Divergent- Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger.
This
book has had a lot of hype in the blogosphere – first when it was originally
released last year and more recently with the release of the second book in the
series, Insurgent. And...I think I got pulled into the hype. While I liked it,
I didn’t love it.
Tris
has to make the choice of which of the five factions she wants to live in.
After growing up in Abnegation, the selfless one, she finally chooses Dauntless
the brave and starts her initiation training. The training was interesting and
liked the hints at the differences between learning to face fear and bullying –
it’s a subtle but important difference. The emotional journey as Tris comes to
terms with who she is and what she wants from life was intriguing and I loved
the way she bonded and competed with her fellow initiates. There is a romance
which I confess I didn’t really buy into as it happened a little too quickly –
the initiation was only a month long!
Then
about 70 pages from the end the tale of self-discovery suddenly changes
entirely into a full revolution action adventure. I don’t want to give too much
away but the final part of the book is a full on adrenaline rush which rushes
about at break-neck speed. While I liked the pace and could tell that something
big was building, it still felt like a very sudden change from the book style
up to then – I nearly got whiplash!
Overall,
this was a nice, diverting read but I didn’t really fall for Tris, Four and the
others as much some people have. I will read Insurgent but I think I will try
to borrow it off Sarah rather owning a copy! I might have liked it more if I
didn’t know much about it before hand though...
Recommended
for fans of Veronica Rossi and Suzanne Collins. 7 out of 10.
I'm sorry it wasn't as good as you thought at first. I need to read it, to have my own opinion, thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteHm..now I do not know anymore. Oh well if the library gets it then yes :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review
Aw... I'm sorry you didn't love it as many people I know did. I will keep this in mind when reading my copy... which is staring at me right as I type this. It still sounds like something I'd really enjoy.
ReplyDeleteHuh. I was afraid of getting caught up in the hype too. I have the book here on the shelf but haven't picked it up for kinda that reason. Thanks for the review. And sounds like a wonderful read. :)
ReplyDeleteI did really enjoy Divergent, although in that world we wouldn't be friends Mel - I'd be Candor or Amity I think, and you'd be Erudite! I am nearing the end of Insurgent, so I'll hand it over when I see you next :-)
ReplyDeleteI know if I hadn't read The Hunger Games first, I'd have really fallen in love with this novel. I think it was the first truly dystopian read I picked up. Still, I enjoyed it and the romance between Tris and Four. I like when Tris has to face her worst fears. I can't wait to read Insurgent, but I'm going to have to reread Divergent since it's been like a year.
ReplyDelete-Jenna @ Fans of Fiction
Nice Review, I thought that the romance was a bit out of the blue aswell. Didin't have the time to develop. It was still a great read. If you want to read my review on DIvergent your welcome to do so.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bookmark-reviews.blogspot.ca/2012/07/divergent-review.html
I agree with this review very much. The romance wasn't very well developed, but I liked the plot a lot.
ReplyDelete