Overall Rating and Opinion of Divergent

[Scott]

What was your overall opinion of our June 2014 book of the month Divergent by Veronica Roth? Would you recommend the book to others? Why or why not?

I usually have a skeptical outlook on huge commercial successes, figuring they often tend to be to the literary world what McDonald's is to culinary art. I also usually do not like to start a series but would prefer to read a strictly standalone novel. So going in with low expectations I was actually satisfied. The book was fast-paced and kept me interested. Tris was a great protagonist--a nice multi-dimensional hero. I give it a solid 3 out of 4 star rating.

I am definitely glad I got to read this book before ruining that opportunity by seeing the movie, which I haven't done yet.

[gali]

I loved "Divergent" and found it a great read. It was on my list for a while, so I was glad for an incentive to read it. The world building was great and the idea of factions was intriguing. Since the book ended in a cliff hanger, I just had to continue to the second book. I found the second book fair, but it wasn't as good as the first one. I have heard that the third book was the worst and its end disappointing, so I decided not to read it. I think "Divergent" would be even better if it was a stand alone book and not part of a series.

My daughters read the 2 books of the series as well and loved it. They watched the movie as well, but I won't watch the movie. I would recommend the 2 books since they are exciting, fast and interesting to boot. The characters were well developed, the writing great, the plot interesting and the overall themes are relevant to teens and adults alike. In short a very quick and easy read.

[Little House]

I really liked Divergent. I thought that the story stood pretty well on its own, but I liked it enough to go ahead and read the rest of the series. After finishing the series, I realized just how good the author really is.

[aweirdassbooknerd]

I love hating on Divergent so I was utterly delighted when it was chosen as the Book of the Month.
Now I read the book the day after John Green recommended it and I was disappointed and thought maybe the next one won't be so bad. So I waited until the next one came out and ta-da - it was worse. There is absolutely no world-building. Seriously, what does Amity even do for a living? And what's the point of jumping in and out of trains? Is that just for the purpose of making you look cool? Why are Dauntless so suicidal ? Aren't they supposed to provide protection? How are they supposed to do that when half of them don't even survive the initiation? Why does the government have no backbone? What happens to kids of Factionless? Do they also remain Factionless?
Now our protagonists (that have been through the most used cookie-cutter of YA Novels)-

Four: I'm the hottest badass in town. I have a tragic backstory and have NEVER dated anyone in my entire life. Oh look-a minor! I will protect this enigmatic girl by being an ass to her the entire time but that's okay because she'll be safe. (That's so original, Veronica. No one's ever thought of that before)

Tris : I'm hypocritical and pass judgement on everyone about the things I do myself. OHMYGOD my close friend just died. I should go and make-out with my teacher! Also, let me get a makeover because #YOLO

This pretty much sums them up. Actually I'm going to be brave and say this pretty much sums the ENTIRE book.
If you like mindless reading then its a nice book. It does have nice actions scenes and the book definitely gets interesting by the end
but I won't recommend it.

[ttuso22]

I would recommend it because it was an interesting book, especially the whole simulation serum and creations like that that Veronica Roth added to her story. I thought it was done well, but I didn't really understand the hype for all of it. It was good, but not great. Read it if you have time. Otherwise it's not the best YA out there.

[Niknak9306]

I was a bit skeptical to read it since I had seen it was being turned into a movie. I hate when the movie rips the book apart. I decided to read it anyway and was glad I did. I felt that the story was well written and easy to read. It was very typical of the ya book series and predictable but hey, people obviously like that or books like these wouldn't sell. If you are going to bash it for being "unrealistic" then you clearly don't understand the meaning of fiction. Overall, it was decent compared to other ya books and I would recommend it if you are into those types of easy reads.

[kio]

I loved the characters, the plot, and story. Of course, I found the book better than the movie. As far as dystopian novels, so far I like this one the best from the ones that I've read. The writing style was unique, the story line was somewhat plausible, and the mix of action and dialogue seemed balanced.

[kasi33]

I really liked "Divergent". I would say that you should expect them to have the base elements of a YA, so that being said, the plot was amazing! Dystopian novels are always a fun read, so it was nice to have one with this type of story line.
I would prefer to have more of a back story of the society they live in, such as; is this Earth that they live on? How long has their society been this way? What rises and falls have they had?
I think a short story prequel set on the main characters' parents, mainly Tris', would be an amazing addition to this series!

[comfort80]

I enjoyed the books, but probably will not see the movies.
There were a lot of loose ends that were unfortunately tied up in the third book, so if you could get that far you'd be able to see a better picture of the series. That being said, the ending was very deflating. I like the fact that there are companion books to help fill in a little more of the blanks that Veronica left in the story, but I wish the holes weren't there to begin with.
All in all it wasn't a painful read, and after I get over the ending, I might actually read it again. I would recommend it to others.

[amansmith]

I read Divergent when I heard it was going to be made into a movie. I liked the book and thought it was a good read. I liked the characters and what they had to go through to become who they were meant to be, but when I started looking at the other books in the series I found out how everything ended. Well I don't want to ruin the series for anyone else just in case they don't like to know what happens ahead of time so I will just say that I didn't like the ultimate outcome and I could not bring myself to read the other books because of that. I enjoy happily ever after endings and I don't think this series has that so even though I liked Divergent I couldn't bring myself to read anything else.

[AnnieFulton]

I would give this book a 4 out of 5 review. It was pretty predictable, but still intriguing and tantalizing. I think the book works well as a stand alone novel without the other two books.

[S dot Lennon]

I read this book a while ago posted the review on my personal blog and gave it (and the entire series) a 3. I know people that really enjoyed this series. It is a very easy to read, engaging novel but it has its flaws. In my opinion one of the main flaws was the lead character, Tris. I was much more invested in finding out the history of the factions and how they came to be than I ever was with Tris. Four was intriguing, interesting and had some depth but I found Tris superficial. Divergent is an interesting take on a dystopian novel and if you enjoy Adult fiction then this will probably be a good choice for you. It's not complicated and has some interesting twist but it needed to be developed more.

[ariana_e1]

I liked Divergent a lot! I thought it was really good! I read it all in one sitting, but the problem was that it was so good that it set really high expectations for the next two books. I was let down with the next two books. But, Divergent was really good and keeps the reader interested. It didn't go on too long explaining unecessary details in the book. It was full of action and adventure and it still had a good mix of romance in it too, which is an added bonus!

[autumnmarie]

I'm really glad that Divergent was made book of the month because it gave me incentive to pick up a book I otherwise may have passed up due to the commercial hype. What I immediately found attractive about Roth's writing style is her "in medias res" approach. Instead of dragging on and explaining the circumstances indicative to this post-war world era she found a way of providing relevant details on a need to know basis--which I found highly enjoyable and reader friendly. The only time this was harmful to her was when we first enter the Dauntless world and names are thrown about without any relevant foundation. Luckily, this is remedied in the following chapters through dialogue and interaction with the main character. I found Roth's originality with the five different factions thought-provoking and believable but understandably flawed as well. Something I found she also dealt with quite well with was the romance between Four and Tris. So often you expect with YA novels that the relationships will be fantastical and without a doubt unrealistic in the most extravagant ways but here Roth weaves a intricate web of character interaction that is suitable between two very young and changing adults. It was tender and realistic but not too over-powering to the rest of the plot and that balance is something I enjoy in a book. While I understand this is more suitable for a younger audience, I think it is a nice, quick read for more experienced readers that highlights some principal themes that cannot be ignored, well-developed characters and a good reading pace as well. I haven't heard the most stellar reports about the sequel but I will probably pick it up anyways to find out what happens next.

[Daniel Constancio Jr]

Clearly, a fair read. It begins with a small chirp to what we conceive to be a society constructed of morality. It starts with a nice welcome to my world intro, but not so much to what would like to learn. Particularly our hero. Challenges bring the foundation of this Mesopotamia realm. Although, even little excerpts here and there describe what intelligent people often contemplate. A society of better quality.
It reminds, me of college. How others tend their sheep and maintain distances from loners.
Perhaps, it could 've been better. But, if they made a movie of this story, then clearly, it was a good marketing target.
Kudos to the young Author.