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dezdamona's review against another edition
5.0
It was an amazing story. It has a great plot. I really enjoyed the book and couldn't wait for finish it.
bunnybaby13's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
i haven’t read this since 6th grade, and even then i only read it once, so i decided to pick this back up after finishing my hunger games reread.
i had a really funny whiplash going from the writing style of the hunger games to this; it’s definitely a downgrade. but i still love the movies all these years later, and the first one turns 10 this year (which is batshit crazy), so i will always have a soft spot in my heart for this, even if it’s not the best book i’ve ever read.
i haven’t read this since 6th grade, and even then i only read it once, so i decided to pick this back up after finishing my hunger games reread.
i had a really funny whiplash going from the writing style of the hunger games to this; it’s definitely a downgrade. but i still love the movies all these years later, and the first one turns 10 this year (which is batshit crazy), so i will always have a soft spot in my heart for this, even if it’s not the best book i’ve ever read.
smateer73's review against another edition
5.0
I really really like this series. It's high action, high stakes energy from the first page. So many hard decision have to be made, and the characters really develop well.
evelynsnow10's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
trin's review against another edition
1.0
Rank, paint-by-numbers YA dystopia. Oh, did we suffer in the 2010s. (I mean, we are still suffering now -- just in different ways.)
roxnn2000's review against another edition
3.0
Just finished reading this book and while I enjoyed parts of it, overall I found it a bit underwhelming.
We follow Tris, or Beatrice as she was born, as she adjusts to a whole new world that she chose for herself. She lives in a dystopian Chicago where people are divided into factions based on particular virtues. You have Candor (which values honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (the peaceful) and Eurite (intelligence). Tris is born into Abnegation, but when she turns 16 she goes through the Choosing Ceremony where she will decide which faction she will belong to for the rest of her life. Before that, she goes into a simulation to find which faction she would be best for, only to learn that she is Divergent, meaning that she is more than 1 virtue and she is aware she is in a simulation and can change or control it.
I liked a few of the moments in the story. I liked that there was a choosing ceremony where the kids choose where they will belong to in the future. I also like that each faction runs a specific part of the world they live in.
There were a lot of things that I didn't like. While I like the idea of the factions, I found that there were things I didn't like. First of all, unlike other caste systems in other dystopian books, the idea that the factions are based on a specific virtue didn't work for me. The way the story is written makes it seem that someone who is selfless cannot value honesty or someone who is brave cannot also be peaceful and so on. It was a bit annoying how whenever Tris would do something others considered selfless while she was in Dauntless they would look down on her or tease her about it. It was a bit annoying.
Another issue with the factions is that each one takes care of a part of the world they live in. Dauntless handle the security of the city, Amity handles the tending of the fields and such, Abnegation runs the government and so on. My biggest issue is that Abnegation runs the government just because they are selfless and considered unable to be corrupt. Why wouldn't those in Candor make sense? They are honest so wouldn't that make more sense?
Another issue I have with the faction system in this story is the idea that if you choose a different faction that the one your family is from, you basically lose them forever. "Faction before Family" is mentioned several times. I cannot imagine being 16 and no longer being able to discuss things with my mother anymore just because I decided I wanted a different life from her. It made no sense except to separate her from her family in order for the finale to make any sense.
Another issue I had was there was all this talk about how Tris being Divergent was so dangerous and that she would need to hide it. However, there was never a real explanation on why being Divergent was so dangerous. There was also times when other characters would tell Tris to watch out what she was doing because if she wasn't then they would find out and then she turns around and does the exact opposite. It was almost flashing a giant sign saying "I'm Divergent" over her head.
So, overall I didn't hate the story but there was a lot that I just couldn't understand as it made no sense to me. I'm curious how the story goes on so will probably read the next one, but this one did not give me any high hopes.
We follow Tris, or Beatrice as she was born, as she adjusts to a whole new world that she chose for herself. She lives in a dystopian Chicago where people are divided into factions based on particular virtues. You have Candor (which values honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (the peaceful) and Eurite (intelligence). Tris is born into Abnegation, but when she turns 16 she goes through the Choosing Ceremony where she will decide which faction she will belong to for the rest of her life. Before that, she goes into a simulation to find which faction she would be best for, only to learn that she is Divergent, meaning that she is more than 1 virtue and she is aware she is in a simulation and can change or control it.
I liked a few of the moments in the story. I liked that there was a choosing ceremony where the kids choose where they will belong to in the future. I also like that each faction runs a specific part of the world they live in.
There were a lot of things that I didn't like. While I like the idea of the factions, I found that there were things I didn't like. First of all, unlike other caste systems in other dystopian books, the idea that the factions are based on a specific virtue didn't work for me. The way the story is written makes it seem that someone who is selfless cannot value honesty or someone who is brave cannot also be peaceful and so on. It was a bit annoying how whenever Tris would do something others considered selfless while she was in Dauntless they would look down on her or tease her about it. It was a bit annoying.
Another issue with the factions is that each one takes care of a part of the world they live in. Dauntless handle the security of the city, Amity handles the tending of the fields and such, Abnegation runs the government and so on. My biggest issue is that Abnegation runs the government just because they are selfless and considered unable to be corrupt. Why wouldn't those in Candor make sense? They are honest so wouldn't that make more sense?
Another issue I have with the faction system in this story is the idea that if you choose a different faction that the one your family is from, you basically lose them forever. "Faction before Family" is mentioned several times. I cannot imagine being 16 and no longer being able to discuss things with my mother anymore just because I decided I wanted a different life from her. It made no sense except to separate her from her family in order for the finale to make any sense.
Another issue I had was there was all this talk about how Tris being Divergent was so dangerous and that she would need to hide it. However, there was never a real explanation on why being Divergent was so dangerous. There was also times when other characters would tell Tris to watch out what she was doing because if she wasn't then they would find out and then she turns around and does the exact opposite. It was almost flashing a giant sign saying "I'm Divergent" over her head.
So, overall I didn't hate the story but there was a lot that I just couldn't understand as it made no sense to me. I'm curious how the story goes on so will probably read the next one, but this one did not give me any high hopes.
leeea5599's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
bookishtiff1's review against another edition
4.0
I've been wanting to reread this for a while and I am so glad that I did!! I enjoyed this just as much after all these years!! I love the dynamic between Tris and Four and the way he looked out for her from the beginning. This has saved me from thinking that I'm too old for YA - maybe it's just YA romances that I'm just too old for because I pretty much always dnf them or rate them lowly.
franzi_9761's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
5.0