Book Corner | Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

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

Artist spotlight | Kimberley Stone

So todays post is a little different. A couple months back my best friend, Kimberley Stone, asked me to photograph her university art work. I am always blown away by her work and she is extremely talented so I was really pleased that she asked me to do it. With her permission I am sharing her work with quotes and information from the artist herself.

The two pieces above represent global issues and how small communities have to face them. They were also paired with a four jar installation in which each jar represented one of the four elements. This is what Kim had to say on these pieces. 

"These studies formed part of an installation for my self-written project (2015). Prior to this, I watched Human Planet's documentary series and became largely fascinated by the small communities who participate in the tradition known as 'Gerewol'. These communities suffer severe isolation and drought, as well as the effects of living with these extreme conditions. However, when the short rainy season arrives these people travel hundreds of miles to meet all in one location to celebrate. One of the main advantages of this festival is the opportunity to ignite true love by sparking new flames or reigniting old ones. They dress in bright colours and show off their tribes hand-crafted jewellery and decorative clothing. The installation took me a couple of weeks to complete and was the final outcome for this unit. The book on the left shows an elderly couple reigniting their love at the festival and the book on the right displays the idea of these extreme isolated living conditions. This piece combines the widest range of materials than any other piece of work I have ever created. It consists of acrylic, pencil, graphite, watercolour, fineliner, decorative red feathers, charcoal, collage of Isolation and Gerewol articles and sand on two individual sketchbook double pages".

This acrylic painting was given to me by Kim for my birthday last year and is extremely special to me. Here is what Kim had to say on the piece. 

"She (Sophie) always used to create me these wonderful birthday cards using her skills as a talented photographer and I thought it was about time I did the same, using my own talents, especially now that my portraiture skills had drastically improved. I wanted to create something that wasn’t transient, something that hopefully she would keep for a long time, something that showed how wonderful I think she is. I took into consideration the use of whitespace for effect, the contrast it creates and the connotations of the colours used".

Here is what Kim had to say about the piece above and below.

"I am a huge fan of Disney, like most, and so often in my free time I find myself drawing the characters. These studies below are simply media explorations I did for fun and form a break from the fine art side of things, with its in-depth study of contexts, connotations and effect on the viewer. Here I have played with slightly abstracting the image, creating contrast, using space for effect, colour and its connotations, among other considerations. The first double page is a stencil print of Snow White using paint and a stencil, I obviously created and drew myself, and next is a quick study of Pooh bear and Christopher Robin created using pencil, ink and coloured inks. These were very quick studies and did not take long".

This is one of my favourite pieces that Kim has created as it really transports you to an autumnal scene. It is something I could see being framed and put on a wall for all to see. Here are Kim's reasons and inspiration for the piece.

"This piece formed part of my style exploration and artist influenced study; after seeing Modern Impressionist Leonid Afremov's work I was inspired to create a piece, in this style, of my own. Using the similar theme of forests I created my own 'Forest Road'. I am inspired by the vivid use of colour and how it achieves a positive reaction in the viewer. The piece aims to not create a complex range of connotations and contexts, but to simply to please, calm and be aesthetically and visually pleasing to all who look upon it. This piece cannot be missed, immediately catching your attention and holding your gaze with its array of upbeat colours and range of textures. This work can be associated with that within art therapy, aiming to relax the patient and place them in a happier frame of mind. I was fascinated by this strong effect on the audience and have been using colour and its connotations ever since. This piece is created with acrylic paint and is displayed within a sketchbook".

This piece was created in 2014 and was Kim's first portraiture piece. I feel that the level of detail and depth in this piece is phenomenal, here is what Kim had to say about it.

"This was a final outcome for a project surrounding the topic of 'Conflict'. The painting combines the representational and the abstract, in order to achieve the desired effect and show the story behind the piece. The imagery shows clearly, a retired war veteran in the present being haunted by the horrific memories of war that he previously endured. The most horrific and prominent, the screaming child, jumps out at the viewer, being the most abstracted and vibrant image on the canvas. The piece aims to show the audience the horrors and futility of war and its effects on the individual, also it allows the viewer to relate. War having ended within the older generation's lifetime, still affects us today and so the viewers all have their own histories and stories to relate to in this context. The piece also shows my exploration with materials and also depicts the idea of fading memory. Memory is transient, but is that a good thing or not? I have additionally, used colours to create certain associations within the viewers mind, i.e. blue we associate with sadness, depression, red with danger, war and bloodshed, green, with war and the army etcetera. This piece, alike the social issues installation, has too many connotations to note, but I have stated the key ones here. These images were inspired by photos, accounts and documents I myself collected from those who are close to me. This piece was also an exploration of the human condition and marked the beginning of a continuing exploration of this theme. This was a timed piece and took me 15 hours to complete and was created using coloured ink and ink wash, acrylic paint, pencil, graphite, ink and fine liner on canvas".

The acrylic paintings above and below are part of a project Kim created called "Repetition and multiples in nature".  Kim says that "the pieces aim to catch the eye of the viewer and express ideas of natural beauty". The one above was created in 2013 and is inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's use of colour and Fauvism. The second painting was created in 2014 and follows on from the first. It is inspired by Afremov's style. Kim says that because the top piece was her first time using acrylic on such a large scale is took her a whopping 40 hours however the second piece only took a quarter of that time. 

This pencil study was Kim's first self portrait and took about an hour to draw. This is part of a four part series which shows different emotions using different medias and the one above focuses on the emotion happy. 

 Finally I want to include a piece that Kim recently showed me and that I am amazed by. As you can see the likeness is uncanny. She said it took her only 20 minutes! As someone far from naturally talented at drawing I couldn't
believe she could do it in such a quick amount of time.

To contact Kimberley you can email her at kymmjart@gmail.com and she is currently taking commissions. 

Until next time, Sophie x

A Book Review | City Of Women by David Gillham

Rating: 3/5
Pages: 389

City Of Women follows a german civilian called Sigrid Schroder who try's to be the perfect German and perfect soldiers wife. Sigrid lives with her mother-in-law in Berlin however she hides a secret. Whilst Sigrid's husband is serving on the eastern front fighting for his country she has been meeting up and having an affair with a Jewish lover. 

We follow Sigrid as she not only try's to keep that a secret but also one of the girl who lives in the same building; she's part of a group that helps to hide and transport Jews and others people trying to avoid the Nazi's. 

I found this book to have a really interesting plot line and its not like anything I've read before. Firstly it was quite a nice change to hear a story from a German who doesn't necessarily have to worry about being persecuted but it was intriguing to see her still put herself and others around her in so much danger. However overall I wasn't too thrilled with the book and I wasn't racing to finish it, I felt that I didn't really warm to any of the characters and that played a big part of me enjoying the book, hence only giving it 3/5 on Goodreads. 

I must say this isn't a ww2 book to read if your below the age of 16/17, I found it to be very graphic and sexual at times so that's something to bare in mind going into it. 

I was also quite shocked how common it seemed for the characters in the book to have affairs and sleep with multiple people whilst their other half was either back at home or on the frontline. 

One event in the book really stood out to me and that was when Sigrid's husband comes home and tells her how he and his comrades set a barn on fire with a group of innocent people trapped inside it. Needless to say it was a graphic scene but it also made Sigrid realise what she didn't want to admit, that her husband really was a murderer.  

I wouldn't race to re-read this however I do think it has an interesting plot line that many would enjoy. 

I filmed a corresponding video on my thoughts which you can see over on my Youtube page.

Until next time, Sophie x