A review by ivywall
Divergent by Veronica Roth

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Hello There! I was pleasantly surprised with Divergent but I think it could have gone further with this introduction to the series. 

What I did like:  I enjoyed the characters and themes of the book. I think that Veronica Roth did a amazing job at including Christianity in a dystopian world. Tris’s character was profound and authentic, I felt as if she were a friend of mine. THE DETAILS THE DETAILS! They are truly what made this book. I felt emerged in the world and loved being there. You can also tell that this is a very well researched book and the author was very thorough in building this environment. 

and now for the star deductions…

{WARNING: I’M A NITPICKER}

What I didn’t like:  Four felt flat as a character and was a bit inconsistent. And (sighs deeply) the dialogue tags, those darn dialogue tags. They took me out of the story and just felt weak. I had to stop reading for a while because the overuse of the word“retorted” makes my skin crawl. And when someone asks something just put “asks” whenever there was a question the tag was almost always “says” not very professional. 

80% of the book was an elimination game with splashes of world building and romance peppered in. I don’t know, the plot didn’t really do it for me, nothing momentous happened until the very end.