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juliereading's review against another edition
2.0
Eh... 2.5 stars? Somewhere between "OK" and "liked it". Hunger Games > Divergent (so far), but I'll still read the next two.
daphx00's review against another edition
5.0
Beatrice is a sixteen year old girl who is forced to make a decision about the faction where she will spend the rest of her live on Choosing Day. She surprises everyone with her choice and starts a new life. While she struggles with the challenges of initiation to the faction she's chosen, she also struggles with her own feelings and the secret that she is desperate to keep, because it could kill her when the people around her find out. In a society that not is what it seems, Beatrice struggles to stay alive and not stand out.
In this thrilling debut novel of Veronica Roth, we meet a sixteen year old girl that is easy to relate to. She lives in a faction where she doesn't feel at home - but she is not sure if she will chose a different faction for the rest of her life. I found Beatrice easy to relate to and besides that a tough character. The writing made it easy for me to imagine the five factions and the lively descriptions of the characters formed faces and personalities as if the character was standing right in front of me.
In the beginning of the book, we meet Four (by the way, I knew who he was immediately when he was mentioned, he he) and he appears to be a tough guy - but he proves himself to be invaluable to Tris. I liked Four, but nothing more than that - I didn't love him the way some of the other bloggers seem to do. I found Uriah an interesting character, as well as Eric, and, even though he scared the crap out of me, Peter. I'm curious to find out more about Marcus in the next book as well.
In this dystopian world, nothing is as perfect as it seems and Veronica Roth has written a thrilling story of the people in the society that struggle with the factions and living in them. It had me hooked within minutes and I read the book within 24 hours - even though I had a seriously bad migraine.
Five stars for Divergent - but beware, this book might be addictive. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to preorder me a shiny hardcover copy..
(this review was published on my blog, http://lvngbooks.blogspot.com)
In this thrilling debut novel of Veronica Roth, we meet a sixteen year old girl that is easy to relate to. She lives in a faction where she doesn't feel at home - but she is not sure if she will chose a different faction for the rest of her life. I found Beatrice easy to relate to and besides that a tough character. The writing made it easy for me to imagine the five factions and the lively descriptions of the characters formed faces and personalities as if the character was standing right in front of me.
In the beginning of the book, we meet Four (by the way, I knew who he was immediately when he was mentioned, he he) and he appears to be a tough guy - but he proves himself to be invaluable to Tris. I liked Four, but nothing more than that - I didn't love him the way some of the other bloggers seem to do. I found Uriah an interesting character, as well as Eric, and, even though he scared the crap out of me, Peter. I'm curious to find out more about Marcus in the next book as well.
In this dystopian world, nothing is as perfect as it seems and Veronica Roth has written a thrilling story of the people in the society that struggle with the factions and living in them. It had me hooked within minutes and I read the book within 24 hours - even though I had a seriously bad migraine.
Five stars for Divergent - but beware, this book might be addictive. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to preorder me a shiny hardcover copy..
(this review was published on my blog, http://lvngbooks.blogspot.com)
chelsayoder's review against another edition
4.0
Easy to read and hard to put down. Finished in one day!
scarlettgear's review against another edition
5.0
I think I loved this book more then the hunger games. The whole thing was surprising and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
autumnalsnow's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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? No
2.25
1st read • 3.5
2nd read • 2.25
2nd read • 2.25
janewarnerrrr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rae_rose's review against another edition
5.0
it's really good. Now I know why mh friends keep on recommending this to me. i love it!
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
Ridin' on the coattails of The Hunger Games
Beatrice 'Tris' Prior lives in a (psuedo) dystopic Chicago. People have been rearranged into Five Factions: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity. Beatric is given a chance, when she is 16, to choose which faction to go into, and her choice is startling and not the easy one she expected.
REASONS WHY READING THIS WAS ENJOYABLE:
+ There is absolutely, positively NO ROMANTIC TRIANGLE!! FINALLY, a Young Adult, Urban Fantasy/Dystopia novel that does NOT center its ENTIRE PLOT around a forced plot triangle. Excuse me while I faint from astonishment.
+ Roth's competent writing. First person present isn't an easy tense, but Roth writes it well. It isn't as choppy and "childish" as Jones' "Need", and yet it isn't burdened with flowery prose.
+ Interesting characters. Tris is an interesting character, as is Christina, Tori, Four, and Tris' mom (would REALLY love to know more about her!).
+ The last 150 pages are INTENSE.
+ The book reminds me a little of "Ender's Game".
+ The book is about overcoming obstacles and doing the right thing.
+ It is a dystopia.
REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TURN BACK NOW:
- World building makes NO SENSE. Why would ANY GOVERNMENT split up a society into FIVE FACTIONS? Don't most dystpopias WANT people to be uniform? Or if there ARE Five Factions, wouldn't they want them to be fighting amongst themselves, too busy to see the government creeping into their lives (sorta like Fforde's "Shades of Grey")? In fact, what even MAKES this society dystopian? Why aren't we rooting for the Erudite? Yeah, they are killing people, but they DO want equal representation--isn't that what American Forefathers fought for? Why is this wrong now?
- How in the frakkin' hell can ANYONE call the Dauntless "brave"? Jumping off buildings, running off trains, catapulting down a zipline DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE BRAVE. Bravery is in the small things--being with a dying parent, living with cancer, not giving up even though you want to--an idea that takes Tris THE ENTIRE BOOK to figure out. Since when does getting a tattoo make you brave? Why is there so much time spent on the physical test, but the last two tests are almost overlooked? How can Dauntless EVER make friends if they are so worried about being on top? How has this faction not totally destroyed itself? Where is the solidarity? Why are these supposedly brave people so eager to have a dubious serum injection?
- Why is it only Abnegation seems to have any real differences from modern cultlure (no mirrors, simple foods, simple clothes)? Where are the vast differences in the other Factions (besides silly clothes differences and the stupid tattoo thing)?
- How can everyone be split up into different factions? Were these people genetically altered? Is there some sort of indoctrination that occurs that wipes away any tendencies for the other Virtues? How can children change and why would they want to wait until 16 to start training them in the Faction they will spend their ENTIRE lives in? Why is being factionless bad? How can the serum work on these people? How come there aren't MORE divergent? Why is it so rare?
- Inconsistent heroine. One minute, she realizes (somewhat determinedly, in a really nice "brave" moment) that she is neither Abnegation, nor Dauntless, then the next, she is shocked to discover this very fact. WTF? Tris constantly complains about her bravery vs selflessness being at war, but when is she ever really selfless in the book? She hardly acts Abnegation at all!! How can she call these people friends? She almost is Bella-like in how she uses them!
- The writing style is a little too similar to Collins' The Hunger Games.
- In the beginning, the relationship between Four and Tris feels almost like a girl having a crush for her teacher.
- Muscle doesn't bulk up in a week. You don't recover from a tattoo overnight. A bullet wound in the shoulder isn't just going to mildly slow you down in a fight.
- In The Hunger Games, without Katniss, there would have been no revolution. In Divergent, Beatrice does nothing that couldn't have been done by anyone else. Her role was unnecessary; the Erudite would have attacked, some other Divergent would have risen and taken them down, end of story. There is nothing that makes Beatrice special, so it feels like the story was pointless.
So, yeah, I found a few problems with the novel. Unfortunately, they all dealt with the world building, the absolute fundamental of the novel. But I will say, if you can swallow the concept, pull back the curtain, and just be enraptured by the story, it's not bad at all. Beatrice takes time to grow on you, but she is a good heroine. She is legitamitely strong and competent and doesn't require a boyfriend to do it for her. Oh, and while there is a romantic plot, it's not very pronounced nor is it a triangle.
Thus, even with the problems I have with it, I am still going to be checking out "Insurgent" when it is published. But if I catch a whiff of a Romantic Triangle, I am gone.
Beatrice 'Tris' Prior lives in a (psuedo) dystopic Chicago. People have been rearranged into Five Factions: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity. Beatric is given a chance, when she is 16, to choose which faction to go into, and her choice is startling and not the easy one she expected.
REASONS WHY READING THIS WAS ENJOYABLE:
+ There is absolutely, positively NO ROMANTIC TRIANGLE!! FINALLY, a Young Adult, Urban Fantasy/Dystopia novel that does NOT center its ENTIRE PLOT around a forced plot triangle. Excuse me while I faint from astonishment.
+ Roth's competent writing. First person present isn't an easy tense, but Roth writes it well. It isn't as choppy and "childish" as Jones' "Need", and yet it isn't burdened with flowery prose.
+ Interesting characters. Tris is an interesting character, as is Christina, Tori, Four, and Tris' mom (would REALLY love to know more about her!).
+ The last 150 pages are INTENSE.
+ The book reminds me a little of "Ender's Game".
+ The book is about overcoming obstacles and doing the right thing.
+ It is a dystopia.
REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TURN BACK NOW:
- World building makes NO SENSE. Why would ANY GOVERNMENT split up a society into FIVE FACTIONS? Don't most dystpopias WANT people to be uniform? Or if there ARE Five Factions, wouldn't they want them to be fighting amongst themselves, too busy to see the government creeping into their lives (sorta like Fforde's "Shades of Grey")? In fact, what even MAKES this society dystopian? Why aren't we rooting for the Erudite? Yeah, they are killing people, but they DO want equal representation--isn't that what American Forefathers fought for? Why is this wrong now?
- How in the frakkin' hell can ANYONE call the Dauntless "brave"? Jumping off buildings, running off trains, catapulting down a zipline DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE BRAVE. Bravery is in the small things--being with a dying parent, living with cancer, not giving up even though you want to--an idea that takes Tris THE ENTIRE BOOK to figure out. Since when does getting a tattoo make you brave? Why is there so much time spent on the physical test, but the last two tests are almost overlooked? How can Dauntless EVER make friends if they are so worried about being on top? How has this faction not totally destroyed itself? Where is the solidarity? Why are these supposedly brave people so eager to have a dubious serum injection?
- Why is it only Abnegation seems to have any real differences from modern cultlure (no mirrors, simple foods, simple clothes)? Where are the vast differences in the other Factions (besides silly clothes differences and the stupid tattoo thing)?
- How can everyone be split up into different factions? Were these people genetically altered? Is there some sort of indoctrination that occurs that wipes away any tendencies for the other Virtues? How can children change and why would they want to wait until 16 to start training them in the Faction they will spend their ENTIRE lives in? Why is being factionless bad? How can the serum work on these people? How come there aren't MORE divergent? Why is it so rare?
- Inconsistent heroine. One minute, she realizes (somewhat determinedly, in a really nice "brave" moment) that she is neither Abnegation, nor Dauntless, then the next, she is shocked to discover this very fact. WTF? Tris constantly complains about her bravery vs selflessness being at war, but when is she ever really selfless in the book? She hardly acts Abnegation at all!! How can she call these people friends? She almost is Bella-like in how she uses them!
- The writing style is a little too similar to Collins' The Hunger Games.
- In the beginning, the relationship between Four and Tris feels almost like a girl having a crush for her teacher.
- Muscle doesn't bulk up in a week. You don't recover from a tattoo overnight. A bullet wound in the shoulder isn't just going to mildly slow you down in a fight.
- In The Hunger Games, without Katniss, there would have been no revolution. In Divergent, Beatrice does nothing that couldn't have been done by anyone else. Her role was unnecessary; the Erudite would have attacked, some other Divergent would have risen and taken them down, end of story. There is nothing that makes Beatrice special, so it feels like the story was pointless.
So, yeah, I found a few problems with the novel. Unfortunately, they all dealt with the world building, the absolute fundamental of the novel. But I will say, if you can swallow the concept, pull back the curtain, and just be enraptured by the story, it's not bad at all. Beatrice takes time to grow on you, but she is a good heroine. She is legitamitely strong and competent and doesn't require a boyfriend to do it for her. Oh, and while there is a romantic plot, it's not very pronounced nor is it a triangle.
Thus, even with the problems I have with it, I am still going to be checking out "Insurgent" when it is published. But if I catch a whiff of a Romantic Triangle, I am gone.
booksbooksbooks456's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5