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aylas_journey's review against another edition
4.0
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. FWIW, the movie seems to capture the book fairly well.
ghostbook_5's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bookishbaird1's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing!!! i love the characters and i love the story line. yeahh i love this book.
booksreadbydeepti's review against another edition
4.0
This is really interesting, so many feelings emotions thoughts came across to me, while reading this. Though it may be young adult, it doesn't seem to me that way,Tris is so mature for her age,the way she handles herself is amazing,
I must say hats off to the author, for the way it is written. It is an emotional roller coaster, but still i loved to take a ride in it
I must say hats off to the author, for the way it is written. It is an emotional roller coaster, but still i loved to take a ride in it
emmagb8's review against another edition
3.25
Listening definitely helped make it more interesting tbh
delphineseghers's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
evedavisx's review against another edition
5.0
this is a perfect book and i will not take any slander
all the nostalgia from the re read
all the nostalgia from the re read
kimreadz's review against another edition
4.0
This one is really good! One of the things that made me pick it up was the setting. It is set iin Chicago of the future, after an apparently catastrophic event. Anyone who has spent much time in Chicago will recognize the landmarks; the Sears/Willis Tower, the El, Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River, etc...all present but abandoned and/or in major disrepair.
The society is now divided into five factions, each who value a different attribute as the most important. There is honest (Candor), peaceful (Amity), selfless (Abnegation), intelligent (Erudite), and brave (Dauntless). Though each faction realizes there is some dependency on the others for the survival of the entire community, none of them like, or trust, the other factions. There is also a large segment of ‘factionless’ or homeless people that do not fit into any faction.
Once a year, all 16 year olds must choose their faction. Leading up to this, everyone takes aptitude tests to find what their true character is. While they are free to choose any faction they wish, their is supposed to be only one aptitude present in each person. And even though they go through the testing, there is a lot of pressure to remain with the faction they grew up in, even if that is not their aptitude. To leave your faction is pretty much unforgiveable. And there are no ‘do-overs’. If you get to your new faction and decide you made a mistake, your choice is to fit in as best you can, or to become one of the factionless.
There are also a certain number of people who are ‘divergent’; those who show an aptitude for more than one faction. This is not something they want known, as they are considered a threat to the society. Beatrice Prior is one of the Divergent. She was raised in Abnegation, but chooses to become one of the Dauntless. The initiation process if very difficult, with the Dauntless definition of bravery bordering on insane as they jump off of building for fun among other things. Very few initiates are actually accepted into Dauntless at the end of initiation; most either die trying, or they become factionless.
This story follows Beatrice through her transformation to Tris as she undertakes the initiation. As she becomes more and more ‘Dauntless’, she makes friends and develops relationships, particularly wiht her trainer, Four. Meanwhile the factions become more and more divided. Without giving anything away, I will just tell you, that as the tensions build, the story gets very exciting and there is plenty of action! You will want to have the next book, Insurgent’, waiting in the wings, as you will not want to wait to find out what happens next!
I'm giving this one 4-1/2 stars!
The society is now divided into five factions, each who value a different attribute as the most important. There is honest (Candor), peaceful (Amity), selfless (Abnegation), intelligent (Erudite), and brave (Dauntless). Though each faction realizes there is some dependency on the others for the survival of the entire community, none of them like, or trust, the other factions. There is also a large segment of ‘factionless’ or homeless people that do not fit into any faction.
Once a year, all 16 year olds must choose their faction. Leading up to this, everyone takes aptitude tests to find what their true character is. While they are free to choose any faction they wish, their is supposed to be only one aptitude present in each person. And even though they go through the testing, there is a lot of pressure to remain with the faction they grew up in, even if that is not their aptitude. To leave your faction is pretty much unforgiveable. And there are no ‘do-overs’. If you get to your new faction and decide you made a mistake, your choice is to fit in as best you can, or to become one of the factionless.
There are also a certain number of people who are ‘divergent’; those who show an aptitude for more than one faction. This is not something they want known, as they are considered a threat to the society. Beatrice Prior is one of the Divergent. She was raised in Abnegation, but chooses to become one of the Dauntless. The initiation process if very difficult, with the Dauntless definition of bravery bordering on insane as they jump off of building for fun among other things. Very few initiates are actually accepted into Dauntless at the end of initiation; most either die trying, or they become factionless.
This story follows Beatrice through her transformation to Tris as she undertakes the initiation. As she becomes more and more ‘Dauntless’, she makes friends and develops relationships, particularly wiht her trainer, Four. Meanwhile the factions become more and more divided. Without giving anything away, I will just tell you, that as the tensions build, the story gets very exciting and there is plenty of action! You will want to have the next book, Insurgent’, waiting in the wings, as you will not want to wait to find out what happens next!
I'm giving this one 4-1/2 stars!
kaiteayu's review against another edition
3.0
*spoilers*
I definitely understand why Divergent got the popularity that it did. It’s a great read. Fast-paced. And at 19 still has me squealing over the main leads when they have their cute scenes. This being my first time reading divergent and never watching the movies, I was unaware of what to expect. I read the book for my Children's Literature class that I’m taking this semester; the requirement was to read a young adult book. I decided it was time to read the whole series because I’ve been holding off on it for so long.
At first, I was confused with how the society is set up. An individual is so complex. How can they just be put into one category? How is a personality blamed for wars? The setup of the society is incoherent, and I completely forget about Candor and Amity because they aren’t brought up to much in the first book. I look forward to them hopefully being included in the following books. The confusion of society is eventually glossed over by Tris’s initiation into becoming a Dauntless. I’ve seen many people talk about how Tris is a flawed character, and I agree and understand why. She’s a sixteen-year-old girl conflicted over who she wants to be as a person. Society is telling her to put her faction above everything else. When she chooses a new faction to join, it’s looked down on by her original faction. This goes to show the flaws and distrust between the factions and emphasizes their differences rather than being parts of a whole. I read the first chapter of the second book, Insurgent, and Tris was surprised by how knowledgeable Johanna (A representative of Amity) is when greeting other faction members. It’s purposely set up to be an issue, but no one seems to be open to accepting other factions. Going back to Tris being a flawed character, she becomes selfless yet selfish. She protected Al but also, once he passed away, was very cold about it. I know Al portrayed her, but sometimes she seems to be two people, which may have been the whole point. Self-conflict. She thought Al’s s*icide was an act of a coward. And I gasped when I read that. But at the same time, when I was younger, I knew people who had that way of thinking. Also, she’s from a district that believes that s*cide is a selfish act. Most things Tris does or thinks, even though it’s not entirely thought out, I understand. I don’t agree with some things, but I understand. I’ve seen good points about how the book is not detailed enough at times, and I agree to an extent. There were parts during fighting scenes and jumping on/off the train that isn’t super descriptive, and so I’m left with a few details to go off of. Though I still got enough detail in quite a few scenes, I could always imagine the settings. I would love it if it were one of those books with a map to see where the factions are because I’m not sure how to picture them.
My favorite character was Uriah. I liked reading about him. I think he was very open and respected Tris in a way that many of the other initiates didn’t. Four also had that aspect to him. He saw her in a way that didn’t need protecting but the way he sees himself. Being from the same district and being in a ruthless faction at a young age, he wants to help her and eventually catches feelings. I liked the transition from seeing four as a guarded person to being open with Tris, and I realized he’s still a young adult trying to find his way in the world. Some parts had me swoon, and others had me cringe. For reference, Tris and Four kissed for the first time the previous night, and Four has never sat with her in front of people. “I smile at him and lift my hand to wave him over, but he sits down next to Zeke without even glancing in my direction, so I let my hand drop.” I had to put the book down before continuing after that. We had a good thing going. Now I’m just embarrassed.
I read the book extremely fast, and it helped me get out of my reading slump, so I’m grateful. There could be room for improvement that the following books hopefully can bring, and I need to re-read Divergent to look more closely for themes for my class. For now, I give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it and look forward to the others.
I definitely understand why Divergent got the popularity that it did. It’s a great read. Fast-paced. And at 19 still has me squealing over the main leads when they have their cute scenes. This being my first time reading divergent and never watching the movies, I was unaware of what to expect. I read the book for my Children's Literature class that I’m taking this semester; the requirement was to read a young adult book. I decided it was time to read the whole series because I’ve been holding off on it for so long.
At first, I was confused with how the society is set up. An individual is so complex. How can they just be put into one category? How is a personality blamed for wars? The setup of the society is incoherent, and I completely forget about Candor and Amity because they aren’t brought up to much in the first book. I look forward to them hopefully being included in the following books. The confusion of society is eventually glossed over by Tris’s initiation into becoming a Dauntless. I’ve seen many people talk about how Tris is a flawed character, and I agree and understand why. She’s a sixteen-year-old girl conflicted over who she wants to be as a person. Society is telling her to put her faction above everything else. When she chooses a new faction to join, it’s looked down on by her original faction. This goes to show the flaws and distrust between the factions and emphasizes their differences rather than being parts of a whole. I read the first chapter of the second book, Insurgent, and Tris was surprised by how knowledgeable Johanna (A representative of Amity) is when greeting other faction members. It’s purposely set up to be an issue, but no one seems to be open to accepting other factions. Going back to Tris being a flawed character, she becomes selfless yet selfish. She protected Al but also, once he passed away, was very cold about it. I know Al portrayed her, but sometimes she seems to be two people, which may have been the whole point. Self-conflict. She thought Al’s s*icide was an act of a coward. And I gasped when I read that. But at the same time, when I was younger, I knew people who had that way of thinking. Also, she’s from a district that believes that s*cide is a selfish act. Most things Tris does or thinks, even though it’s not entirely thought out, I understand. I don’t agree with some things, but I understand. I’ve seen good points about how the book is not detailed enough at times, and I agree to an extent. There were parts during fighting scenes and jumping on/off the train that isn’t super descriptive, and so I’m left with a few details to go off of. Though I still got enough detail in quite a few scenes, I could always imagine the settings. I would love it if it were one of those books with a map to see where the factions are because I’m not sure how to picture them.
My favorite character was Uriah. I liked reading about him. I think he was very open and respected Tris in a way that many of the other initiates didn’t. Four also had that aspect to him. He saw her in a way that didn’t need protecting but the way he sees himself. Being from the same district and being in a ruthless faction at a young age, he wants to help her and eventually catches feelings. I liked the transition from seeing four as a guarded person to being open with Tris, and I realized he’s still a young adult trying to find his way in the world. Some parts had me swoon, and others had me cringe. For reference, Tris and Four kissed for the first time the previous night, and Four has never sat with her in front of people. “I smile at him and lift my hand to wave him over, but he sits down next to Zeke without even glancing in my direction, so I let my hand drop.” I had to put the book down before continuing after that. We had a good thing going. Now I’m just embarrassed.
I read the book extremely fast, and it helped me get out of my reading slump, so I’m grateful. There could be room for improvement that the following books hopefully can bring, and I need to re-read Divergent to look more closely for themes for my class. For now, I give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it and look forward to the others.
aepbuilder's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75