructor made the relationship inappropriate and unpalatable. The Dauntless leaders were never seen and this was highly unrealistic. Why wouldn't they meet the new initiates and take more of an interest in their training?
Eric, the head Dauntless instructor, was a nasty piece of work whose aim in life was to be as horrible as possible to as many people as possible. His rivalry with Four was childish as no other angle was provided to the readers as the Dauntless leaders were never present. Tris' friendship with Christina felt very fake and forced. One moment, they liked each other and the next moment they couldn't stand each other's company.
Tris' parents were 2D characters as they weren't present in much of the book. The opening of the book was pretty much the end of their family life. This was a mistake as Tris would relate memories of her family life and none of this was shown actively. Furthermore, Tris' parents were killed far too quickly to make much of a lasting impression on the reader.
Also, towards the end of the book, her father's morals are under scrutiny. Even after his wife was killed, he insisted that killing was wrong. However, a few minutes later, after a couple of words from Tris, he was shooting to kill. This seemed inconsistent.
Janine, the Erudite leader and the evil mastermind of the book, didn't come across as frightening enough as she should have been. She wrote a few horrible articles about Tris' father and she also drugged the Dauntless into submission. They became her mindless automatons, willing to follow her every command. Janine's actions were cruel and calculating, but when Tris met her in the flesh, Janine didn't have the aura of power that other villains usually do.
Setting:
Divergent takes place in a futuristic version of Chicago. They have some technology but much of the infrastructure has been destroyed. The fence surrounds the whole city and only certain people can enter and leave. The question of whether the city was being guarded or whether the inhabitants were being imprisoned was never resolved. The city has trains that seem to go around 24/7 in an endless circuit and people have to take their lives into their hands to get in and out.
Style:
The pace of Divergent was slow and wearisome. I took a few days' break in the middle. I had to force myself to persevere but it wasn't worthwhile unfortunately. Divergent was in first person, present tense following the trend set by the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It was effective in that particular series but Tris' narrative voice was grating on the nerves.
Ending:
The ending wasn't satisfactory. It wasn't as self contained as it could have been. It was written as a first instalment of a trilogy. The ending could definitely have been improved. The book ending with Tris and Tobias on a train is an indication of which way the series is heading; in circles.
Discrepancies:
Why didn't the girls and the boys have separate dorms? This was inappropriate and meant everyone lacked privacy especially with all the raging hormones, getting your towel pulled off in front of everyone and someone being stabbed in the eye.
Tris outgrew her pants after a week of training which is highly unlikely and downright silly.
Why didn't Tris attempt to phone or email either her brother or her parents as the situation became more urgent? Did phones still exist? Computers were being used.
After Tris was shot, she was still doing a lot more than she should have been able to. Her gunshot wound didn't seem to bother her much.
Tris killed her friend Will without flinching but could not bare to shoot Tobias, even to the point where she stood there passively and told him to shoot her instead. This didn't seem a very brave thing to do to me and she couldn't have known this would have broken him out of his trance.
The whole reason for Tobias' father being present in the control centre was to disable the computer, but he didn't do anything at all to help. The only reason he was there was so that he would be on the train afterwards.
Conclusion:
Divergent by Veronica Roth was not a worthwhile read as it left me frustrated. The ending was anti-climactic and rushed. I was baffled as to what the reason for it being compared to the Hunger Games was as they are completely different. I will not be reading the next book, Insurgent. If only I had known how bad it was before I read it, I wouldn't have wasted my time.
Book Rating: 1/5
Cover Rating: 4/5
Author: Veronica Roth
