Review: Divergent Book Series by Veronica Roth

Today’s book review is actually going to cover all three books in the series. I thought about doing one review for each, but I’m pretty sure I can get all my thoughts out about all of them in one post. I want to say first that I know a lot of people compare these to the Hunger Games series, and even more so with the movies, but I really don’t see it. Apart from being about a young woman struggling in a dystopian future, they are worlds apart.

So, here’s what the series is about:

DIVERGENT:

This is the first book in the series. It starts off the story of Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior, who lives in a future time where the world has been mostly destroyed through war and her city lives in factions. The factions are divided into Erudite (the smarty-pants), Candor (the truth-tellers), Amity (the nice hippies), Dauntless (the tough guys) and Abnegation (the goodie two-shoes). Tris grew up in Abnegation, but when she turns 16 she has to attend a choosing ceremony where she must choose which faction she will belong to. Before the ceremony she undergoes a series of tests to determine which faction she would be strongest in. The tests show that she doesn’t belong in one more than another, which makes her a Divergent (yep there’s the title!). So basically she chooses Dauntless and has to hide her divergentness all the while trying to make it through the intense Dauntless training/selection process that, if she fails, will cause her to be kicked out and become factionless. Then the crap hits the fan and she must ‘save the day’. Aren’t I just the best at describing plotlines!

INSURGENT:

Takes off where the first book left off. Tris and her group are on the run and are officially factionless. She and her boyfriend, Four have to navigate how to beat the bad guys and also how to not kill each other when they annoy the crap out of each other. There are obstacles that carry on from the first book, but the main problem arises from conflict between Four’s estranged parents. There’s a lot of family conflict and betrayal in this one, and some characters start to play surprising parts. Right at the end a major twist is revealed that completely changes the pace for the third novel. Seriously, I am so good at this! In all honesty, I’m just trying not to ruin it for anyone who might want to read it!

ALLEGIANT:

This is where it gets a bit weird. They venture out past their city limits, something that has never been done before (or so they thought). They meet a whole new group of people and realise that the threats don’t just exist inside the limits of the city. They have to rush to stop both conflicts on the inside and the outside worlds. This one also includes alternating chapters of Tris’ point of view and Four’s. The ending to this series has been quite widely discussed, and I’m sure if you google it you will find out what I’m talking about, but I’m not going to ruin it here. I had to find out  through reading, I think everyone else should too!

THE GOOD:

I really did enjoy this series. I was compelled to read them after seeing the first movie and becoming a little obsessed. If I had to pick an order I would probably choose Insurgent, Divergent and then Allegiant. I was a little apprehensive about even the movie when I saw so many people comparing it to the Hunger Games because I’m really not a fan of them. I tried to read the books and only made it halfway through the first book before becoming bored and I barely made it through the first movie. I thought it was only okay. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy Divergent (the movie). As an avid reader it was only natural to read the books. The first and second books are almost equal in my liking of them with Insurgent only leading slightly. I find them to be very well written. They don’t read too descriptively and are easy to get through. I have a lot of trouble with books that are overly descriptive (I’m looking at you Mr. Tolkien! I will finish your books!), mainly because it stunts my imagination, which is very overactive. I love being able to envision the worlds I’m reading about, and I find it really difficult to do that when the author tells you every single teeny tiny detail. Veronica Roth doesn’t do that at all. She gives just the right amount of description, and leaves the rest to your imagination. I also didn’t grow tire of the love story in the series. Tris and Four weren’t one of those mushy couples, which I can’t stand to read. I like that she stood up for herself and kick arse just as much, and even more so than he did. She was hero of the book and so was he. It was very cool to see a book that didn’t have one side of gender saving the day, but both of them doing it together, as equals. Very refreshing.

THE BAD:

*Sigh*. The controversial end wasn’t great. I wasn’t bother by the ending at all, but the means to the end is what I was bothered by. It wasn’t a necessary evil for me. It could have been avoided in the storyline and if that end absolutely had to be, then it should have happened differently. Actually, most of my issues with the series have to do with Allegiant. I wasn’t a fan of the alternating points of view. If they had of been portrayed completely differently it would have been another story, but I honestly didn’t realise I was reading Four’s point of view until he referred to Tris by her name. Then I had to go back and see what the hell was going on. It felt very forced and it also felt very lazy. She didn’t seem to put much effort at all into creating two completely different points of view. If the start of each chapter didn’t say who was narrating I wouldn’t have been able to tell. It’s the first time these characters became less relatable to me. I found it really hard to believe that these two people thought and felt things in nearly the exact same way. It just was a real letdown.

THE OVERALL:

I really did like this series, despite being slightly let down by the third book. I do think Roth writes really well and created a compelling and unique dystopian world. I can see, after reading the third book, why people had problems with it, but despite what you might have heard, if this is a genre that interests you I definitely recommend giving it a whirl. They’re easy to read and keep you interested and I was really happy that I bought the set because I would definitely read them again.