Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
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
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*has some spoilers
i read this series in fifth grade and have since reread it maybe 500 times. this is my fav dystopian series idc the nostalgia just hits and i love tobias eaton so nothing will ever compare to him. ive also watched all the movies so i will talk abt th0se in relation to the book a little.
plot: it takes place in chicago (YAYYYYY) but like way in the future where everybody is split into 5 factions (abnegation, dauntless, erudite, amity, and candor) and they each have like different morals and a different job in the city. and when kids turn 16 they pick either to stay in their faction or go to another one. they basically take tests to help them with their choice that tells them which one theyre the most compatible w/. tris, the main character ended up getting 3 different ones which makes her divergent. being divergent is dangerous and she cant tell anybody shes dangerous bc then they will literally try to kill her. and then the res of the book is just her at the dauntless compound trying to make sure she hides it and survives initiation. the plot is so good. like, i love it. it seems basic to me now bc sm new stuff has come out since then and romantasy eats this up but for its time the concept is great. and its so nostalgic.
tris: i love her idc. in the first pic i lovedddddddd her. she was so baddie. idr have much to say.
tobias: my actual husband. after watvhing the movies, whenever i do a reread i imagine theo james as him and it just makes it 10x better. i actually hate watching divergent bc it makes me sad that i cant have tobias/theo james. like i physically sit there dying the whole time and say "OMG HE IS SO HOT" like 4x in every scene. but reading it makes it better and i just love how he gives like scary man but hes lowkey a softie.
other characters:
liked: christina, will (rip), her mom (rip), (wow is that where it ends?). i genuinely think those are the only characters i liked everyone else is a cunt. oh i also liked tori.
hated: eric (fuck that bitch), peter (ew), drew, al (rip but um like wtf is wrong w him), molly, caleb (her brother pissed me off), her dad (like lowkey sorry. i didnt hate him but he pissed me off), marcus (.......) theres prob more i just dont remember. OH AND JANINE ofc. (is that how u spell her name idk?).
romance: ok in the first book its basically just a bunch of tension between tris and tobias, but i love it. and then ig they end up dating at the end, i love the scene where he comes to congratulate her and asks if it gives away too much if he hugs her. AND THEN SHE SAYS YKW IDC AND KISSES HIM. that was amazing wonderful did i mention amazing. and the scene where he saves her, and the scene where hes drunk and whispers to her that she looks good. and how he takes her through his mind. like he was in loveeeeeee. so yeah i love them. AND THEY WERE BOTH DIVERGENT CAME FROM ABNEGATION WENT TO DAUNTLESS like they were meant for each other. and will (rip) and christina were cute too kinda unfortunate that we didnt get to see more in the other books.
this one is my fav in the series and mind u, the books are way better than the movies they are just done sm better and the plot is sm better. but in relation to the movie and the book, the first one is the best in both.
i read this series in fifth grade and have since reread it maybe 500 times. this is my fav dystopian series idc the nostalgia just hits and i love tobias eaton so nothing will ever compare to him. ive also watched all the movies so i will talk abt th0se in relation to the book a little.
plot: it takes place in chicago (YAYYYYY) but like way in the future where everybody is split into 5 factions (abnegation, dauntless, erudite, amity, and candor) and they each have like different morals and a different job in the city. and when kids turn 16 they pick either to stay in their faction or go to another one. they basically take tests to help them with their choice that tells them which one theyre the most compatible w/. tris, the main character ended up getting 3 different ones which makes her divergent. being divergent is dangerous and she cant tell anybody shes dangerous bc then they will literally try to kill her. and then the res of the book is just her at the dauntless compound trying to make sure she hides it and survives initiation. the plot is so good. like, i love it. it seems basic to me now bc sm new stuff has come out since then and romantasy eats this up but for its time the concept is great. and its so nostalgic.
tris: i love her idc. in the first pic i lovedddddddd her. she was so baddie. idr have much to say.
tobias: my actual husband. after watvhing the movies, whenever i do a reread i imagine theo james as him and it just makes it 10x better. i actually hate watching divergent bc it makes me sad that i cant have tobias/theo james. like i physically sit there dying the whole time and say "OMG HE IS SO HOT" like 4x in every scene. but reading it makes it better and i just love how he gives like scary man but hes lowkey a softie.
other characters:
liked: christina, will (rip), her mom (rip), (wow is that where it ends?). i genuinely think those are the only characters i liked everyone else is a cunt. oh i also liked tori.
hated: eric (fuck that bitch), peter (ew), drew, al (rip but um like wtf is wrong w him), molly, caleb (her brother pissed me off), her dad (like lowkey sorry. i didnt hate him but he pissed me off), marcus (.......) theres prob more i just dont remember. OH AND JANINE ofc. (is that how u spell her name idk?).
romance: ok in the first book its basically just a bunch of tension between tris and tobias, but i love it. and then ig they end up dating at the end, i love the scene where he comes to congratulate her and asks if it gives away too much if he hugs her. AND THEN SHE SAYS YKW IDC AND KISSES HIM. that was amazing wonderful did i mention amazing. and the scene where he saves her, and the scene where hes drunk and whispers to her that she looks good. and how he takes her through his mind. like he was in loveeeeeee. so yeah i love them. AND THEY WERE BOTH DIVERGENT CAME FROM ABNEGATION WENT TO DAUNTLESS like they were meant for each other. and will (rip) and christina were cute too kinda unfortunate that we didnt get to see more in the other books.
this one is my fav in the series and mind u, the books are way better than the movies they are just done sm better and the plot is sm better. but in relation to the movie and the book, the first one is the best in both.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
though my fourth wing is divergent fanfiction theory still stands - xaden riorson you will NEVER be four
I loved this book it was great!!!! A little gory but not bad at all. I think its a little less likely to occur then another books about the future i have read but a good book
Pretty obviously followed the Hunger Games formula (plus a barfier love story) but I did have a hard time putting it down, regardless.
I guess I'll start this review by saying that this was a worthwhile read as it held my interest the entire way through. Part of that was due to my curiosity as to what was going to happen and partly because it was making me angry and I needed to know if it was going to redeem itself at all. First off, the dystopian world was very interesting. The idea of having people be placed in different factions based on values reminded me of Hogwarts sorting. However, the author never really explains the world our hero Tris lives in. Maybe we'll get more background in the later books, but for this book it got a little frustrating at times. Another thing that is not well explained is what being divergent really means. But, who knows, maybe the author will explain that more in the sequel.
Another thing I had a problem with were the dauntless. The dauntless are suppose to be brave and how they show this is by dying their hair funky colors, getting tattoos, jumping out of moving trains and beating the living daylights out of each other. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think any of those count as a brave act. What was interesting about this though was that I could not tell if the author had intended for the dauntless to be stupid daredevil showoffs or if they were truly meant to be considered brave. Either way, it kept me interested enough to keep reading to find out, and although we never get a clear answer it is an interesting topic to discuss.
Now for the characters! I'm still deciding whether I liked Tris or not. For one thing, she definitely is not a mary sue. She has weaknesses and she even acknowledges them. However, that does not stop her from being unlikable. The things she thought about her friend Al were really maddening. She also acted like she was really tough and brave having only been with the dauntless for about a day. As the book progressed I found myself getting more annoyed with her.
Another main character was Four. Again I don't know if I like this guy or not. He was an okay character though, a little too perfect but what can you do.
The character I really liked though was Al. He was really interesting and probably the most connectable. He reacted the way most people would if they were told they had to beat each other in order to become a dauntless. His growing crush on Tris was handled well. And to be honest I wasn't sure if he was going to be the love interest or not. I thought his character was done well except
My biggest issue with this book is the ending. It felt very rushed and out of the blue. We go from a lot of training and slow paced action. It felt like an entirely different book.
Although this book has its faults, it is worth a read because it brings up a lot of interesting topics. As far as dystopian futures go, it is not the best but it isn't the worst either.
Spoiler
We find out the main character is divergent which I guess means she could be in any faction instead of just one. This is for some reason really dangerous to be but we never really find out why. We also find out that divergent people can outsmart the computer system but again, we never find out why. What do those two things have in common anyway?Another thing I had a problem with were the dauntless. The dauntless are suppose to be brave and how they show this is by dying their hair funky colors, getting tattoos, jumping out of moving trains and beating the living daylights out of each other. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think any of those count as a brave act. What was interesting about this though was that I could not tell if the author had intended for the dauntless to be stupid daredevil showoffs or if they were truly meant to be considered brave. Either way, it kept me interested enough to keep reading to find out, and although we never get a clear answer it is an interesting topic to discuss.
Now for the characters! I'm still deciding whether I liked Tris or not. For one thing, she definitely is not a mary sue. She has weaknesses and she even acknowledges them. However, that does not stop her from being unlikable. The things she thought about her friend Al were really maddening. She also acted like she was really tough and brave having only been with the dauntless for about a day. As the book progressed I found myself getting more annoyed with her.
Another main character was Four. Again I don't know if I like this guy or not.
Spoiler
He eventually becomes Tris' love interest but the romance between the two seemed really forced and out of no where. He was really mean to her and yet she still somehow liked him. I'm still unsure of why he liked her.The character I really liked though was Al. He was really interesting and probably the most connectable. He reacted the way most people would if they were told they had to beat each other in order to become a dauntless. His growing crush on Tris was handled well. And to be honest I wasn't sure if he was going to be the love interest or not. I thought his character was done well except
Spoiler
for when he attacked Tris with some other guys and it is never fully explained whyMy biggest issue with this book is the ending. It felt very rushed and out of the blue. We go from a lot of training and slow paced action
Spoiler
to a full blown war! and it literally happened over nightAlthough this book has its faults, it is worth a read because it brings up a lot of interesting topics. As far as dystopian futures go, it is not the best but it isn't the worst either.
fast-paced
This is….not a good book. By almost all measures it falls short. Plot is riddled with gaping holes, the world building is shoddy and the stakes are never fully contextualized. But unfortunately you are only 12 years old at the height of the dystopian craze once and reading this book then created an inextinguishable flame of nostalgia that even now, 11 years later, I cannot drown. All 2.5 stars are fed by that nostalgia.
read this for the nostalgia. Remembered it as being a lot better. Apparently the author wrote this entire thing in her winter break, and it shows.