So recently I finished reading the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. In this post I will be reviewing the four books but more specifically Allegiant and Four as those are the two I have recently read rather than reread.
Divergent
When I first read Divergent I was hooked! I loved the new dystopian world that Roth created and at the time I hadn't read many dystopian set books. The book centres around a girl called Beatrice/Tris who at 16 is put into a choosing ceremony in which she has to choose which faction to live in and wether she will stay with her family in Abnegation. Tris decides to leave her family and chooses Dauntless as her new home. We then follow her as she goes through the initiation process and how she copes in such brutal surroundings. I don't know of many people who haven't either read the book or seen the film but it is well worth a read!
Now if you intend to read the trilogy I suggest you stop reading here as it will contain spoilers to each book.
Insurgent
So like I said I really enjoyed Divergent and for me its the best out of the 3 books.
I recently reread Insurgent in preparation to see the film and second time around the book just didn't excite me as much or have as much impact as I remembered. I felt like you were constantly waiting for something to happen however we did learn a lot about the factionless and the factions themselves.
In Inurgent I feel that Tris mades some reckless decisions that she didn't properly think about what the consequences would be for other people. I was annoyed when she handed herself over to Erudite and Jeanine and it made her seem as if she thought she was invincible just because she was Divergent.
After now watching the first film and seeing who they have cast for the characters I've only just realised how much older they casted as Tris is only 16 and Four is supposed to be 18 however they look much older on screen.
I recently just watched Insurgent at the cinema and was really please with the result as it really gave us a look at some of the other factions! Who knew those in Candor were so fashionable?! I also liked Peter's character a lot more as you were able to pick up his sarcasm which I couldn't in the book. Dare I say the film was better than the book? However I did notice that they didn't mention that the woman on the film at the end was Tris' and Caleb's ancestor and I wonder if this is something they'll include later in Allegiant.
Allegiant
The big difference about Allegiant is that it is told from both Tris' and Fours point of view. At first this made it a little hard to read as I would forget who I was reading as but after a few chapters it became second nature.
In Allegiant we find out what is beyond the fence and fields of Amity and that the city the factions lie in is actually an experiment based in Chicago. In the book I felt as if Tris and the rest of the group just stepped outside the fence and within minutes came across an abandoned town and the bureaux whereas in the films we can see the extensive forest and land that it beyond the fence.
One of the biggest pieces of information we learn is what Divergent actually means. It was extremely satisfying to finally learn that people who are Divergent have had all their genes and characteristics fully restored after many were destroyed due to the setup of the factions. This area is slightly hazy to me as to how it happened however Divergent people are seen as being genetically pure rather than genetically damaged which is what we learn Four is and that he isn't actually Divergent he just shows signs of it.
The way the bureaux can constantly watch the city and the fact that its all an experiment really reminded me of the Maze Runner series especially as they get to meet people from the outside world who created the factions.
In Allegiant you realise how much Tris' parents hid from their children and how much they knew of the outside world due to their mother coming from another city outside of Chicago and being placed into the new experiment.
Overall I really wasn't that interested in the first three quarters of the book and it wasn't until the last few chapters that I became really gripped. Towards the end of the book Tris decided to take her brother's place to stop the release of the memory serum as she knew he wasn't sacrificing himself out of love but for his previous bad actions. Tris managed to get through the death serum that protected David's lab however in reaching for the memory serum David shoots Tris who subsequently dies. (In the film I can see this being a really emotional ending). After reading that bit I really understood why people were so conflicted on the ending. Yes it's sad she died but I felt the ending that followed was really beautiful.
We go on to read about Four repairing his relationship with his mother and Chicago now being at peace with its people and factions.
Four tries to use the memory serum on himself so he doesn't have to live a life without Tris however Christina stops him and the book ends with Four riding the infamous zip wire to spread Tris' ashes. Cue major waterworks when I see this at the cinema!
In hindsight I can see why Roth included Tobias' perspective in Allegiant as we were able to see what happened to Tobias and Chicago past Tris' death.
Overall I really was underwhelmed with this final book and the ending only just managed to somewhat save it.
Four
Four is a novella that is comprised of 5 short stories. When Veronica Roth was writing Divergent she originally started writing it from Tobias' point of view and then later scrapped it for Tris' character. The first three stories are what she wrote in that time. I'm so glad Roth decided to put all these stories together in a book as it made for a really nice round up of the series. As we ended Allegiant from Four's perspective it made the book "Four" seem like he was having a flashback to before he met Tris and her initiation process.
This book takes us through Tobias' life in Abnegation and having to live with his father. We also follow him as he takes part in his choosing ceremony and ultimately chooses Dauntless. I felt that Tobias' ceremony was very similar to Tris as they both wanted to get out of their former lives, however they don't quite realise what they're about to get themselves into when they choose Dauntless.
Overall I found this book to be a really quick and pleasant read, so much so I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. It ties with Divergent as my favourite books in the series (probably because they both focus somewhat on Tris' initiation and the time surrounding it).
I filmed a review of Allegiant and Four over on my YouTube page which you can see below.
Until next time, Sophie x
Now if you intend to read the trilogy I suggest you stop reading here as it will contain spoilers to each book.
Insurgent
So like I said I really enjoyed Divergent and for me its the best out of the 3 books.
I recently reread Insurgent in preparation to see the film and second time around the book just didn't excite me as much or have as much impact as I remembered. I felt like you were constantly waiting for something to happen however we did learn a lot about the factionless and the factions themselves.
In Inurgent I feel that Tris mades some reckless decisions that she didn't properly think about what the consequences would be for other people. I was annoyed when she handed herself over to Erudite and Jeanine and it made her seem as if she thought she was invincible just because she was Divergent.
After now watching the first film and seeing who they have cast for the characters I've only just realised how much older they casted as Tris is only 16 and Four is supposed to be 18 however they look much older on screen.
I recently just watched Insurgent at the cinema and was really please with the result as it really gave us a look at some of the other factions! Who knew those in Candor were so fashionable?! I also liked Peter's character a lot more as you were able to pick up his sarcasm which I couldn't in the book. Dare I say the film was better than the book? However I did notice that they didn't mention that the woman on the film at the end was Tris' and Caleb's ancestor and I wonder if this is something they'll include later in Allegiant.
Allegiant
The big difference about Allegiant is that it is told from both Tris' and Fours point of view. At first this made it a little hard to read as I would forget who I was reading as but after a few chapters it became second nature.
In Allegiant we find out what is beyond the fence and fields of Amity and that the city the factions lie in is actually an experiment based in Chicago. In the book I felt as if Tris and the rest of the group just stepped outside the fence and within minutes came across an abandoned town and the bureaux whereas in the films we can see the extensive forest and land that it beyond the fence.
One of the biggest pieces of information we learn is what Divergent actually means. It was extremely satisfying to finally learn that people who are Divergent have had all their genes and characteristics fully restored after many were destroyed due to the setup of the factions. This area is slightly hazy to me as to how it happened however Divergent people are seen as being genetically pure rather than genetically damaged which is what we learn Four is and that he isn't actually Divergent he just shows signs of it.
The way the bureaux can constantly watch the city and the fact that its all an experiment really reminded me of the Maze Runner series especially as they get to meet people from the outside world who created the factions.
In Allegiant you realise how much Tris' parents hid from their children and how much they knew of the outside world due to their mother coming from another city outside of Chicago and being placed into the new experiment.
Overall I really wasn't that interested in the first three quarters of the book and it wasn't until the last few chapters that I became really gripped. Towards the end of the book Tris decided to take her brother's place to stop the release of the memory serum as she knew he wasn't sacrificing himself out of love but for his previous bad actions. Tris managed to get through the death serum that protected David's lab however in reaching for the memory serum David shoots Tris who subsequently dies. (In the film I can see this being a really emotional ending). After reading that bit I really understood why people were so conflicted on the ending. Yes it's sad she died but I felt the ending that followed was really beautiful.
We go on to read about Four repairing his relationship with his mother and Chicago now being at peace with its people and factions.
Four tries to use the memory serum on himself so he doesn't have to live a life without Tris however Christina stops him and the book ends with Four riding the infamous zip wire to spread Tris' ashes. Cue major waterworks when I see this at the cinema!
In hindsight I can see why Roth included Tobias' perspective in Allegiant as we were able to see what happened to Tobias and Chicago past Tris' death.
Overall I really was underwhelmed with this final book and the ending only just managed to somewhat save it.
Four
Four is a novella that is comprised of 5 short stories. When Veronica Roth was writing Divergent she originally started writing it from Tobias' point of view and then later scrapped it for Tris' character. The first three stories are what she wrote in that time. I'm so glad Roth decided to put all these stories together in a book as it made for a really nice round up of the series. As we ended Allegiant from Four's perspective it made the book "Four" seem like he was having a flashback to before he met Tris and her initiation process.
This book takes us through Tobias' life in Abnegation and having to live with his father. We also follow him as he takes part in his choosing ceremony and ultimately chooses Dauntless. I felt that Tobias' ceremony was very similar to Tris as they both wanted to get out of their former lives, however they don't quite realise what they're about to get themselves into when they choose Dauntless.
Overall I found this book to be a really quick and pleasant read, so much so I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. It ties with Divergent as my favourite books in the series (probably because they both focus somewhat on Tris' initiation and the time surrounding it).
I filmed a review of Allegiant and Four over on my YouTube page which you can see below.
Until next time, Sophie x
