Divergent - Veronica Roth

Date Started: October 28, 2013
Date Finished: November 2, 2013

As readers of this blog (anyone out there?) know, I finally finished Wuthering Heights and was able to move on to Divergent. Nothing like some easy YA waiting for you to inspire you to finish that classic that's been hanging out on your Kindle home page.

So dystopian story, here we go...

I found the writing a little difficult to get into at first. The sentence structure was somewhat shorter and choppier than I was used to. But the more I progressed with the story, the easier the reading became, and the less I noticed the structure and cadence. I was drawn into the story, no question.

The plot, briefly, is about Beatrice Prior (Tris) who is Divergent, meaning her aptitude test (taken at age 16) shows that she could fit into three of the five factions: Erudite, Abnegation and Dauntless. At her choosing ceremony, she goes to Dauntless, which flies in the face of her upbringing in Abnegation. Lots of violence ensues, and Tris sheds her sheltered upbringing, finding love with her instructor (Four) along the way. Spoiler Alert: Erudite is plotting to take over, using a simulation that was implanted into the Dauntless, who become their unknowing army - well, everyone except the Divergent. Tris and Four  figure out a way to end the simulation, Tris' parents both die along the way, and they end up en route to the Amity headquarters.

There are some interesting subplots; one with Peter - clearly an enemy Tris will come up against in later books - and another with Al, the initiate who ultimately commits suicide after playing a role in Peter's plan to abduct and almost kill Tris.


The comparisons to The Hunger Games are obvious - dystopian stories with strong female leads, violence, some PG love (we'll see if it stays that way in the other two books) and pretty clear good vs. evil breakdowns. I also think there is the interesting fact that neither Katniss nor Tris are written in ways that make them 100% likable. Both are harsher and yet also stronger than the rest of the people around them.

This was an enjoyable read; would I go back and read it again? Maybe after some time has passed. I'm not sure if it will ultimately have the same hold over me that the Hunger Games did, but maybe. I'm withholding judgment until I finish all three (which is the benefit of waiting until the series is finished to start! No waiting for the next one to come out! (cough, cough, Game of Thrones)).