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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
booksawyer'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
4.75
I would recommend that everyone even remotely interested in YA Dystopia should pick this book up at some point. Experiencing the book for the first time is a memorable experience, one that a lot of people can get something from.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty and Gun violence
whilhelminaharker's review against another edition
1.5
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?
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty