Divergent

by Veronica Roth

paperback, 496 pages

English language

Published Feb. 2, 2012 by HarperCollins Children's Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-742042-1
Goodreads:: 13335038

(251 reviews)

‘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 …

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.

29 editions

vin_aigre reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

None

2 stars

Veronica Roth’s writing is stale and insipid. Five hundred pages failed to shape her dystopian world, heck, even her main character Beatrice, who could be best portrayed as a compressed-into-words Kristen Stewart.

Among some of the absurdities I’ve read throughout this book, this has got to be the most preposterous flash of thought the protagonist’s brain has ever roamed with. “I hear my father huff and puff over the sound of rushing water. I forgot that he is older than I am …” Did you now really? Unless you’re Benjamin Button I see no reason to arise such existential remarks. And besides, you can’t go around unveiling Dauntless leaders to be truly traced back and associated with Erudite roots – using nonetheless than your inquisitive ocular capacities – but still conjecture about your father being older or younger than you.

And guess how you spot jaw-dropping cheesy endings? When you …

Cheri reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

It took me much longer than I thought it would to get into the story. I ended up liking it quite a bit and think I'll continue on with the next part of the trilogy.

Gossamerchild reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Holy crap. What an amazing story. That's pretty much all I have to say about it. Another teen dystopian novel similar to [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775], this is also very dark and violent. Not for the squeamish. And perhaps not for a younger reader, either. Still very excellent.

Made the mistake of reading the afterword and am now rethinking some of my original accolades. However, I won't get into it here. Suffice it to say that my reading of the 2 others in this trilogy will be slightly more critical from the get-go.

Chris Hubbs reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Solid start to the series, but very little happens here. Interesting world and characters set up, but this is really just Act 1 of a single story, not a fully-formed story on its own.

fjordic reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Interesting premise, interesting story.

And no relation to Katniss.

Fran Correas reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Un poco Juegos del Hambre, un poco El juego de Ender, falla en explicar la distopia y ese mundo después de "la guerra". Las facciones se limitan a la ciudad de Chicago. ¿Es la única que queda en pie? ¿La única dónde hay facciones? Eso y algún fallo -explica con pormenores el proceso de inyección del líquido para inducir las proyecciones en el cuello, y una vez dice "ofrezco el brazo" para la inyección- puede hacerte no querer leerlo. En principio es una lectura muy amena con un personaje fuerte femenino y joven con una sexualidad reprimida. Voy a leer la segunda parte, a ver qué tal.

Molly Foust reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I would rate this higher to recommend it to a teen, but as an adult reader I am not as thrilled. If I would have rated while in the middle of reading it I would rate it higher as well, because it was hard to put down and the premise, a dystopia with five warring factions that each represent a certain virtue, is awesome. It was the ending that got me, it just didn't work...

Yashima reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Nice book for an afternoon. Well written ... just over way too fast.

(Before reading be sure you really want to read a 'Young adult' book. If you like the genre go ahead)

Upgraded my rating from 3 to 4 stars after finishing the trilogy. This was quite an enjoyable read over all.

btuftin reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is excellent, innovative sci-fi, and I nearly gave it five stars. They only reason I didn't ... Maybe it's that I feel it's all a bit simplistic. Interesting, thought-provoking, nerve-racking, but a bit simplistic.

Balise reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Your usual dystopian YA; nothing mindblowingly original, but still a pretty good read if you have, like me, a soft spot for these.

patchworkbunny reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Tris lives in a world where war is no more. The citizens have been divided into factions dependent on what they thought caused the wars in the first place. They are Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Candor and Erudite.

I will warn you now, I'm going to pick holes in this book. I know, loads of you absolutely adore it and I'm sorry if I offend anyone but I just didn't buy into the world at all.

When I say world, I really mean city, Chicago to be exact. I'm not entirely sure what's going on in the rest of the world, do they even exist? Has every city adopted the same principles? Why does no one care what's beyond the city limits? Maybe if it were to stop gang warfare it would all make more sense but the wars of our time are international affairs. I can't imagine every country agreeing to the laws that bind Chicago or even America. What good is dividing up one city if somewhere else decides they want to attack you? What actually happened to the world is not explained at all.

So, moving on, you'd think a world where everyone was selfless, honest, intelligent, friendly and brave is a good starting point for a utopian society. But, in Divergent they can only be one of those things to the detriment of the others. I can understand if this was done through conditioning, genetics or even drugs but they get a choice. When they are 16 they get a sorting-hat-esque assessment to tell them what their personality type is yet they are allowed to completely disregard this and choose whatever faction they like. So all those years of being brought up one way have to be forgotten and they don't even get a handy mind-wipe to help.

Tris is divergent so she thinks, acts and feels like a normal human being. The story is told from first person and there's no way to tell if the others really are different to her. Yet her friends show her loyalty, compassion and honesty at times, obviously not all the time, they are teenagers after all. They are human. It's all very well writing a story to explore the human condition when faced with adversity but this doesn't hit the spot for me.

Another thing, they have the technology to know about Tris. There are things she can do which she is told will tip the bad guys off. She does these anyway and everyone seems to forget what was mentioned earlier in the story. I would have thought that there would be more concern over the factionless, those that have failed initiation. To me, the failures show they have mixed personalities, not enough of just one type to belong. In other words, they are just like us.

There's a lot of violence. Now I don't object to violence used where appropriate, even in young adult, but the characters of Divergent are repeatedly beaten to a bloody pulp and then are up and walking around the next day. They are even sparring again the next day! I'm sorry, that is not realistic and also gives the impression that it's OK to inflict grievous bodily harm on your friends.

Did I enjoy any of it? Yes, despite all the above. The reworking of the Room 101 concept (do read 1984 if you like dystopia) was the strongest part for me. Then there's the whole making life changing decisions at a young age thing, what teenagers have to do in the Western world already. I even kind of liked the love interest.

The master plan didn't make much sense to me, there was a sudden swerve in plot and then the ending seemed rushed. Maybe that was just me, rushing to get to the end.

Juliane reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Inhalt:
Im Alter von 16 Jahren muss man eine Entscheidung über seine Zukunft treffen. Denn die Menschheit ist in fünf verschiedene Gruppen aufgeteilt: Candor (die Ehrlichen), Abnegation (die Selbstlosen), Dauntless (die Mutigen), Amity (die Friedvollen) und Erudite (die, die nie lügen). Vor dieser Entscheidung wird ein Test durchgeführt, in dem die jungen Menschen eine Empfehlung für eine Gruppe bekommen.
Normalerweise: Denn Beatrice' Ergebnis ist nicht eindeutig. Sie ist eine "Divergent", was sehr selten und höchst gefährlich ist. Beatrice (Tris) muss ihr wahres Ich für sich behalten und entscheidet sich für eine Gruppe...

Meine Meinung:
Erwartet habe ich bei „Divergent“ ein Dystopie-Buch wie es bisher so viele gibt. Zum Teil ist das auch richtig, denn die Fakten stimmen: Es spielt in der Zukunft, die aktuelle Situation der Menschen hat sich verändert, Regeln sind andere und die Hauptperson kämpft gegen das System an.

Soweit, so gut. Doch hier gibt es noch mehr. Denn die Grundidee allein ist sehr spannend und irgendwie anders als bisher. Menschen werden in fünf Gruppen eingeteilt, mit ihrem 16. Lebensjahr müssen sie sich entscheiden und dort für den Rest ihres Lebens bleiben. Ich gebe zu: Ein wenig erinnert das Einteilen der Menschen nach ihren persönlichen Eigenheiten an Harry Potter und die verschiedenen Häuser (Gryffindor, etc.).

Und trotzdem. Es ist grausamer als bei Harry Potter, die Grenzen sind gnadenloser und hier ist es nicht spielerisch, hier geht es um Leben und Tod. Dass die Hauptperson sich von der Norm unterscheidet, ist klar (sonst gäbe es keine Geschichte). Aber auf diesem Unterschied wird nicht lange herumgeritten, fast gerät es in den Hintergrund. Sie zeigt in dem gesamten Roman ihre Stärke und ihren Mut, dennoch ist sie sympathisch und man fühlt mit ihr.

Die Liebesgeschichte in „Divergent“ bahnt sich seeeehr laaaaangsam an. Mich hat das nicht weiter gestört, denn am Anfang ist man eh so abgelenkt von den ganzen unglaublichen Ereignissen, dass eine Romanze nur gestört hätte. So baut sie die Liebe langsam auf und es ist sehr süß mit anzusehen. Wobei ich hiermit klarstellen möchte, dass ich dieses Buch nicht als romantisches Buch mit Actionelementen würde. Es ist ein Actionroman mit einem Hauch Liebe.

Hier geschehen furchtbare Dinge, denen man sonst nur in Alpträumen begegnet. Die Ideen von der Autorin sind speziell und schrecklicherweise sehr real und möglich: Ein Serum, dass einen gespritzt wird und man wird mit seinen schrecklichsten Ängsten konfrontiert. Das nur als Beispiel.

Das Ende ist ein Cliffhanger. War schon zu vermuten, da diese Reihe als Trilogie angekündigt wurde. Zum Ende hin steigert sich das Buch tatsächlich nochmal und der Leser wird noch einmal wachgerüttelt. Einige Stellen musste ich mehrmals lesen, weil ich es doch als sehr hart empfand, was alles geschieht. Die Autorin hat einen Hang zur Grausamkeit ;)

Zu den Charakteren allgemein: Es gibt viele verschiedene junge Leute in „Divergent“, die zum großen Teil den allgemeinen Stereotypen entsprechen. Ein paar stechen hervor. Seltsamerweise bin ich sehr an Eric interessiert. Gern hätte ich mehr über seine Geschichte erfahren, aber ich bin mir sicher, in den nächsten zwei Bänden wird er eine größere Rolle haben.

Das Cover gefällt mir recht gut. Es passt einigermaßen zur Geschichte, doch ich finde, man hätte es schon etwas spektakulärer gestalten können. Aber ich beschwere mich nicht ;)

Fazit:
Ein hochspannendes und actionreiches Jugendbuch, dass ich ohne Zweifel weiterempfehlen kann. Die Idee ist neu und erschreckend real. Für Fans von Dystopien ein Muss, für alle anderen der perfekte Einstieg in dieses Genre.

Coleysscrollies reviewed Divergent by Veronica Roth

Review of 'Divergent' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It is Hunger Games meets the movie Inception. I was annoyed in the beginning of the book trying to keep all the rules and stereotypes straight. I liked the kick-ass girls and the mother who was not who she seemed. It made me want to get tattoos and jump off of buildings, which is probably not the point. I'm not going to be dying to read the next one,but will anyway. I know myself too well. I also liked the aspect of finding out your gifts, true self and true intentions.