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soapy22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, and Death of parent
elija_20's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
As someone who watched the films first and loved them, I can confidently say the books are SO much better. I loved all the little details and plot points that the film missed and just the description of Tris’ emotions that couldn’t be translated to film.
One piece of advice I would give if you are reading this after watching the films is that the characters of Tris and especially Four are (in my opinion) very different to the books compared to the films. I would recommend starting the books with this in mind and you will enjoy it and relate to the characters better.
Even if you haven’t watched the films, oh my goodness I would recommend this book to anyone. Cant wait to read the next one.
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Confinement, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, War, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Body shaming
alsoiread's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Vomit, Murder, War, Blood, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Genocide
mermaidmommy19's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Suicide
melsage1823's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Its really impressive throughout as we follow Tris through her journey of accepting herself. We see the struggles she has to face in a society that she doesn't conform to. This maybe because I'm Neurodivergent but I found her very relatable and likeable throughout.
Other side characters were brilliant such as Four/Tobias, Christiana, Will, Al, Caleb and Tori. She has amazing friends and enemies that go on their own journeys but are also there to help develop Tris. Absolutely incredible. Tobias also goes on an incredible character as Tris allows him to become more vulnerable. Enemies to Lovers is one of my absolute favourite dynamics as it creates character development and makes the characters grow for the better.
I also liked how the villian wasn't really one certain character it was the faction system that had corrupted the characters in certain ways.
Can't wait to read the next book.
Graphic: Suicide, Classism, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and War
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
That being said, I think this is one of the few examples where the movie is better than the book. The plot in the movie is much more cohesive, covering important details without repetition and dragging them out, and characters that are much more consistent in personality. I also wasn’t a big fan of the plot bouncing around.
By cohesiveness I mean that there were just so many moments that could have been combined, altered, or switched around for a more compact story. I think each moment added something but it could have been done differently, like in the movie. There is so much more focus on the goals because of how everything is put together.
The book also has tons of repetition and drawn out arcs without fully delving into them. That applies to the characters as well as plot. I felt like we constantly were hearing how strong Tris is and how much she doesn’t want people to see her as weak, and there were moments that displayed that better in her actions. It could have been left at that, like in moments where she thought about comforting Al or Caleb, and decided not to. If anything it bothered her to see that “weakness” displayed. I like that Tris is a flawed character who feels she has to prove herself, especially given her age, but it became overkill at times. We see that Tris is strong, and that she’s worried about people not seeing her as strong, so it didn’t need to be states so much. There was also just so much of Tris getting through all the challenges and sims to become dauntless, which in retrospect is a subplot to the major plot. I think the movie was better at showing how she was navigating the world as Divergent and finding out what that meant in the midst of her training.
I also liked the personalities for the characters more in the movie, because we see moments of that in books, but it can be a bit inconsistent or less favorable. I think Four and Tori are better portrayed in the movies.
Ultimately I think what is happening here is a big plot that is so dependent on who they are and where they fit in and other aspects that movie or shape the plot get overlooked. It also is not as creative as I remembered. Once more, with the movie outshining in terms of world building.
However, despite all the criticisms, I can still see why it got adapted because there is a lot of potential and you still end up invested in the characters.
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Confinement, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, War, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Child death
Homelessness, comment about scalping, near-drowning.maryannsophia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, and Alcohol
yellowbitxh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
dxmy_png's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, War, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexism, Blood, and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
a_casual_walk_through_fire's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, War, Violence, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Domestic abuse