Divergent by Veronica Roth | Teen Ink

Divergent by Veronica Roth

November 30, 2013
By SpeakerOfTheDead PLATINUM, Lemont, Illinois
SpeakerOfTheDead PLATINUM, Lemont, Illinois
27 articles 31 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”
― Henry David Thoreau


I know many people have enjoyed the book and claim it is one of the best books ever. They said for Twilight and Fifty Shades of Gray too, so without any reasoning I dismiss their position. So Veronica Roth wrote this when she was a 20 year old college undergrad and it shows. A publisher quickly picked up this book and it rose to success. It had an unusual pace; its first printing ran for 200,000 copies. This book is full of more holes than Swiss cheese.
First off, the world building is virtually nonexistent. It is a genric dystopia because things are bleak and resources are depleted. I mean how does this society even function? The military is run by psychopaths and no on objects. It does not mention an opposing enemy which is unlikely that there is none. The economy is what? It makes almost no reference to it. Factions apparently get points to spend but no more detail aside from that. How are they earned? How do spend them? How much are they worth? The faction, Abnegation runs the government and it does not explain what exactly that entails. The tropes and clichés are never-ending. There are references to God but there is no depth behind it. The fact there is religion is fine but it would be impossible to do so without consequences to characters. Otherwise it is not a world but just a backdrop where characters do pointless things in a predictable fashion.
Even boy scouts are more morally complex than the entire world and they are supposed to be brave, loyal, kind, etcetera… People do fit into one category with one value and trait. If something that happened that made them that way which would be understandable but no explanation is given so….
In terms of pacing at around 500 pages the book feels slow and poorly developed. It focuses more on a jumble of action than developing characters. The major plot developments are squeezed into the final 50 pages after the reader trudged through boredom for the entire book.
But she wrote a hugely popular novel and it topped many lists. It does not matter if the book is even good or if it lived up to its hype (it did not) but she will be more popular than you will most likely ever be.
There is a reason it became the 2011 Goodreads choice read. It is because the consumers of the young adult genre drove the publishers to the extremes. It has been designed by the natural selection of the publishing industry. It is the end result of the excessive desire for young adult dystopic fiction.
Concerning Roth, she did it. She wrote a book and it sold splendidly. The back cover tells me, she is a full-time write at the age of 20. Roth has achieved her dream. I feel overjoyed for her. I really do.

If you want to read some quality YA dystopian fiction I suggest you check out The Hunger Games or my person favorite, The Maze Runner.

Happy reading.


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This article has 7 comments.


V.I.P BRONZE said...
on Mar. 28 2014 at 3:15 pm
V.I.P BRONZE, Portland, Oregon
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
Agreed. I read the first book only, and I loved it. It's very well written. 

on Mar. 12 2014 at 5:36 am
BurrThistle GOLD, Jaipur, Other
10 articles 0 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
Write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect

i liked the flow of writing and your ideas but i cannot givve a strong opinion because i haven't read the book. Sorry.

karinasilvz said...
on Dec. 13 2013 at 6:31 pm
The reasons and backstory of the factions and everything else are explained in the third book. The author kept us all in the dark so that it would add my intrigue and mystery to the story, and when you find out the backstory, the pieces all fit together and it makes sense.

karinasilvz said...
on Dec. 13 2013 at 6:28 pm
I really loved this entire series and I've been obsessed with it since i first started. I disagree on your analysis of the plot and characters. These are my favorite series, and if you keep going until the end of the series, you will figure out why. This entire series is amazing and very well written.

on Dec. 9 2013 at 5:37 pm
Kestrel135 PLATINUM, Waterford, Connecticut
43 articles 0 photos 256 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Respect existence or expect resistance"

I really do agree with this. The general plot isn't so bad, even though some spots are predictable, but the details about day to day life? There are practically none. When I read the book the first time I was trying to enjoy the plot, and dismissed these holes carelessly, but looking back I really do agree. I have only read the first two, but am going to read the third. They aren't so bad, even if there are some problems. And I wholeheartedly agree that the Maze Runner is fantastic. And the Hunger Games. But the Mase Runner was awesome. :)

on Dec. 8 2013 at 7:05 pm
SpeakerOfTheDead PLATINUM, Lemont, Illinois
27 articles 31 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”
― Henry David Thoreau

I did not read the next 2 yet, but I am going to when I want to just look for a laugh. 

on Dec. 8 2013 at 4:25 pm
boundlesswildflower SILVER, Minneapolis, Minnesota
8 articles 1 photo 56 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities." - faults in our stars by John Green

I really like this piece, and agreee with EVERYTHING you've said. Sure its a great plot, but the stories of each character is just "there" and doesn't provide a 3-D character. I'm not sure if you read the other 2 but its just that way too!!! Its like: I love your climax/plot... but really!?   Lol sorry for my rambling, I love you review and am a hunger games lover myself too. Thanks!!!