Book Review: DIVERGENT

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

***SPOILERS AHEAD!!!***

Divergent is similar to many other books that have been released lately – Torn, The Hunger Games and City of Bones, to name a few. What distinguishes these books from one another is the world they are set in, and the characters that populate the stories. Divergent is not a book without flaws, but its world and its distinctive characters add up to make this a good, satisfying book.

In Divergent, the people are divided and live within five different factions based on what suits them best – Dauntless for the brave, Amity for the peace-lovers, Erudite for the knowledgeable, Candor for the honest and Abnegation for the selfless. A child is born and raised in one of these five factions, and when they reach the age of sixteen they get to take an aptitude test which finds out which faction is most suitable for them, and choose to either stay with their faction, or join another faction which suits them more. Each faction promotes the virtue they think is most important, for example, in Candor all are expected to tell the truth, in Dauntless they do things like jump off moving trains and buildings, and in Abnegation people cannot have selfishness or pride, since that would go against the idea of selflessness. Once the child has chosen a faction, he or she will then undergo a period of initiation tests during which they are judged. Those deemed fit to join the faction will enter formally while those who fail are then forced to leave and join the “factionless”.

The story’s protagonist is Beatrice Prior, a sixteen-year old girl living in Abnegation. Despite sixteen years of life there, she is clearly unable to conform to its requirements – the people in Abnegation do not to look at themselves in the mirror as it shows self-indulgence, or ask questions since curiosity is unnecessary to selflessness. Beatrice has problems with both. Right at the start of the story, we see her peeking at herself in the mirror as her mother cuts her hair, which she’s not supposed to, and throughout her time in Abnegation we see her questioning her parents and brother Caleb on many things, showing a powerful curiosity.

During the aptitude test, however, we find out that Beatrice is unique – she has an equal aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite, which makes her a “Divergent”. The person testing her, a Dauntless member, is aware of what she is and hides her results, thus hinting that there is more than one of these Divergents.

Despite this, however, it’s clear that she wants to leave Abnegation. Unlike her brother Caleb, who seems perfectly suited for Abnegation, she knows that she is stifled by the society around her and wants to get out (it is likely due to her being a Divergent – she is selfless, but it clashes with the Dauntless’s strong pride and the Erudite’s powerful desire for knowledge). This desire makes Beatrice a relatable character, one that we can like – she doesn’t fit in, and she knows it, and most importantly, she’s willing to do something about it. She’s afraid of her parents’ reactions and disappointment, but she’s brave enough to fight for what she wants and joins Dauntless instead. We see more and more of Beatrice’s determination and strength as the book progresses. She changes her name to “Tris Prior” in order to start over in her new faction, she is the first to prove herself by throwing herself off an incredibly tall building despite not knowing what is underneath (the first of the Dauntless initiation tests) and she willingly volunteers herself to take over for a friend who is being punished by having knives thrown at him. Tris does have fears and insecurities like any other person, but time and again she proves herself strong enough to endure the difficulties she encounters, making her a protagonist that we like and root for.

The supporting characters are also rather likeable, especially Beatrice’s mother, and her fellow Dauntless initiate and friend, Christina. Beatrice’s mother constantly shows support for her – during the Choosing Ceremony, she specifically tells Beatrice that it doesn’t matter which faction she chooses, showing that she understands her daughter and supports her decision no matter what. She visits Beatrice on Visiting Day (families of initiates cannot visit them, except during the infrequent Visiting Day) although her father does not, and at the end of the book she reveals herself to be a Dauntless and saves her daughter from certain death, dying in the process. She is a noble character who does what she had to do to protect her children, regardless of the consequences.

Christina is the pillar of strength for Beatrice during their initiation – she is constantly cracking jokes and helping Beatrice, whether it’s defending her from bullies and fellow initiates Peter, Drew and Molly, or holding up her towel in front of Beatrice so she doesn’t have to change in front of the other initiates(the initiates are expected to do that, but Beatrice, as a former member of Abnegation, is unused to exposed nudity, which would be deemed vanity or showing off in Abnegation).

Another point I liked about the book was the different cultures of the factions, and the conflicts explored as a result of these different cultures, be it within the faction itself or outside of it. Divergent mainly explores the cultures of Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless. Abnegation is a stifled society where everyone is expected to give and not take. Selfishness is not allowed, nor is self-indulgence, vanity, or anything that may clash with selflessness. As a result, they clash with the Erudite, who are constantly desiring knowledge (thus making them selfish, in the eyes of Abnegation), and a big part of the story centers around Erudite constantly releasing reports insulting Abnegation’s way of life, leading to the final climax when Erudite takes control of the Dauntless using technology and brutally murder many of the Abnegation members. Although Abnegation’s way of living ensures that there is practically no conflict or disagreements, nonetheless, it is a difficult life where no one has the freedom to do as one pleases. On the other hand, Erudite is encouraged to seek out knowledge as much as they can, which should be good, but what happens when they start abusing the knowledge they have?

Another major conflict is within Dauntless itself – Dauntless considers bravery most important, and prove their bravery by jumping off moving trains, throwing themselves off buildings and essentially doing dangerous things. However, as Beatrice notes, there is a fine line between bravery and foolhardiness, and that line begins to blur within Dauntless. When a fellow initiate and friend of Beatrice’s, Al, commits suicide after trying to kill Beatrice out of jealousy for her excellent marks during initiation, he is praised for his “bravery” in daring to kill himself despite not knowing what lay after death. However, Beatrice thinks that Al is in fact a coward, since he uses death as an escape from his guilt. Another problem with the Dauntless life is that they are expected to challenge and fight each other. As a result of this, one initiate, Edward, is stabbed in the eye with a butter knife after winning first place in the first test, and leaves Dauntless. Divergent not only explores the cultures of the different factions, but also points out the problems with each one, fundamental problems with each faction’s way of living that leads us to ponder the question of why many of the things we do with good intentions (in this book it is compared to the creation and purpose of the factions) end up turning so wrong in the end.

Of course, Divergent was not a book without flaws. I find the main male lead, Tobias, (or Four, as he is commonly called) rather frustrating and almost bipolar. He is described as handsome, but is rude to Beatrice at first. At their very next meeting he shows some attraction towards her, and continues to do so until finally confessing his feelings for her. He claims that he likes her because she is not as rash but is more cautious than the other Dauntless. In fact, he likes her because of her Divergent personality. Which begs the question: how did he know what she was like within their first two meetings? We assume he had no interest in Beatrice during their first meeting; then why did he suddenly fall for her? How could he have known her personality so quickly, without even meeting her? Was he stalking her? His infatuation with her is strange and I can’t really wrap my head around it. Mainly because his character centers around Beatrice, I cannot understand his love for her and find his character a little strange and unbelievable.

Another problem with the book is the “big reveals”. Every book and movie has a twist that is hinted at in the beginning, like Darth Vader being Luke’s father, or Severus Snape being in love with Lily Potter. The only time Divergent managed to handle a twist properly was right at the beginning, when Caleb suddenly chooses Erudite over Abnegation (we are given a glimpse of his room, which is described as being literally stacked with books, hinting at his insatiable curiosity). After that, however, the twists become predictable. Beatrice’s mother is previously a Dauntless – but we can already guess that, because firstly, she’s unusually supportive of Beatrice leaving Abnegation, hinting at an understanding of her not fitting in and secondly, during the Visiting Day she shows an uncanny understanding of the nooks and crannies of the Dauntless headquarters. Combined with some other hints the book gives, it is fairly easy to guess that she is originally a Dauntless. Another big reveal that isn’t properly handled is Four’s revelation that he is originally from Abnegation. Beatrice’s mother finds him familiar, he is stiff when it comes to handshakes (something that only Abnegation finds difficult) and it is mentioned that a leader from Abnegation had a son, Tobias, who has transferred to Dauntless; it is also stated that Four is two years older than Beatrice, making him eighteen. These pieces are also easy to figure out. While I’m not complaining that Veronica Roth gives hints of the big reveals instead of just throwing them at us out of the blue, I do have a problem with how obvious her big reveals are. Instead of shocking us and giving us an “AHA!” moment (like what Caleb’s reveal does), we find ourselves bored and unsurprised because we already guessed the truth.

Another major problem I have is the deaths. By the end of the first book, half the characters we know are either dead or factionless. Al commits suicide, both of Beatrice’s parents are killed by Dauntless under the control of Erudite, Christina’s boyfriend (and Beatrice’s friend) Will dies, killed by Beatrice when he threatens her while under Erudite control and many initiates and friends (or enemies) like Drew, Molly, Edward and Myra have all left Dauntless and become factionless. I feel that Roth is a bit too free when it comes to character death, and it numbs us to those deaths. Furthermore, she kills off characters too quickly, preventing us from forming attachments to these characters, which takes out a lot of emotion and feeling from the book.

All in all, Divergent is a book with some flaws, but it also has many strong positives and is definitely worth a read.

Rating: 4/5

For ages 13 and above