Divergent
2010
- nyt:paperback_books=2012-02-25
- families
- family
- juvenile fiction
- social classes
- courage
- fiction
- identity
- identity (psychology)
- dystopias
The story
‘Divergent’ is the first in a trilogy of dystopian, YA novels by Veronica Roth. The book is written from Beatrice Prior’s (Tris), point of view and is written in short chapters making it easy to put down and pick up again. The story is fast paced with full on action throughout. It contains elements of humour and romance, alongside some seriously brutal scenes, especially during Tris’s initiation. There is also quite a few though provoking moments. This was one of the first YA novels that I read and I found myself hooked right through to the very last word. The scenes are described in detail giving you a clear picture and making it easy to visualise the on goings in your head. Tris can be a little moody at times and doubts herself too much, but this only adds to her good nature, fun, determined and strong personality which we see blossom throughout The ending wasn’t what I expected, thus my need to get the second book, ‘Insurgent’, straight away. I Needed to know what happened next. I surprisingly found myself enjoying Divergent much more than I first thought I would, and thus my love of YA novels began. Divergent was made into a movie back in 2014. If you have seen the film but not read the book then you are missing out on vital aspects of the plot and characters, that didn’t appear in the film. I enjoyed the film, just not as much as the book.
What it’s like
Clean, fast-moving prose in short, punchy chapters that read like a series of cliffhangers, with a first-person voice that is candid, a little self-doubting and wry rather than lyrical. The sensory world is built through physical detail: the rattle of moving trains, the cold of rooftops at night, the sweat and bruise of training halls, the echo of crowded factional dining rooms. Dystopian and urban in feel, grey and industrial at the edges, but the tone is more kinetic than bleak, with a current of humour and budding romance running under the danger. Vibe: restless, adrenaline-driven, quietly hopeful. It suits a commute, a long train ride, or an evening when you want to keep turning pages until you reach the end of a chapter and then keep going. Intensity is moderate to high: frequent physical action, fights and fear, and a few brutal stretches during the initiation sequences, with violence that is vivid and sometimes gory but not sustained gore, and only light, non-explicit romance. Not gentle. For readers who want propulsive, emotionally earnest YA with a determined young heroine finding her footing amid rigid social order, and who don't mind the bruises along the way.
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