Hello!
Over the last few weeks, I have been rereading the Divergent books by Veronica Roth. It’s taken me a little longer than I had anticipated but at the weekend I finished the final book! This was my first reread of the trilogy since I read them when I was sixteen. I have been putting off reading them in case the magic wasn't there. I was worried I had grown up and fallen out of love with the faction fictional world.
Spoiler: that was definitely not the case. I am glad I still love the books is that after reading them the first time around a little while after I got the factions tattooed on me as the start of my book sleeve.
What sparked the reread? Before picking the books again up I was watching the films and it was weird because I felt as though scenes were missing. I then realised the books and films had merged in my brain. Just to put this out there, I don't think the films were completely awful. I actually adore the first film as that got me into the books when it was released back in 2014. I knew the books had more to them and I thought to differentiate the films and books a reread was necessary.
In this post, I will talk about each book, including the extra book Four and will discuss what I liked about each etc. Mini book reviews if you will.
Divergent - ★★★★★
I also really loved getting to know and meet the Dauntless born initiates in this book, they're not really present in the films but in particular, I really liked Zeke and Uriah. Dauntless and daring to the bone, their relationship is one of love and playfulness. I love the dauntless compound, I think if I was in this world I would love to be Dauntless but I definitely wouldn't pass initiation. Maybe Erudite or Amity?
I watched the film before reading the book so I already had an image of the characters in my head before reading but the majority of characters matched up. With the exception of Eric, the film Eric appearance-wise is very different to book Eric. Book Eric was covered in piercings! When I first watched the film and read the series, I was obsessed with Eric. He isn't the nicest of characters but I adored him. Is this still the case? Yes and no. I still like him as a character, I think his role especially in the first book was needed for the narrative but I don't think he is a nice guy at all.
The plot of this book is life after Tris, Four, Peter, Caleb and Marcus flee from the Dauntless compound and head to Amity. Dauntless traitors and Erudite team up to hunt Divergents as well as capture the fugitives Four and Tris. There is the return of Four's mother Evelyn, who was previously presumed dead, she wants to overthrow Janine and the Faction system with her team of Factionless. Tris and Four try to seek out the other Dauntless, who are safe in Candor. Both of them undergo the truth serum letting out all their secrets, Four's abuse, Tris' killing her friend etc. It is very intense. Janine sets out attacks on the none Divergent, which Tris hands herself into Euridite where we find out her brother Caleb is a traitor.
I cannot stand Tris's brother Caleb, which only gets worse in the next book. This book is my least favourite out of the three, I find it incredibly frustrating at times. This book is probably the biggest out of the three, a lot happens! It ends with Tris being rescued and a video explaining that the faction system is an experiment and that there is life beyond the wall.
I think this book is frustrating because the characters like Four's parents are so infuriating. Marcus is horrible and I despise that he holds the important information that everyone needs to know, he is a horrible character! Marcus tries to redeem himself but I don't think abusers deserve redemption. I wish he didn't play an important role in the second book, but he does. Eric dies in this book, I remember being a little upset when I first read it but the second time around it was justified. He was a sadistic murderer who had zero redeeming qualities. I do think it would have been interesting seeing how he would react to the information about the people outside of the wall.
The film went weird with this film and took an unnecessary tangent, if I am honest I pretend the films stopped after the first one.
In this book, Tris and Four take a team beyond the wall. The majority of this book is set in the compound, which is a weird place, I remember being so shocked when I first read the book. It is in the compound where we learn that their world is split into Genetically Pure (Divergent) people and Genetically Damaged (none Divergent). This book is action-packed, Every chapter has you on the edge of your seat. There is rebellion and explosions. Johanna creates an army called the Allegiant to go against Evelyn's army, this causes issues in the compound and the leader of the compound demands a factory reset of the entire experiment. Tris sacrifices herself in order to wipe out the compound's memory and let the Chicago experiment have freedom.
I liked that there were a few different literary techniques used in this book, from switching perspectives (Tris and Four) to reading diary entries. My favourite part of this book is the diary entries from Tris' mother, I really liked reading about her entering the experiment. I thought this was a lovely way for Tris to connect with her dead mother and see what she was like before having children.
This book is definitely the most emotional of them all, my feelings were a wreck whilst reading the final book. I had to take breaks in between chapters just to gather my thoughts and settle my feelings. This book was filled with tragedy.
Major SPOILER: Tris’ death broke me. Granted not as dramatically as it first had when I read at 16 but I cried every chapter after she died too. Not to be rude but it should have been Caleb, she deserved a happy ending with Four!
The ending didn't sit right with me, life after Tris just felt sad and tragic. I think it's because we start the trilogy with Tris and we go through everything with her step by step and for her to just die and the book go on without her felt wrong. Tris sacrifices herself to reset the compound's memory so there is no superiority between the genetically pure and the genetically damaged. Once the compound is reset the experiment is over, people have the option to live wherever they please.
Four - ★★★★☆
I love this book, a collection of chapters from Four's life. Roth almost written the series from Four's perspective but later decided Tris was the right character to tell the story. Some of the chapters in this book are what you would have found if Roth hadn't changed her mind.
This entire book is from Four's perspective whereas the trilogy is from mainly in Tris’ perspective. The extra details and scenes are an exquisite read. We got to see deeper into Four's life and initiation. We also got to see how he and Eric came to hate each other and it’s juicy! You don’t need to read the book for the plot but it’s very nice extra content!
Overall? I’m glad I reread the books. They were magnificent and still hold the top spot for the favourite trilogy in my eyes. I love the world so much, Tris, Four and even Eric will forever hold a special place in my heart! I think I’ll be due another reread when I hit my thirties, that should give me enough time to emotionally recover!
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