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Divergent (Divergent, #1)

Veronica Roth

Start date: January 16, 2012

Finish date: February 16, 2012

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What Members Thought

Jun 09, 2011 D.G. rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook, reviewed, sucked, young-adult, dystopia

A Ludicrous Premise or Why Dystopia Authors Should Use A Thing Called Logic

(This review is both long and has some spoilers so read at your own risk.)

This book is a sort of a Hunger Games wannabe but with less violence and a really silly premise that doesn’t make any sense.

In this society, people are divided in groups based on personality traits. The author doesn’t even mention why Chicagoans abandoned one of the tenets of American society (personal liberty) to become a cluster of group-thinks wh A Ludicrous Premise or Why Dystopia Authors Should Use A Thing Called Logic

(This review is both long and has some spoilers so read at your own risk.)

This book is a sort of a Hunger Games wannabe but with less violence and a really silly premise that doesn’t make any sense.

In this society, people are divided in groups based on personality traits. The author doesn’t even mention why Chicagoans abandoned one of the tenets of American society (personal liberty) to become a cluster of group-thinks where each person has an aptitude for only ONE out of FIVE paths. And because all 16-year olds know without a doubt what they want to do for the rest of their lives, each person must choose their faction at that age without the possibility of going back. You must agree that this framework tops the U.S. Constitution so it’s no wonder this people picked it.

The book is YA so it’s not a surprise which faction Tris (the main character) chooses. I mean, do you think teenagers want to read about somebody doing charity, being peaceful, studying or telling the truth all the time? Yeah, right. What follows is a series of really stupid stunts, all executed in the name of ‘bravery.’ In real life, most of these kids would have been dead in days but in the book, they continually perform very dangerous feats in a lawless environment where criminal acts are not reported because “I don’t want them to think I’m afraid of them.” And these are the people who are supposed to protect others! Following this line of thinking, Police Academy recruits should be allowed to maim and terrorize each other just to prove how brave they are.

The author is from the ‘say one thing, but show another’ school of characterization. Tris is said to be brave, smart and selfless but her actions show her as judgmental, proud, calculating, petulant, whiny, petty and obtuse. She calls somebody who cries weak, she’s always afraid of what others would think of her, she can’t forgive and when she does she has a reason behind it, and never figures out on her own which faction Four came from, even though there are almost neon signs pointing at the right faction.

One of the most disturbing things I find about this story is the main character’s disdain for the Erudite, which is the faction tied to books and learning. All over the book there are subtle digs about how learning is suspect: “Valuing knowledge above all else results in a lust for power, and that leads men into dark and empty places” Or “now [Erudite] pursue knowledge and ingenuity with greedy hearts.” Tris even does her own version of book burning when she throws the Erudite articles into the Chasm. As you can see, our main character is quite a gal!

At the same time, the plot cast suspicions on the Abnegation, implying they are not as nice as they seem. So basically the book is telling us to mistrust both those that value knowledge and those that help others. If the point of the book was to reveal that people are self-interested, I’m sorry to inform you Ms. Roth, but we knew that already. Adam Smith wrote about it in The Wealth of Nations and our whole economic system (capitalism) is based on that.

The villains are of the mustache twirling variety with plans of - you guessed it - world (or at least Chicago) domination. They are eeevil, eeevil with no redeeming features. The goal of their dastardly plot is “to work towards a world in which people live in wealth, comfort and prosperity.” But wait…that doesn’t sound so bad! What’s the problem with being well off? That is, until Tris asks “At whose expense? All that wealth doesn’t come from nowhere.” And the villains disclose that their master plan centers in the subjugation of other factions!! Doesn't everybody know that to be rich, you have to trample on somebody? It doesn’t have anything to do with productivity or creating a product or service that other people want and will pay you for it. Wealth is a zero-sum game and the only way for people to be rich is to stick it to somebody else. (Clearly, Ms. Roth didn’t take Economics 101 when she was in college.)

One of the few good things I found about the book is that sex is addressed (which is a big problem I have with YA) and Four is an interesting character. But that’s about it.

The narration is below average. The narrator can’t do different voices so when more than one person is talking, it’s very difficult to know who’s speaking. At least the book is pretty much all internal monologues with relatively few conversations so I was able to follow what was going on.

Overall, an ordinary dystopia read with a ludicrous premise. I’m sorry for Four, but I’m not willing to read the sequel just to see what happens to him. ...more

33 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2011 Marla rated it it was amazing

Shelves: with-reservations, award-winner, young-adult, girl-power, romance, fantasy, favorites-ya, dystopia, long, adventure

4.5 stars. Thrilling book...lots of elements...adventure, danger, romance, competition, enemies, family, friendship, betrayal. Great to read a popular YA book that is not overrated. I admire Tris and I would be attracted to Four.

I'm not a dystopian fan, but I'm so glad I read this book for a group book of the month. Divergent is criticized for not being a true dystopian book, maybe that's why I liked it, ha, ha.

This book should've made me cry, but it didn't, so something was missing and this is ...more

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Nov 27, 2013 Cindy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, br-buddy-reads, 2023

I liked it.

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2015 Catsalive rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, 2016, 2020

3.5 ★

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2010 Logan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: movie-tv, own-bought-paper, dystopian-post-apocalyptic

First impressions: I picked this one up, read through the first few chapters, and then put it down for months. I did not find the beginning of this book that compelling.

Lasting impressions: However, once I got into the story, I had a hard time putting it down. The plot moves swiftly and it’s easy to get swept away in this one.

Conflicting impressions: I spent too much time wondering A) why more people weren’t Divergent; and B) what was so bad about being Divergent.

Overall impressions: A well dev First impressions: I picked this one up, read through the first few chapters, and then put it down for months. I did not find the beginning of this book that compelling.

Lasting impressions: However, once I got into the story, I had a hard time putting it down. The plot moves swiftly and it’s easy to get swept away in this one.

Conflicting impressions: I spent too much time wondering A) why more people weren’t Divergent; and B) what was so bad about being Divergent.

Overall impressions: A well developed world is the key to success where dystopians are concerned. As a reader, I need to know the rules of the current society and why they were created. Why are there factions? How do they function to protect the people? How important is their existence to the ruling powers? What is at stake if they fail? How does Divergence factor into this all? Roth does a fair job at trying to answer these, and some were more satisfactory answers than others.

Beatrice (Tris) is a pleasant enough protagonist. I appreciated that she wasn’t the best at everything. In several scenes we actually see her overpowered and humiliated by her fellow faction-mates. She’s not helpless, though, and she certainly proves her value as time goes on. Four, the love interest, is somewhat bland, but I found the supporting characters to be interesting and vivid. While Tris is completing her faction’s initiation, there is a Hunger Games-like feel to things, where this group of young people is going through hell together, but also competing against one another. It makes for a great dynamic.

As much as I liked the initiation process, it took up too much of the plot for me, to the detriment of the development of the larger conflict. Only after initiation is nearly complete do we start to understand the bigger issues at play in this world, and the climax of the book seemed cramped into too few pages as a result. I wish we had gotten more insights into the inter-faction rumblings beyond some seemingly benign animosity between Erudite and Abnegation. Perhaps it’s my own interest in politics that had me craving more of this, but I think it would have been helpful to know.

I can see why this series has inspired so many rabid fans. It’s heavy on action with an exciting setting, and there’s a nice romance that I can appreciate (even if it wasn’t my favorite). For me, however, this one failed to live up to the hype. ...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Christal rated it it was amazing

Shelves: female-lead, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, ya-and-na, mind-bullets, shady-government-agency, war, creepy-school-setting

I really enjoyed this book! The captivating writing and wonderful characters made it easy for me to go along with Ms. Roth's version of a dystopian Chicago. Even though the five faction scenario was a little wobbly, I still loved every minute of this book.

Tris was a great character. She had an internal fortitude that served her well throughout this book. She didn't have all the answers, but she never backed down from a challenge. I am looking forward to finding out more about what being divergen ...more

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Apr 15, 2014 Krissy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, imperfect-heroine, read-before-2015, abuse, scarred-nerdy-imperfect-heroes, virginal-hero, buddy-read

Decent

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Jan 07, 2015 Avigail rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: physical-book, 2015

This story grabs you on page ONE! Divergent introduces readers to a world where society is divided into factions. The world building leaves a vivid image, the plot keeps readers on their toes it keeps you guessing but reveals enough though the story that you don't get frustrated with the plot. You, as the reader, become one with the world, engaged by Beatrice, aka Tris. Her voice resonates within us, any reader whether male/female can relate to her inner "emotional" struggles, as well as, her ph ...more

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Aug 06, 2013 Meredith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

It's not wholly original but it took all of my favorite elements from The Giver Quartet and the Hunger Games trilogy and made itself into something that could possibly be my new favorite dystopian series. Can't wait to read the next one :) ...more

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