Book Review: Divergent Series

Oh look! Three more books I read in 2014 that were not on my reading list. I should feel good that I got so many books in; even if they weren't on the list. Life is better that way anyways, right? I went and saw the Divergent movie with my roommates and I really enjoyed it which I was worried I would be a little lost watching it, having not read the book. But after the movie I was intrigued enough, I wanted to read the book. Plus the guy who played Four (Theo James) was hot... here take a gander:

I needed an escape from work but it had to be a quick easy read and Divergent fit the bill; just something I could quickly read a chapter or two before bed. I read Divergent in about 10 days and I liked it a lot more than The Hunger Games. Once I read Divergent I had to find out what happened next and how the series concluded and so I continued on. It took me longer to read Insurgent and Allegiant because I had gotten even busier with work that it was either sleep or read... I choose sleep. However, the 2nd and 3rd book didn't draw me in like Divergent had, I only kept reading out of curiosity but not out of being pulled in to books with a 100% page-turner style. HOWEVER, they were entertaining enough that I wanted to keep reading.

The series is about a post-apocalyptic world set in Chicago. The society has learned to survive by dividing the people into 5 factions (groups): Abnegation - the selfless and always putting other's needs before their own, Erudite - the curious and intelligent, Dauntless - the brave and courageous, Amity - the peaceful (they make me think of hippie tree-huggers), and Candor - the honest (to a fault sometimes).

The book is centered around Tris (Beatrice), who is Abnegation born, and it begins with the time in her life where she is old enough to choose to remain in Abnegation for the rest of her life or if she will choose to transfer to another faction. Everyone her age takes a test to help them know which faction they would do best in, the only problem is she gets results for three factions which can only mean one thing: Tris is Divergent. Nobody can know she is Divergent or else she will be killed; but why?! I guess you'll have to read to find out.

I really like Tris' character, she has a strong personality without being flashy. I like that she is determined to go for the things that are true to herself and is brave enough to make hard decisions, even though she knows it will crush her parents for her to transfer to a different faction she feels more connected with, she still has compassion and concern for them, she also knows that it is important to be a little selfish and go where she knows she can use her true talents and be happy.

With this being a teen novel of course there is a "love" story within the trilogy. But that's ok, it's a good love story without a lot of mushy-gushy-ness. The love interest is between Tris and her Divergent trainer (no worries, he's only a few years older than she is), Four. I think the reason why I really enjoy this love interest is because Four is attracted to Tris for her independence and he let's her be independent. They become a team together and lift and build each other up.

Divergent
The first of the books sets up the intriguing plot. Tris chooses to transfer to Dauntless and she trains to be a member of Dauntless... not without it's challenges and extreme competitiveness. Transferring to Dauntless makes it incredible difficult to hide her Divergent identity and even puts her in danger.

Insurgent
War breaks out between factions and choosing sides will be tricky. Some factions are after the Divergent members of the society and others want to protect. But why does everyone care so much if the Divergent live or die? The cliff-hanger at the end of this books reveals a lot.

Allegiant
When offered the chance to leave the city and explore the unknown land outside of it, Tris and Four with others take the chance. They come to see a whole new reality of where they came from and they even find themselves among new challenges and questioning the nature of humanity. The first two books are told from Tris' prospective but this book is told from Tris and Four's prospective which actually gets a little confusing at times if you forget who's voice you are reading.

One of the thing I liked about this series were some of the though provoking and truthful quotes. The following is a quote by Four and I think it is a simple reminder that we are all hurting and being challenged in some way, usually in ways that others don't even know, and so we need to remember that whom ever we are with, we are there to help each other.

"Since I was young, I have always know this: Life Damges us, everyone. We can't escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other."