Divergent was an amazing debut novel by author Veronica Roth! I truly enjoyed it! It has everything...interesting characters, twists and turns in the plot here and there, and so much more! Despite some major errors with the world-building, I found it to be a practically perfect read!
Our book is set in future dystopian Chicago. The world is now divided into five factions based on your personality traits. These five factions are:
On one day each year, every 16-year-old decides for themselves which faction they wish to be in for the rest of their lives. Our story follows Beatrice Prior on her sixteenth birthday. She must decide if she wishes to stay loyal to her Abnegation family or become the person she is meant to be - someone Dauntless.
What if you possess more than one personality trait? What if you're a normal person and are kind, honest, brave, selfless, and intelligent all crammed into one?
ALERT! ALERT! You're Divergent!
How can someone be just one personality trait? It's impossible! Wouldn't everyone be Divergent? The idea is superb and overly brilliant, but it's truly unrealistic. The author never explains how this is possible.
And I think that's virtually my only problem with the story. The world-building simply didn't make sense to me. If there was a little more information on how the world was created and how it's possible for everyone to only have one personality trait, than this book would be a definite 5-star read.
As for the writing? It's beautiful, superb even. Veronica Roth does a wonderful job inserting so many sensory details into the story - it's truly eloquent. I could literally visualize all the fight scenes in my head, I could hear the crashing of the swords during the Dauntless training sessions - it was top-notch. First person present tense is definitely not the easiest tense to write in, but Roth writes so beautifully, so eloquently that she makes writing look virtually effortless, and I admired that about her writing.
The sentences didn't seem choppy or incomplete; they were all so complex and thought-out. Each sentence Roth writes is in the book for a reason, and I loved her simplistic, yet complex, writing style.
However, at some points the writing reminded me just a tad too much of the writing in the trilogy (that trilogy being [book:The Hunger Games|2767052]). However, this fact was easy to overlook because Roth simply wrote beautifully.
The book consisted of well-developed, multi-dementional characters - most of which I learned to love. One of my favorite things about Divergent was that there was so much character development in it! Each and every character - down to even the smallest of secondary characters - were well developed and, to put it simply, had so much depth within them.
I really liked Tris - I enjoyed her as both a protagonist and a person. She truly never gives in, and I just could not stop rooting for her! She was truly butt-kicking!
Aside from our main character Tris, there are lots of interesting secondary characters as well. I really enjoyed reading about characters such as Christina, Mr. and Mrs. Prior, Four, and Caleb. They too had so much depth and personality that they felt like real people to me - despite them being secondary characters.
I didn't really have many problems with the romance between Four and Tris. It certainly wasn't my favorite aspect of the book, but it wasn't my least favorite aspect either(* cough * the world-building * cough). I enjoyed how there was no love triangle in the story, and that the romance didn't overpower the story as a whole. However, I would still like to find a YA dystopia without a romance...
All in all, despite its world-building flaws, I really did enjoy Divergent. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire 487 pages, and I cannot wait to finish the series! (The last 150 pages were totally action-packed and I loved them!)
But, would I recommend this book? My answer would be yes. Even though it has a multitude of world-building-related flaws, it is still a highly entertaining and enjoyable read. However, if you do decide to read it, you should consider turning off your brain to help you get past the elements of the story containing poor world-building.
We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.The plot of Divergent was creative and original and I really enjoyed it! The premise is fresh, and unlike anything I've ever seen before, and I quite liked it! Veronica Roth truly lets her imagination soar while she writes, and I quite liked seeing her talents at their highest potential.
Our book is set in future dystopian Chicago. The world is now divided into five factions based on your personality traits. These five factions are:
On one day each year, every 16-year-old decides for themselves which faction they wish to be in for the rest of their lives. Our story follows Beatrice Prior on her sixteenth birthday. She must decide if she wishes to stay loyal to her Abnegation family or become the person she is meant to be - someone Dauntless.
What if you possess more than one personality trait? What if you're a normal person and are kind, honest, brave, selfless, and intelligent all crammed into one?
ALERT! ALERT! You're Divergent!
How can someone be just one personality trait? It's impossible! Wouldn't everyone be Divergent? The idea is superb and overly brilliant, but it's truly unrealistic. The author never explains how this is possible.
And I think that's virtually my only problem with the story. The world-building simply didn't make sense to me. If there was a little more information on how the world was created and how it's possible for everyone to only have one personality trait, than this book would be a definite 5-star read.
As for the writing? It's beautiful, superb even. Veronica Roth does a wonderful job inserting so many sensory details into the story - it's truly eloquent. I could literally visualize all the fight scenes in my head, I could hear the crashing of the swords during the Dauntless training sessions - it was top-notch. First person present tense is definitely not the easiest tense to write in, but Roth writes so beautifully, so eloquently that she makes writing look virtually effortless, and I admired that about her writing.
The sentences didn't seem choppy or incomplete; they were all so complex and thought-out. Each sentence Roth writes is in the book for a reason, and I loved her simplistic, yet complex, writing style.
However, at some points the writing reminded me just a tad too much of the writing in the trilogy (that trilogy being [book:The Hunger Games|2767052]). However, this fact was easy to overlook because Roth simply wrote beautifully.
The book consisted of well-developed, multi-dementional characters - most of which I learned to love. One of my favorite things about Divergent was that there was so much character development in it! Each and every character - down to even the smallest of secondary characters - were well developed and, to put it simply, had so much depth within them.
I really liked Tris - I enjoyed her as both a protagonist and a person. She truly never gives in, and I just could not stop rooting for her! She was truly butt-kicking!
Aside from our main character Tris, there are lots of interesting secondary characters as well. I really enjoyed reading about characters such as Christina, Mr. and Mrs. Prior, Four, and Caleb. They too had so much depth and personality that they felt like real people to me - despite them being secondary characters.
I didn't really have many problems with the romance between Four and Tris. It certainly wasn't my favorite aspect of the book, but it wasn't my least favorite aspect either
All in all, despite its world-building flaws, I really did enjoy Divergent. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire 487 pages, and I cannot wait to finish the series! (The last 150 pages were totally action-packed and I loved them!)
But, would I recommend this book? My answer would be yes. Even though it has a multitude of world-building-related flaws, it is still a highly entertaining and enjoyable read. However, if you do decide to read it, you should consider turning off your brain to help you get past the elements of the story containing poor world-building.
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