Sunday 29 June 2014

Divergent - Veronica Roth Review


Grade - D+

SPOILERS AHEAD

The latest addition to the plethora of YA novels about a young girl who must overcome a dystopian vision of the future is, unfortunately, a book that lacks the suspense or intrigue that the concept should provide, as shown by The Hunger Games, and is generally a slog to get through. The book revolves around Tris who, through a series of developments, learns that she is Divergent and a threat to the system of government that controls this dystopian future. 

The climax of the book is the main section that provides genuine suspense and thrills, but this is due to the fact that the plot moves out of the previous primary setting of a Dauntless Training Camp, a faction within the novel that Tris joins. It is here that the major flaw in the novel lies, revolving the novel around Tris' progression through the training camp left no room for suspense as many of the challenges she faces were either stimulated or on such as small scale that at no point was there any genuine tension. 

The characters in the novel are also quite problematic. Many of the characters motivations and actions don't ring true, an example being Al's betrayal of Tris. Al had been established as good but gullible character, not one who would double-cross Tris to the brutal extent that he did, this is just my personal interpretation but I don't think it complies with what we have learned about Al's character. 

The relationship between Tris and Four, a Dauntless training leader, is one that starts as a slow-burn but accelerates into undying love for each other. This is problematic as, had Roth developed this relationship further throughout the trilogy as opposed to forcing it at the end of the book, the relationship would have been more enjoyable and tense, like that between Peeta and Katniss in The Hunger Games trilogy.

It's a shame that this book was such a disappointment, while the hype didn't help, had this have been an unknown book, my opinion would have remained the same. Divergent is a novel with little genuine suspense or insight and I have no desire to continue the series.  

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