Words can't describe my undeniable
love for this book. And no, it is not because I'm jumping on the
bandwagon. One day before school let out for summer, I decided to sit
my butt down at the computer while there was a break in my television
show. Of all the random moments, I turned around at the exact time of
a brand new movie trailer, with the most beautiful man I've ever seen
on screen for a split second. That split second encouraged me to look
up the actor because I'm a sucker for the bad guys. After twenty
minutes of staring at Jai Courtney's Wikipedia page, I stumbled upon
the Wikipedia page for that new movie: Divergent.
As I was scrolling down the page, I
came across a link to another. That was the moment I discovered that
this Divergent
movie was not just a movie. Before it had become this shimmery beacon
of attractive male actors and gorgeous Hollywood leading ladies, it
was a book. The first book in a trilogy to be specific. Unlike my
fellow book lovers, I went against the more basic “rule”of them
all: I saw the movie before I read the books. Queue daunting,
dramatic music while closing in on my face dripping with guilt. Yeah.
I felt like I had cheated on the loyal fans of the books. My bad
y'all.
Watching this
movie gave me a strange adrenaline rush I used to get when I
watched really spectacular films, or even when I finished a breath
taking book. Hence, the worst and best obstacle I've faced in terms
of books. Right after I watched the movie, I marched myself over to
Target, and bought the box set. I was on a high like no other. Two
weeks later, spring break was in full swing. I stared and stared at
the box set. Suddenly, I lost my patience. I ripped open the box set
and took out Divergent. Shaking and anxiety ridden, I flipped
to the first page. Three hours later--I had finished reading the most
awe inducing book of my life. That sounds extremely melodramatic. But
it felt extremely melodramatic. It was amazing.
In summation, the book is about a
teenage girl named Beatrice 'Tris' Prior, living in a world with
divided social groups. The intelligent, the honest, the kind, the
brave, and the selfless. With the choosing ceremony right around the
corner, Tris must decide who she wants to be, whether that means
staying in her original faction or transferring to one of the other
four. It encompasses self discovery, honesty, bravery, secrecy and a
whole lot of heart.
The hook caught my attention, while
the following paragraphs and chapters kept it. Then, the part I had
been waiting for: introductions of the five factions, society’s new
way of grouping its inhabitants. Erudite. Candor. Amity. Abnegation.
Dauntless. I never imagined reading a dystopian book and calling it
my favorite of ever...but my world is run by irony, and I love it!
Character development is far from
lacking in this book written by Veronica Roth. I never realized how
difficult it is to create characters and give them their own distinct
voices. In Divergent, the voice of each character is loud and
clear. From Tris to Caleb to Eric to Christina; EVERYONE
pushes the plot forward and their personalities, though very
different from one another, help strengthen that charisma. Veronica
Roth has a way with words as well as world building. She injects
liveliness and realism into not so real people. The scent of
lemongrass emanating from Al. The coldness of Eric's eyes though he
is truly sharp as a knife (watch out I'm getting punny). The
intellect instilled within Will's words. The symbolism of Tris
getting a tattoo. Each little quirk and detail of every person or
place made me fall in love with this book more and more every day. I
finished this book in three hours. It was extremely compelling and
went above and beyond my expectations.
A love story never hurt either and
this one was my cup of tea. Tris and Four were standoffish in their
first few encounters but slowly, their relationship grew into a
combative, hilariously dysfunctional union. Their relationship was
real. Real couples have real problems. Maybe not on that scale but it
was nice that they were awkward, sarcastic, and emotionally driven
with one another.
Veronica Roth tackles beautifully
written dystopian fiction in not one but three books, created dozens
of characters, then killed off half, and even went as far as to
writing out a manifesto for each faction. I commend this woman and
give her my utmost respect. It's strange reading a book cover to
cover, closing it, and thinking that it changed my life. I don't even
know how but I can feel that I'm different now that I've read
Divergent. I feel like I can be brave. Hopefully, future
readers can feel the same elation I felt after reading this
book/trilogy.
This book is fast paced, action
packed, emotionally charged, funny, and intriguing. I look forward to future literary works
of Veronica Roth's, fingers crossed, and advise everyone to read this
book and follow it up with Insurgent and Allegiant!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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