Divergent (Divergent, #1) in Book Nerds Unite

Apr 30, 2021 elena ✧˖° rated it really liked it

Shelves: turned-into-a-movie, better-than-the-movie, to-buy, swearing, lots-of-swearing, steamy-scenes, violent, romance, clean-romance, read-again

4 stars | (B) 88% | Ages 14+ | Overall, the book was pretty good. There were definitely a lot of plot holes and the writing could use a little work. The story was fun, though and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I don’t love the first person present POV, and I think it would’ve been a better book had it been told a little differently, but it is still good.

Characters: 7/10 - Tris is a pretty good MC. In the beginning, I felt like her character was a little flat, but when she chose Dauntless and 4 stars | (B) 88% | Ages 14+ | Overall, the book was pretty good. There were definitely a lot of plot holes and the writing could use a little work. The story was fun, though and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I don’t love the first person present POV, and I think it would’ve been a better book had it been told a little differently, but it is still good.

Characters: 7/10 - Tris is a pretty good MC. In the beginning, I felt like her character was a little flat, but when she chose Dauntless and went through initiation, she became a much more dynamic person. She also grew more selfless as the story progressed. Once she realized who her friends (and her priorities) were, that changed her for the better. She started seeing herself as Four saw her--selfless but brave. I liked Four’s character a lot. He was super dynamic from the beginning. He has a lot of depth and the different sides of him were super interesting to read about. I love how much he cares about Tris--he bet on her even when she was the underdog. Christina is easily one of my favorite characters. She had a super fun personality and she reminded me of a lot of my best friends. Oh my gosh, I almost cried over Al...I felt so bad for him. He went through so much after choosing Dauntless and it broke him. It was so sad. I hate Peter, Drew, Molly, Eric, and Jeanine’s guts. And Tris’s parents were awesome.

Plot: 7/10 - This book had a pretty good plot line. It was your typical dystopian book. Messed up city, divided society, some sort of lottery-type thing. But despite that, I was actually pretty confused in the beginning. We kind of had to guess what each of the factions were (and what they represented) but once I figured that out, it was fine. It’s slow to read, but the actual plot line is rushed. Once she chose Dauntless, everything was pretty good after that. The worldbuilding was definitely lacking. It could use a lot of work. I’m still confused about some stuff. Like how do things work in the different factions, what do they wear, do they all live amongst each other? I felt like this book had a ton of potential but it wasn’t quite everything it could be. There are quite a few plot holes that I would like to have filled.

Violence: 8/10 - Oh gosh, there was a lot. I mean, to me it was worse than Hunger Games. It was definitely a lot more descriptive. Regardless of size or gender, every character beats and bloodies another, at some point. Several characters die. Several characters die: one commits suicide by throwing himself off a ledge; one falls by accident in the gap between a train and a roof; and others are shot dead during an armed ambush. Two characters are nearly choked to death. During one physical assault, two guys start “groping” a girl's chest and make rude comments about her body. Three initiates also intentionally stab the first-ranked competitor in the eye.

Sexual Content: 3/10 - Not bad. In Tris’s fear landscape, Four wants to have sex with her, but she doesn’t let him. She later tells him this and he vaguely tells her they can “someday.” But nothing happens in this book. (The word sex is said 3 or 4 times.) There is minimal kissing (only one of them is passionate, but it definitely wasn’t as descriptive as Twilight or something like that.)

Language: 3/10 - A couple uses of d*mn and frequent misuse of God's name. ...more

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