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A review by jlennidorner
Four: A Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth
5.0
Fantastic writing. A thrill to read. There's a line in the book, "How is it possible to live the same story twice, from different vantage points?", which is ironic and sums up half the book. Reading [b:Divergent|13335037|Divergent (Divergent, #1)|Veronica Roth|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328559506s/13335037.jpg|13155899] first is imperative. If you enjoy getting the other side of a story, this book is ideal.
There is quite a bit about child abuse in this book. (If you know the character Four, you know why.) There's a part where Four is afraid that Tris would look at him with pity, and make him feel weak, small, and empty. But, of course, she doesn't, she instead is angry at the abuser. To me, this is a really deep moment. All too often, those who have been abused, those who have experienced horrors without consent, feel they will be blamed-- and, disgusting as it is, that does happen. There is hope and brilliance in a book that reinforces putting the blame on the abuser, on the attacker, on the person unable to control their own behavior. I'd give the book a sixth star just for this scene.
A quote that cracked me up:
"uncomfortable and wrong, the way an Erudite feels when she reads a grammatically incorrect sentence."
A quote that I want as a pin image:
"Dead people can be our heroes because they can't disappoint us later; they only improve over time, as we forget more and more about them."
There is quite a bit about child abuse in this book. (If you know the character Four, you know why.) There's a part where Four is afraid that Tris would look at him with pity, and make him feel weak, small, and empty. But, of course, she doesn't, she instead is angry at the abuser. To me, this is a really deep moment. All too often, those who have been abused, those who have experienced horrors without consent, feel they will be blamed-- and, disgusting as it is, that does happen. There is hope and brilliance in a book that reinforces putting the blame on the abuser, on the attacker, on the person unable to control their own behavior. I'd give the book a sixth star just for this scene.
A quote that cracked me up:
"uncomfortable and wrong, the way an Erudite feels when she reads a grammatically incorrect sentence."
A quote that I want as a pin image:
"Dead people can be our heroes because they can't disappoint us later; they only improve over time, as we forget more and more about them."