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azileotulp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Even with those issues though, I actually really loved this book. It truly baffles me. I found the plot really engaging, as nonsensical as it was at times.
The book does struggle a bit in the characters department. Throughout the book, the only characters I found myself loving were Four,
I feel like one of the characters really holding this book back is Tris herself. She's just so... mean?? Not outwardly, but so many of her thoughts are unpleasant. It was realistic, I suppose, but so hard to read. I'm also not a fan of Christina, but I feel like she's going to be a main character throughout the series, so I'll just put up with her. Maybe she'll get more interesting.
Overall, I really liked this book even though everything was working against it. The story was just wild enough to make it interesting and fun to read. I've heard that the common opinion is that the books in this series only get worse after this one. I'll try to keep an open mind, but based on the ending of this book, I have a feeling I'll end up agreeing.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, and War
stindex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
abbycasey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol
elija_20's review against another edition
- 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
As someone who watched the films first and loved them, I can confidently say the books are SO much better. I loved all the little details and plot points that the film missed and just the description of Tris’ emotions that couldn’t be translated to film.
One piece of advice I would give if you are reading this after watching the films is that the characters of Tris and especially Four are (in my opinion) very different to the books compared to the films. I would recommend starting the books with this in mind and you will enjoy it and relate to the characters better.
Even if you haven’t watched the films, oh my goodness I would recommend this book to anyone. Cant wait to read the next one.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Alcohol
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
imaginaryisobel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Confinement
r0ry_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
That being said, I think this is one of the few examples where the movie is better than the book. The plot in the movie is much more cohesive, covering important details without repetition and dragging them out, and characters that are much more consistent in personality. I also wasn’t a big fan of the plot bouncing around.
By cohesiveness I mean that there were just so many moments that could have been combined, altered, or switched around for a more compact story. I think each moment added something but it could have been done differently, like in the movie. There is so much more focus on the goals because of how everything is put together.
The book also has tons of repetition and drawn out arcs without fully delving into them. That applies to the characters as well as plot. I felt like we constantly were hearing how strong Tris is and how much she doesn’t want people to see her as weak, and there were moments that displayed that better in her actions. It could have been left at that, like in moments where she thought about comforting Al or Caleb, and decided not to. If anything it bothered her to see that “weakness” displayed. I like that Tris is a flawed character who feels she has to prove herself, especially given her age, but it became overkill at times. We see that Tris is strong, and that she’s worried about people not seeing her as strong, so it didn’t need to be states so much. There was also just so much of Tris getting through all the challenges and sims to become dauntless, which in retrospect is a subplot to the major plot. I think the movie was better at showing how she was navigating the world as Divergent and finding out what that meant in the midst of her training.
I also liked the personalities for the characters more in the movie, because we see moments of that in books, but it can be a bit inconsistent or less favorable. I think Four and Tori are better portrayed in the movies.
Ultimately I think what is happening here is a big plot that is so dependent on who they are and where they fit in and other aspects that movie or shape the plot get overlooked. It also is not as creative as I remembered. Once more, with the movie outshining in terms of world building.
However, despite all the criticisms, I can still see why it got adapted because there is a lot of potential and you still end up invested in the characters.
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death
Homelessness, comment about scalping, near-drowning.hayleyvem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Genocide, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
duchess16's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcohol