Synopsis:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Objectively, this is a 3 star book. But this was my favorite book when I
was 14 and remained so for much of high school, and so my nostalgic ass
is giving this 5 stars.
With how much dislike Divergent has gained over the years, I expected the worst. Insta-love, terrible writing, bland "badass" heroine, the works. But Divergent isn't actually that bad. Is it the best example of YA literature? No, not at all. But I've endured a lot of bad YA, and to lump Divergent in with those works is an insult to what is an engaging read with a frankly brutal heroine.
Tris really surprised me. I expected her to have no personality and y'all, I couldn't have been more wrong. In an age of bland YA fantasy heroines, Tris is harsh, unlikable, and willing to fight literally everyone for the people she loves. So naturally, I loved her. I love anti-heroines and honestly, Tris was an anti-heroine before Jude Duarte or Mia Corvere were even a glimmer in their authors' minds. Tris is silenced, beaten, and sexually assaulted over the course of this novel, and turns herself into a weapon as a result of her trauma. She can be terribly selfish and dumb at times, but these flaws and mistakes make her feel real and, best of all, human. I'm so sad that Tris became so hated over the years when she's actually a well-developed character.
FYI, there's no insta-love in this. I sincerely loved Tris's relationship. Nowadays, most relationships in YA novels feel like a necessary evil to me, so it was really refreshing to read about a slow-building relationship based on mutual trust, rather than the immediate lust that drives a lot of YA today.
Training montages and competitions are two of my favorite tropes in books, so Divergent was especially thrilling and engaging to me. Tris's Dauntless training was actually a lot darker than I remember it being, which I appreciated as an adult reader. There isn't really much plot besides Dauntless training for the majority of the book, but I was totally okay with that due to my tastes.
Now let's get into the bad stuff. Eight years later, the world-building still doesn't make any sense. It's fine if you catch a glimpse at it from your periphery, but as soon as you look at it head-on, it just collapses. You've really got to suspend your disbelief with this world. The world, more than anything, is an aesthetic choice.
Overall, I'm really glad I reread this. Divergent doesn't measure up to the same quality we get from a lot of YA today, but we sell it too short nowadays for what it is: a gripping page-turner with a brutal heroine against a dystopian aesthetic backdrop. I unapologetically love Divergent.
With how much dislike Divergent has gained over the years, I expected the worst. Insta-love, terrible writing, bland "badass" heroine, the works. But Divergent isn't actually that bad. Is it the best example of YA literature? No, not at all. But I've endured a lot of bad YA, and to lump Divergent in with those works is an insult to what is an engaging read with a frankly brutal heroine.
Tris really surprised me. I expected her to have no personality and y'all, I couldn't have been more wrong. In an age of bland YA fantasy heroines, Tris is harsh, unlikable, and willing to fight literally everyone for the people she loves. So naturally, I loved her. I love anti-heroines and honestly, Tris was an anti-heroine before Jude Duarte or Mia Corvere were even a glimmer in their authors' minds. Tris is silenced, beaten, and sexually assaulted over the course of this novel, and turns herself into a weapon as a result of her trauma. She can be terribly selfish and dumb at times, but these flaws and mistakes make her feel real and, best of all, human. I'm so sad that Tris became so hated over the years when she's actually a well-developed character.
FYI, there's no insta-love in this. I sincerely loved Tris's relationship. Nowadays, most relationships in YA novels feel like a necessary evil to me, so it was really refreshing to read about a slow-building relationship based on mutual trust, rather than the immediate lust that drives a lot of YA today.
Training montages and competitions are two of my favorite tropes in books, so Divergent was especially thrilling and engaging to me. Tris's Dauntless training was actually a lot darker than I remember it being, which I appreciated as an adult reader. There isn't really much plot besides Dauntless training for the majority of the book, but I was totally okay with that due to my tastes.
Now let's get into the bad stuff. Eight years later, the world-building still doesn't make any sense. It's fine if you catch a glimpse at it from your periphery, but as soon as you look at it head-on, it just collapses. You've really got to suspend your disbelief with this world. The world, more than anything, is an aesthetic choice.
Overall, I'm really glad I reread this. Divergent doesn't measure up to the same quality we get from a lot of YA today, but we sell it too short nowadays for what it is: a gripping page-turner with a brutal heroine against a dystopian aesthetic backdrop. I unapologetically love Divergent.
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