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“Life damages us, every one. We can’t escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other.”
Where do I even begin with this book? I did not enjoy it as much as the first two, and to explain why, I think I need to go into spoilers...
The world-building is an absolute mess. It was a mess from the start. All the serums are seriously giving me Maze Runner vibes, and I didn't like the Maze Runner at all. If people could just leave the city, why didn't they do it before? The Dauntless are literally guarding the gates. And the Bureau makes no sense whatsoever. It's an experiment - see, Maze Runner vibes - yet when that experiment goes wrong, you don't do anything to fix it? They're all people- I really don't understand why the GPs and the GDs are treated so differently when you literally have people like Tobias who is a GD with GP qualities.
Also, Tris dying. I'm sorry, what was that? Killing off your main character is a bold move for any author - but it has to make sense. She survived the DEATH SERUM... only to be shot? It wasn't her time to go. Not at all. It didn't make any sense.
Anyways, that's the end of me reading the OG Dystopian Trilogies, and my ranking is:
- The Hunger Games
- Divergent
- The Maze Runner
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm so glad I read the books after discovering the series through the films. I am so in love with these books. The characters are so complex with real struggles, Roth does an amazing job of avoiding "good vs bad" and really explores the idea of good people bad choices and the difficulties of knowing what the right thing even is in such hard situations.
I cried my eyes out for the last several chapters!
I cried my eyes out for the last several chapters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, War
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh my god!!! I mean, it was certainly a roller coaster ride! <spolier>TRIS DIED. URIAH DIED. CALEB DIDN'T DIE. I HAVE NO EMOTION LEFT NOW.</spolier> Good read. Amazing Y.A books. A tense and emotional finish to the Divergent series. There's still hope. Be brave and have a great day!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: War
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, War
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Blood
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
three books in for the worst ending ever
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The writing is better in this one than in the previous too, you can see the growth, but this one is far less exciting than Insurgent and Divergent.
This one is the farthest off from the movies and I think the book is slightly better than movie where I’d disagree with the previous two. There is more character development, a variety of characters, and I think where the characters end up is better than the movie. However, the lead up to it was very boring. I think the author could have done more to make the Bureau grander and more descriptive so it felt exciting rather than just another location that had similar living conditions.
With the switching POVs, I know why it was done, but I felt like there wasn’t a distinct change between Tobias and Tris. I had to keep checking which POV I was in because I couldn’t remember or tell the difference. Their thoughts tend to be very similar, even when they have different opinions. They process emotions similarly, sort of bouncing between several different emotions and thoughts so it never feels distinct and cohesive. I don’t have an issue with a variety of thoughts but it didn’t help trying to know which POV I was reading.
Some major differences in this one to the movie were how immediate things became, like the development of the Allegiant with Cara and Johanna in charge, Uriah having a much bigger character arc, more characters in general like Amar and George, Tris’ mom’s journal and her journey and relationship with David, Tris being directly aware of what the Bureau had done and their involvement with Abnegation’s demise, Four being involved in a plan behind Tris’ back and them nearly breaking up, Tris going to the fringe, Peter wanting to reset, and just the entire ending being so different. Once again, I found Four to be less tolerable in this one than in the movies. Especially with telling Tris she was jealous of Nita because she’s pretty. I didn’t care for that.
I will say, that although I have harsh criticisms, I cried a lot. I don’t know what it is but despite me not liking these characters all that much I still end up caring about them. What I will also say is there are elements in here that are uncomfortable because of relating to real life, like Pure genes and such, and I know it is a critical take, but I imagine some communities will take a bit of an offense to it. Aside from that which I feel some uncertainty about, I think Veronica Roth was ahead of the times in a lot of her writing. Given the queer rep, although not great by today’s standards, and disability rep, and not being fatphobic or such in the stories. I feel like a lot of authors at that time had so many incredibly offensive things in their books because it was more “acceptable” to be in books, but this one is a bit easier to stomach than most. That is not to disregard some other issues in the book, but I think it did fairly well in terms of comparison.
This one is the farthest off from the movies and I think the book is slightly better than movie where I’d disagree with the previous two. There is more character development, a variety of characters, and I think where the characters end up is better than the movie. However, the lead up to it was very boring. I think the author could have done more to make the Bureau grander and more descriptive so it felt exciting rather than just another location that had similar living conditions.
With the switching POVs, I know why it was done, but I felt like there wasn’t a distinct change between Tobias and Tris. I had to keep checking which POV I was in because I couldn’t remember or tell the difference. Their thoughts tend to be very similar, even when they have different opinions. They process emotions similarly, sort of bouncing between several different emotions and thoughts so it never feels distinct and cohesive. I don’t have an issue with a variety of thoughts but it didn’t help trying to know which POV I was reading.
I will say, that although I have harsh criticisms, I cried a lot. I don’t know what it is but despite me not liking these characters all that much I still end up caring about them. What I will also say is there are elements in here that are uncomfortable because of relating to real life, like Pure genes and such, and I know it is a critical take, but I imagine some communities will take a bit of an offense to it. Aside from that which I feel some uncertainty about, I think Veronica Roth was ahead of the times in a lot of her writing. Given the queer rep, although not great by today’s standards, and disability rep, and not being fatphobic or such in the stories. I feel like a lot of authors at that time had so many incredibly offensive things in their books because it was more “acceptable” to be in books, but this one is a bit easier to stomach than most. That is not to disregard some other issues in the book, but I think it did fairly well in terms of comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol