Divergent (Book Review)

Divergent dives into a post-apocalyptic world where people are sorted into Factions. Tris begins her journey into adulthood and finds herself in the middle of a war.

Insurgent (2015)

Title: Insurgent

Series: Divergent

Director: Robert Schwentke

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Theo James

Released: 2015

The Top 3 Book Things That Would've Made Insurgent a Better Movie

I'm not one of those people that likes telling people "it's explained better in the book" and the complimentary "just read the book and you'll understand". I'm also not one of those people that get pissed off just because something isn't included in the movie adaptation.

So why am I bringing this up? The movie adaptation of Insurgent (based on the book written by Veronica Roth) tries to do its own thing which has the side effect of shooting itself in the foot.

Below, with minimal use of spoilers, I'll list my top three things that won't just make Insurgent a better adaptation but a better movie overall.

Why The Love Story in Divergent is Unique Today

Nowadays movies/books/tv shows/ect. are full of love triangles. What makes this annoying to me, as someone who writes love triangles from time to time, is that a lot of these love triangles are put in places that they don't belong. At all.

Even though I don't like Twilight, the books are fun but not good, the fact is that the love triangle belongs in that story. That genre and plot sort of demand it. While the quality isn't good, fact is that it doesn't look out of place (except that everyone always knew she'd choose Edward so there wasn't any tension).

While in The Hobbit movie trilogy, the love triangle seems very forced. There's a female character created just for the trilogy and now she has to choose between two men. I wouldn't mind it if there was a romance between her and another character, but having a love triangle in that trilogy just doesn't make sense at all.

This makes the love story in the Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth so unique in today's age of putting a love triangle everywhere.

Beatrice "Tris" Prior and Tobias "Four" Eaton manage to tell a compelling love story without the need of a third person.

Tris' culture shock and being open to a new world with new possibilities makes her relationship with Four stand on its own. Four is able to give Tris room when she needs it and doesn't push. A very good quality in a boyfriend. If your bf/gf is making you uneasy and pushing you to do things you don't want to...might want to look for a new one.

Another part of their relationship that provides drama is Four's trust issues with Tris. A few times in the trilogy chaos is caused by Four not trusting Tris. I remember a part in Allegiant (the final book in the trilogy) where Tris calls him out on that.

So look, writers, Hollywood directors, and all the others putting content out: look at the Tris/Four love story. See that love triangles aren't always needed and a compelling love story can be told without one.

Not saying that all love triangles are bad, but there are some in places that don't need one.

Sayings Sundays (March 16, 2014)

The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth is a very well done series. Even though I don't like Allegiant as much as the other ones, that one takes a huge risk and I applaud it. Though I did guess the certain event that would most likely happen half-way through the book so I wasn't as broken like I was by the ending of Mockingjay or Cujo.

Throughout the trilogy there are many twists and turns. Good guys become bad and bad guys gain some humanity that they didn't before.

The society is broken into different factions that are based on values that each faction believes are the way to achieve peace.

The Candor believe in complete and total honesty. They believe that one lie is just as bad as any other.

Tris learns some haunting things in Insurgent so it's no wonder why she'd question the positives of knowing the truth.

I watch the show Pretty Little Liars and looked up this song because of it. I won't say how many times I've listened to it so you can continue to believe I'm someone you can trust.

The upbeat tone to the song is great and Ingrid Michaelson has a very nice voice.

The image I chose to use is of my ultimate OTP: Science Husbands (aka a sexual/romantic relationship between Bruce Banner and Tony Stark)!

I chose the first line in the graphic because both Tony and Bruce have things that they are ashamed of but shouldn't be. Bruce's thing is the other guy (aka the Hulk) harming people when Bruce can't control him. Tony's thing, among other things, is the whole incident in how he started to build the Iron Man suit including a guy sacrificing his life for him.

Both have become more than their faults and each wants to remind the other of that fact.

The Divergent Movie Trilogy

The Divergent books revolve around Tris and the society she lives in. They are great books and I recommend you read them ASAP. The first two are golden while the third one does provide answers and an end to the trilogy, but it doesn't hold up to the first two that well.

On March 21'st of this year we'll get to see Divergent on the big screen. I am very suspicious, as always, about how well the filmmakers will make the adaptation.

However, this blog post isn't about my uneasiness. This blog post is about the fact that it seems the other two books in the series are lined up for film adaptations too!

I admit it's confusing to me how the other two are greenlit when the first isn't even released yet. How do those in charge know if the other two will be financially successful?

Depending on how well the first one does will define how I think the other two will turn out.

Insurgent has a 2015 release date for now.

Of all the books, I got the most out of Insurgent. Divergent had opened me to the world then Insurgent came in to expand on it and had a killer cliffhanger ending. I don't know how I survived the wait for the final book.

Allegiant has a 2016 release date for now.

I am surprised that Allegiant isn't being broken up into two movies as that seems to be the rage nowadays. Maybe that will happen later?

I saw one person say Allegiant shouldn't be made into a movie since it has a very depressing ending.

Two things about that:

1.) I have seen (The Grey with Liam Neeson) and read (Cujo by Stephen King) endings that are far sadder than Allegiant's ending. Allegiant has a really sad and shocking ending, but it's not the saddest I have dealt with in the past.

2.) Having a sad and depressing ending doesn't mean you can't film it. If that were the case, some great movies wouldn't have been able to be filmed.

Allegiant's ending (without spoiling anything) showed that Veronica Roth treats Young Adults like adults. She basically said in the ending, "I know you can handle this."

The outcry from the readers might be from not expecting an ending like Roth gave them and had them confuse the sad ending for a bad one.

Divergent, Please Don't Suck

I like to go into movies with an open mind. But, of course, that's not always the case. Sometimes I have bias for a movie I'll be seeing.

For the upcoming Divergent movie I'm biased because I love the books. I want to see a good adaptation of the books on the big screen. I am well aware that doesn't usually happen, but Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have gotten some decent adaptations.

What makes me worried about the Divergent movie is the fact that events are being changed and characters are being dropped. Those things always make me a little nervous.

Yes, you can tell a great story without some characters, but it makes your job a little harder. And it seems those who do movie adaptations usually don't realize what is at the heart of what they're adapting for film. So it means they have even more of a chance to fuck things up when they change the order of events and drop characters.

Shailene Woodley is set to play Beatrice "Tris" Prior who is the heroine of the Divergent Trilogy.

Theo James is set to play Four/Tobias who is a fellow Divergent and love interest.

If you're wondering: Yes, Veronica Roth is an Animorphs fan.

Jai Courtney is set to play Eric and is also being considered for the role of Kyle Reese in this upcoming film:

The Divergent Trilogy
Good Film Adaptations

Allegiant (Veronica Roth)

Title: Allegiant

Series: The Divergent Trilogy

Author: Veronica Roth

Released: 2013

Rating: 4/5

Basic Plot: For Tris Prior, the society based on factions she knew and believed in was destroyed by corruption of power, greed, loss, and violence. So when she got a chance to see and experience the world beyond which she knows, she is ready for that. Maybe there, she and Tobias will find a life which is much more easy and simple, free of pains, lies, and betrayals.

But her new surroundings are much more dangerous and difficult than her previous one. With the discovery of new shocking truths her world changes again and she has to fight her way out of it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Points of View
Now having multiple narrators in a book is a great thing to have. Not only do you expand the subplots that can happen, but you can show how different characters view the same event. Roth doesn't use this to good effect in Allegiant except to expand subplots. The different viewpoints is also good for an event near the end of the book which I won't talk about as it's a huge spoiler. The biggest problem about the different viewpoints is the fact that you can't really tell Tris' point of view from Tobias'. I was very glad that it wasn't just me making sure of who was narrating the chapters.

Explanation for What Happened in the First Two Books
Insurgent left us all with a need for the ending to be explained. What did it mean? The ending of Insurgent is explained, in detail, in Allegiant. Even what being divergent means is explained. While some might find it underwhelming I can say that it ties into what we already know about being divergent.

Eugenics
This book talks about that making people 'perfect' is not the way to go solving things. That if you get wrapped up in making the perfect race that you leave the important issues unsolved and put down those that are worth just as much as you. I feel this is an important subject to talk about and glad a YA book decided to discuss it. While a lot of people have said it's an allegory for racism I saw another angle. I have Asperger's Syndrome and other things that make it hard for me to tell what's happening outside of me and inside of me. So I took the eugenics theme to discuss how people like me aren't worth less than others just because our genes are different. But it really covers the broad subject of anyone who has been hurt by the dangerous 'science' of eugenics.

Final Thoughts
This book is the weakest in the series. It also seems to be set in a much different world than the first two and if it wasn't for the themes connecting Allegiant to Divergent and Insurgent, I wouldn't know what it was doing in this series. The writing is also weaker. I thought it was just me but others could see it too. However, it is good closure to the series. I finished the book and in an hour or two the pain really set in. I am glad that Roth tackled difficult subjects in this book (and at one point a finger is wagged at anti-gay policies) and didn't give us a happy ending. Too often happy endings in YA fiction happen and so the intended audience expects them. I would suggest Allegiant to those who have already read the first two books as you can't really understand this one without reading the first two first.
---------------------------------------------

Allegiant (Final Divergent Trilogy Book Named)

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Insurgent (Veronica Roth)

Title: Insurgent

Series: The Divergent Trilogy

Author: Veronica Roth

Released: 2012

Rating: 5/5

Basic Plot: Chicago is now at the brink of war. Tris must now do what is right while figuring out who is friend and who is foe.
--------------------------

Bigger and Better
I will just say 'wow'. Divergent (first book in the trilogy) was awesome but was the first part and, therefore, the setup. Everything expands from the first book here. Tobias/Four's relationship with Tris is explored with many ups and downs (great thing about this, no love triangle in sight!). The reasoning behind Jeanine Matthews' (the leader of the Erudite) plans to mind control the people of Chicago is explained (which made me more understanding of why she did what she did, though still not thinking of her as a good character). Plus there are good characters that turn out to be traitors and bad characters that end up doing good things.

Many Plot Twists
There are many points in this novel where there are plot twists. I won't mention any names here for the sake of keeping this spoiler free as possible. I will say that one made me feel like I was in extreme pain. The reason behind this was because I didn't think the character had it in him/her to do it. Truthfully, I don't think I'll ever get over what that character did and might do in the sequel (which hasn't been officially named yet, I believe). Another plot twist (where it is revealed a character isn't straight) didn't make any impact on me. It didn't really do much for the story.

The Growth of Tris
Tris is recovering from the events of Divergent as more painful events happen in this novel. How she reacts to the grief is sometimes annoying to me. The main thing is when she can't fire a gun (for the majority of the novel). I know Veronica Roth was trying to be realistic but it was still annoying to see a strong female character not being able to fire a gun. That being said, I am proud of her for pursuing truth so she doesn't mess up.

Final Thoughts
Holy flying penguins! This book was just awesome. I read this over 500 page book in two days (the large print, simple words, and shape of the book did help) and I would've read it quicker if I didn't have anything important to do. The twist at this ending will leave you breathless and craving for the final part of the trilogy. I won't mention the twist here (might make a post about it in another post, though) due to it being probably the biggest thing in the trilogy yet far. How big? It will change everything you think you know about the Divergent Universe. Yeah, that big. And I can't wait for it to be fully explained in the final part of this series.

Divergent (Veronica Roth)

Title: Divergent

Series: The Divergent Trilogy

Author: Veronica Roth

Released: 2011

Rating: 5/5

Basic Plot: Beatrice "Tris" Prior leaves her family (and faction) to join another. While going through Initiation she must also deal with her being a Divergent and keeping it a secret.
-----------------------------------------
A Real Page Turner
I could hardly put this book down. If all I could do all day was read I would've. I admit this review is out later than it should be since once I finished this book I had to start reading Insurgent (the sequel) right away.

Where One Belongs
A theme that this novel covers is where one belongs. Tris is a Divergent (aka someone who can fit into more than one faction) and so she can't tell anyone what she really is. This would be hard enough on its own but she's also a sixteen year old girl who is still growing up. She is trying to make friends as well as defend against enemies (who aren't above killing her). A lot is talked about the different Factions and how they interact with each other. In the Divergent Universe you belong to one of five factions (that dictate how you live your life) or live Factionless (who are basically the Untouchables). This makes fitting in very important.

Treats Young Adults Like Adults
This book is for young adults but it's not gentle at all. There is romance but there are also scenes that are hard to get through. At the end of the book it feels like Veronica Roth has personally beat you up to the brink of death. With that said, I would only recommend the strong willed to read this. It's a great read but you will be disturbed through many parts of this book.

Final Thoughts
I cannot say enough how great this book is. I decided I wanted to read this after I saw its good reception. I admit that I am biased for this book due to liking the dystopian future genre. I got this book as a Christmas gift. There is going to be a movie version released in 2014.