Divergent: Book and Movie Review
I should have been reviewing for the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) while I was reading this dystopian trilogy by Veronica Roth.
Divergent is the debut novel of American novelist Veronica Roth, published by Harper Collins Children's Books in 2011. It is a young-adult dystopian novel set in the so-called Divergent Universe, that features a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago. The novel explores the protagonist's emotional struggles as she defines her identity within a society that defines its citizens' by their social and personality-related affiliation with five different factions. Also driving the novel is a romantic subplot between Tris and Four, her trainer in her new faction, "Dauntless". - Wikipedia.
Initially, despite the marketing and advertisement by the media, the Divergent didn't really catch my attention. I just decided to read the whole book after I watched the official trailer.
I don't know... I guess it's because I already have the image of Theo James and Shailene Woodley in mind while reading the book so it's a whole lot better than just reading the book with blank faces of a boy and girl in mind. The best thing is that I can let my imagination about the whole place run wild - not just limited within what's featured in the movie.
This is the first time that I actually read the whole book before watching the movie adaptation and I must say, there's the big difference than doing it the other way round. Now that I have experienced this, I will do my best to read the book first before watching its movie adaptation. It's a better exercise for your imagination and offers a better experience. :)
So in the post-apocalyptic Chicago, the ancestors of the decided to establish the city into five different factions according to personalities:
Abnegation - for the selfless
Amity - for those seeking peaceful
Candor - for those who are (brutally) honest
Dauntless - for the brave
Erudite - for the intelligent
They believed that the faction system is the reason why they have made it after the war. How are they sorted? They are sorted into factions (I can't help but compare it to Harry Potter's houses) when they turn 16. The sixteen-year-old of every factions will have to take an aptitude test, which results will tell them which faction they are compatible to.
Well, what's odd is that these people don't necessarily have to choose the faction according to the aptitude test result. They still have the option to freely choose which faction they want to join. I mean, the aptitude test only exists to... like... give advice? I dunno. I think its main purpose is to allow the Erudite to determine the divergents - whom they perceive as a threat to the system because divergents can't be confined in a single faction only. They can qualify for 2 or more factions.
Tobias "Four" Eaton played by Theo James. Image from divergentfans.
Thomas Eaton is a total hottie. I don't deny that obvious fact. When I was reading the book series, I have his face and physique in mind so I don't have a problem imagining Four. I mean, he fits the character well! It's really easier to read the book with a real person's image in mind. :)
Shailene Woodley as Beatrice "Tris" Prior. Image from tobiaslovesmydauntlesscake.
Shailene Woodley isn't exactly the short, wimpy girl that looks like a child from the book but overall, she was able to portray the character effectively.
I have read the trilogy already and honestly, I am having difficulty reviewing the Divergent book because there are lots of things that have been disclosed already in the other two books.
Overall, I like the author's writing style. Veronica Roth was able to write an action-packed novel in a way that won't make my head hurt from all the big, technical words. It was a light read.
The only thing I want to complain about is the fact that first 75% of the book is all about a little too elaborately written training of initiates and cooking of the Tris-Four love story. I can't complain much about the latter as much as I complain about the first one because honestly, it's the only thing that geared me up to read the whole trilogy - since I already have the image of Shailene and Theo in mind (they have good chemistry).
The real action just started in last few pages so I felt like the story line was dragging itself a little bit. Overall it was an enjoyable (yet not-that-spectacular) read.
As for the movie, though, there were LOTS of things that happened in the book that aren't featured in the movie at all - I should not be disappointed but I still am. :(
Besides, the compound looked better in my imagination than what I saw in the movie and it's kinda disappointing.
Of course, since it's a BIG movie, I expected the whole thing to beat the world that I conjured myself when I was reading the book.
As of the plot, though it feels like the author just threw things she randomly thought of in her dreams together in the first 75% of the book (because most of those things didn't really matter that much with regards to the whole story), I like the way that the love story and the action are balanced - that is, in the book - which wasn't that apparent in the movie.
The thing about Divergent is that you really need to read the whole trilogy to understand what's going on. I find it amusing! Seriously. I don't know about you but after I learned the reason why they were inside a fence, I felt a conflicting feeling of disbelief and amusement.
I found myself saying, "Ugh. Seriously?"
Anyway, if you guys want a free EPUB copy of the trilogy (and other inclusive), click the following titles: Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant, Free Four, The Transfer. Enjoy! :)
For free PDF copies of all five, click here. Do remember to wait for 5 seconds and click the skip ad button that looks like this:
Have you read the Divergent book and watched the movie adaptation too? Feel free to share your comments below. :)
