Divergent Book Series

Book 1:

Divergent, written by Veronica Roth is set in a dystopian future. What can I say? I loved the first book! It drew me in and left me wanting more.

Beatrice is the main character. Her dystopian world is divided into 6 separate groups of people (called factions) based on personality traits and character. The Candor, Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and the factionless.

• ·      Candor are honest in all things.
• ·      Dauntless are the wildest and bravest.
• ·      Abnegation are selfless and help all the other factions.
• ·      Erudite are the most intelligent.
• ·      Amity are the peacemakers.
• ·      Factionless are unfortunate souls who have been cast out of their faction.

The story opens just before Beatrice has her Faction test to tell her which faction she is best suited for. Despite the test results, citizens are able to choose for themselves which faction they join. Beatrice was born into abnegation.

It took a while to set up this story, introducing all the factions, helping the reader understand where Beatrice is coming from and her background.  Once this is laid out and Beatrice has made her choice, the action is non-stop.

I like how Veronica developed Beatrice’s character and illustrated her conflicting thoughts on who others think she should be, who she thinks should be. You can actually believe how hard her choice is when it comes time. The supporting characters in this book are great too, very alive.

Beatrice shocks her family when she chooses dauntless as her faction. “Faction before blood” is the rule so she must leave everything behind, including her family. She even changes her name to Tris to begin her new identity.

However, there were a few things I questioned as she made this radical transition. Such as, how a girl who has never been allowed to run can suddenly catch up with a moving train, jump on, and then jump off onto a roof? She seems to possess super human powers from the beginning of her new life as a dauntless. From that point on she practically becomes a ninja, as she gets stronger, faster, more confident and better at fighting.

There was a little too much violence for my taste in this faction and seemed a little twisted with the hand-to-hand combat partnering. But the overall storyline and action keeps things fast paced and interesting.

Divergent is definitely a page-turner. It could have easily been a single book ending where it did, leaving the rest to the reader’s imagination.

  

Book 2:

Tris! What were you thinking?! This book sort of fell apart for me. It was still a good read and jumped in right where the first book ended. However, I was a little disappointed with the beginning. I would’ve liked to see their small group make it farther in their journey than they did. This story went a completely different direction than I thought it would.

Tris seems to lose her mind in this novel, making dumb choice after dumb choice. Even her pain and guilt don’t fully make up for her stupidity. And Four just turns himself in? What? Their relationship is so back and forth in this book it is annoying. He loves me, he loves me not, he loves, he loves me not….

I can appreciate that an author must make their characters make bad choices to further the plot, but usually they are within character. Tris is a completely different girl in this book

Yet, when I start a series I have to finish it. I have to say, Divergent was so much better than book two! If you can stand not finishing a series then I recommend you stop at book one.

The characters seemed much different in this book, and Tris and Four are boring in this book. However, the plot still moves along quickly.

Book 3:

I hated the ending, I’ll just say that right off the bat. I won’t give it away, but I prefer that a long book series have a happy ending. Tris really bugged me in this book; she turned into a whiny brat instead of the strong young woman she was painted to be in the first novel. She turned into a selfish, pitiful character.

Four Trilogy:

Veronica then wrote several short stories about Four after the main series, but knowing how the original series ended, I have no desire to read any of them. If I had read these between book one and two then they may have been of interest.

Book review: Angel in the shadows by Lisa Grace

UPDATE:
I posted below that there are 3 books in this series. That is untrue. There are really 5 books, but you can't buy the last 2 as an ebook. I had no idea until I had finished the 3rd and was very disappointed! The next two books in the series are much better than the first, with more action (all weather related, but still good). I don't know when or if the others will be available in ebook form, but I think by the time they are, I will have moved on and forgotten about this series. Sad, but true.

This book is a quick and entertaining read and has even been optioned for movie production.  I was drawn to this book because I have a similar, yet, not so similar book idea.  The short synopsis is that the main character, Megan, can see spirits, good and bad. Once she discovers this gift she is thrown into a mortal battle to save souls from an evil dark angel with the assistance of a few good angels and her faithful Christian friends.  She begins converting as many people as possible as she races against this evil spirit.

Although the main characters are all about standing up and fighting for Christian values, I can’t exactly label this as a “clean read.” The book contains a lot of talk about sex, drugs, suicide, and even abortion. I would say this book would be suitable for older teens unless you have discussed these topics with your child beforehand.

This was a very visually appealing book, but I feel the author could have fleshed out more scenes to describe the atmosphere in more detail.  She missed a lot of opportunity to engross the reader in the locations’ sights and sounds, etc. There are some that are very well described and others that she just sails over. It seemed as though she was rushing to get it finished.  Her dialogue was short, choppy and rushed in many spots throughout the novel, almost awkwardly abrupt in places. Here’s a few examples:

“I look at her legs. They are covered with scratch marks. I’ve never seen seaweed cause marks like that on anyone before. Whatever was down there was real. I shudder.

The other kids start talking. Seth takes charge of them. Jackson pulls up in the boat as I talk to her and try to calm her down.”

And:

“When I stick my head in, I see a grayness hovering over Brody.  A demon. I walk in and say,” Hi Brody.” He opens his eyes to look at me.

I say, ”Sam is really worried about you.” Brody looks at me coldly.

I think I can help you,” I say.

“Get out. You can’t help me. Get out!” He screams. I leave just as a nurse enters to check on Brody. I go back into Sam’s room. I sit back down.”

That being said, it is a unique storyline that kept my attention during the plot twists and turns. Lisa does an excellent job with character development, introducing a wide range of believable teens and adults.  You can vividly picture most of them, especially Vania. The end is a cliff- hanger though, so be prepared to read the next book if you invest your time in this novel.  There are 3 books in this series and the first book is free if you go here. Or you can purchase the book from Amazon.

Overall I give this book a rating of 3.5 stars due to poor dialogue that interferes with the reading experience.