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A review by schenkelberg
Divergent by Veronica Roth
2.0
I'm in the process of ordering popular YA books for my classes' SSR times, supplementing the books that the library either doesn't have or only has a few copies of. This book is the first that I've read in that stack, although after reading Divergent I don't think I'll be so quick to read these unless I want to read something light.
Divergent is totally light and YA, as is evident that I could read its 700 odd pages in the course of a weekend, but it also has flashes of brilliance. The main criticism I have is that it seems really 'borrowed'. The factions are an amalgamation of the houses in Harry Potter and the districts in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are probably the biggest influence, although that is kind of unexpected considering the genre and dystopian setting - I don't know that you could write something with those two aspects right now that doesn't sound like the Hunger Games. Other parts that were less enjoyable was the teen romance, which seemed more influenced by rom coms than actual passion. It would have been so much better to really focus on their Abnegation origins, instead of throwing in that piece as a single line. Also, the villains kept easing up! They had all the means and motivations to do what they wanted, and they didn't, without even an a dumb explanation or a deus ex machina.
The good parts - the character development was strong, when it was going overboard (Eric bites his lip ring, again). I wanted more about the formation of the factions, more about how they worked in conjunction (why were the Amity doing the farming, and not Abnegation?), esp. the role of high technology. The plot wasn't that great, but did find good ways to be unexpected. Until the ending, which seemed pretty sloppy, there were some really good surprises.
Overall I think it would be a great read for my students, who will overlook the plot holes and get drawn into the strong characters and the drama. The fact that its linked with a film just increases the draw, and hopefully some students who read it will then be inspired to pick up another book next.
Divergent is totally light and YA, as is evident that I could read its 700 odd pages in the course of a weekend, but it also has flashes of brilliance. The main criticism I have is that it seems really 'borrowed'. The factions are an amalgamation of the houses in Harry Potter and the districts in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are probably the biggest influence, although that is kind of unexpected considering the genre and dystopian setting - I don't know that you could write something with those two aspects right now that doesn't sound like the Hunger Games. Other parts that were less enjoyable was the teen romance, which seemed more influenced by rom coms than actual passion. It would have been so much better to really focus on their Abnegation origins, instead of throwing in that piece as a single line. Also, the villains kept easing up! They had all the means and motivations to do what they wanted, and they didn't, without even an a dumb explanation or a deus ex machina.
The good parts - the character development was strong, when it was going overboard (Eric bites his lip ring, again). I wanted more about the formation of the factions, more about how they worked in conjunction (why were the Amity doing the farming, and not Abnegation?), esp. the role of high technology. The plot wasn't that great, but did find good ways to be unexpected. Until the ending, which seemed pretty sloppy, there were some really good surprises.
Overall I think it would be a great read for my students, who will overlook the plot holes and get drawn into the strong characters and the drama. The fact that its linked with a film just increases the draw, and hopefully some students who read it will then be inspired to pick up another book next.