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gerzonvillegas's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape and Suicide
whilhelminaharker's review against another edition
1.5
For all that people give this series shit about it's hilariously simplistic and implausible worldbuilding, on this reread I'm inclined to give it a pass. Sure, dystopia is generally supposed to draw parallels to the world we're living in today, but <i>Divergent</i> belongs to that subsection of teenage-aimed sci-fi/fantasy where the world is meant to represent nothing more than the world of a child or young adult. It's more about the emotional turmoil that they go through existing in society, not so much about the society itself. Which is why, dumb as it is, I don't think that the premise here is that silly or worthless when viewed through that lens.
When you're growing up, you're trying to make sense of the arbitrary and yet seemingly all-important rituals and patterns that you see around you. You're trying to sort through your loyalty to your family, to your country, to your friends, and to your own indivuidal needs. You're growing up and realizing that the things you loved you have grown out of, or the people around you have changed, or the world always had a dark side and was never as simple as it seemed. You're trying to answer questions like "What do you want to be when you grow up?", which can feel stifling, especially when you don't know. You are, above all, trying to figure out who you are, and that feels practically impossible when adults don't see you as a full person yet, when pressure is being put on you to choose a path in life(and you better be successful at it), and when you don't even know what true selfhood means. Is it found in the people surrounding you? Is it found in striking off on your own? Is it found in professional acheivement? What defines your personality? Who are you?
So it makes total sense to me why Divergent resonated with a young audience. Is the metaphor clumsy? Sure. But is there value in it anyway? Yeah! I can respect any message aimed at young people that tells them not to buy into the false dichotomy and myth of "either-or" that society forces on us. Be loyal to every part of yourself. Be small and weak and brave and ruthless. Answer to yourself, not to the powers that be. I think that that's always going to be a good message to send to young people.
Doesn't change the fact that this book is horribly written, the characters have zero depth, and it really really stops being engaging once it moves out of the land of "coming-of-age story" and into "generic sci-fi war". But you know. I don't think that the work as a whole is totally worthless. If young girls are looking for stuff to read, this is far from the worst story they could be absorbing.
Also, why does every character have to be introduced with their name spelled out for us in dialogue? "Yeah, that's a great idea, Molly." "This is kind of what we signed up for, Peter." Did an editor even look at this?
When you're growing up, you're trying to make sense of the arbitrary and yet seemingly all-important rituals and patterns that you see around you. You're trying to sort through your loyalty to your family, to your country, to your friends, and to your own indivuidal needs. You're growing up and realizing that the things you loved you have grown out of, or the people around you have changed, or the world always had a dark side and was never as simple as it seemed. You're trying to answer questions like "What do you want to be when you grow up?", which can feel stifling, especially when you don't know. You are, above all, trying to figure out who you are, and that feels practically impossible when adults don't see you as a full person yet, when pressure is being put on you to choose a path in life(and you better be successful at it), and when you don't even know what true selfhood means. Is it found in the people surrounding you? Is it found in striking off on your own? Is it found in professional acheivement? What defines your personality? Who are you?
So it makes total sense to me why Divergent resonated with a young audience. Is the metaphor clumsy? Sure. But is there value in it anyway? Yeah! I can respect any message aimed at young people that tells them not to buy into the false dichotomy and myth of "either-or" that society forces on us. Be loyal to every part of yourself. Be small and weak and brave and ruthless. Answer to yourself, not to the powers that be. I think that that's always going to be a good message to send to young people.
Doesn't change the fact that this book is horribly written, the characters have zero depth, and it really really stops being engaging once it moves out of the land of "coming-of-age story" and into "generic sci-fi war". But you know. I don't think that the work as a whole is totally worthless. If young girls are looking for stuff to read, this is far from the worst story they could be absorbing.
Also, why does every character have to be introduced with their name spelled out for us in dialogue? "Yeah, that's a great idea, Molly." "This is kind of what we signed up for, Peter." Did an editor even look at this?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty