Divergent - Book One

     I read Divergent by Veronica Roth in around eight hours. It was very good! At less than a hundred pages in I was hooked, and when I got to chapter twelve I didn't want to put it down even though I had to. This is my favorite Dystopian book I have read (although I can count the number of Dystopian books I have read on one hand). The factions Roth made in Divergent are fascinating and I can see the individual mindsets of each faction in society today, although we act in a more 'divergent' matter, not restricting ourselves to one mindset. If I ever did end up in Divergent and was put in a faction, I would be in Abnegation, the selfless. I thought that as I read it and took the quiz at the end and ended up in that faction too. :)

     As for characters I instantly fell in love with Tris (Beatrice) and Four. Tris' evolution through the book was executed will, although there were times when I was floored by her thought process/selfishness that became stronger during the climax of the story (it's the Abnegation in me, I suppose). But I liked how in the resolution of the book she over came that overwhelming selfishness. She went from attempting to be selfless 24/7 in Abnegation, something extremely difficult and many times impossible to do even in the real 'world', to become a selfish Dauntless who wasn't afraid of revenge. Over the span of the book her instructor, Four, taught her that she needed a balance of the two, and I found it artistic how Roth symbolized the symbiosis of the two factions with Tris' tattoos.

     I think my largest complaint would be that the romantic relationship between Tris and Four was pivotal in Tris' development. I wish it could have been less focused on that. If Roth had waited until the end of the first book to flesh out their relationship's I wouldn't have argued. But I am very, very interested to pick up the next book in the series, Insurgent, to see how it all pans out relationship wise.

     Oh, and just for fun here are my picks for Disney characters and the Faction that they best fit:

Candor: Pinocchio
Abnegation: Snow White
Dauntless: Mulan
Amity: Pocahontas
Erudite: Belle

     Agree? Disagree? Share with me :)




One of the goals for this blog is to provide information for parents and readers alike to find 'clean' reads suitable for their children or themselves. In all my reviews I will mention general themes from the book, language, sexual/romantic interaction, and violence.

     Themes:
 Dystopian, revolution, power, control, government

       Language:
One or two words, very very light.

       Sexual/Romantic Interaction
Tris and Four's relationship is pivotal throughout the book. Many kissing scenes, some more passionate than others. A few times sex is mentioned/talked about.

       Violence
Heavy on the violence. The Dauntless initiation is very violent. There are guns, stabbing, facing fears, killing, murder, mind control throughout the entire book.

      I would give Divergent a rating of mild PG-13


      On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = horrible, 2 = OK, 3 = I liked it, 4 = I really liked it, 5 = I loved it), I would give Divergent a 4.5