Book Review: Divergent

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Paperback, 487 pages

Published February 28th 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books (first published 2011)  

Book Review

Beatrice "Tris" had always felt out of place among her faction, she wonder if she could be truly fit in one out of five factions . . . Candor (Honest), Abnegation (Selfishness), Amity (Peaceful), Erudite (Intelligence) or Dauntless (Bravery). The aptitude that will define where you belong but Beatrice doesn't belong in any, she is DIVERGENT. 

Unsure of what to do she choose Dauntless because she want that taste of fearless but also she is drawn to their bravery. She will leave her old faction and go through a whole new faction, where she will be put to the test.

To be Dauntless you must acquire physical strength, mentality and face your fears . . . Beatrice now "Tris" is put through a series of challenges, she must prove to the Dauntless that she belongs there that she can full-filled their training. 

But can she? Or will her being DIVERGENT draw even more attention to her? 

Divergent is a thrilling, compelling book to read, taken in place of a futuristic Chicago and society is divided. Now granted I want to give this a 5 Cat's Tails Up but there are aspect of the movie I like over the book ~ 4.5 Cat's Tails Up.

MEOW . . . MEOW . . . MEOW

Now granted I saw the movie first but in my defense I had read Divergent once before but didn't enjoy it as much due to a reading funk I had so I had place Divergent under my re-read pile. Since seeing the movie I decided that I wanted to read the book, to see how close was it to the book, was the book better than the movie or lived up to its expectation?

The answer to that . . . the Movie did better than the book, seeing the world of Divergent was real and while the movie kept some tie-in with the book. The movie did better for the book, and the cast also had a big part of making this movie so spectacular as well everyone else that was involved. 

I got Tris's voice very clearly in the book just like the movie but for Four it was a different story, the book had a different tone of Four that actually made me think that he was such a brooding character and didn't have that charismatic that Theo James brought out in Four. 

I know I'm comparing the book to the movie, and really that's what I want to do as a reader, a fan, and as a blogger. The book was thrilling to me consider I finished it in 5 days and could not put it down or having to need to read that next chapter that ends up reading three more chapters after that. 

So Now I give you some GIF of Four(Theo James) and Tris (Shailene Woodley) 

The Cat's Meow: Divergent

So this is out of the norm for The Cat's Meow regular feature, but today I wanted to express and share my thoughts on the movie Divergent. Now yes I'm very well aware that it's based on Veronica Roth's books and I know you probably think that I should have read the book first . . . well there's two side of the story.

 

I'm that kind of person that would go either way with Books to Movies and Movies to Books . . . If I had an interest in the book long before the idea of a movie came then I would see it. If there was a movie based on a book that I haven't read, the trailers are what has to impress me in order to see it and when I see it Would it be enough to make me want to read the book?

Well for Divergent it was both ways, I had read Divergent last summer but it was also the time that I got into a bad reading funk and reading Divergent didn't make an impact on me. But then I heard about the Movie and thought that perhaps I should read the book. But I still didn't but I kept being drawn in those trailers and cast talks so by the time the first official trailer not the teaser came I was hooked on seeing the movie.

So now I'm eager to read the book (again) and give it another shot because really you can't enjoy any book even your favorite when in a funk. 

The movie was filled with Action and a new look of Chicago but more importantly, there was a story behind it. The whole thought of having 5 factions and choosing to live in one of those for the rest of your life is such a futuristic society that could happen. The Aptitude test that defines who you are and where you should be in society. I've heard how hard the cast had to work for their role/character and being a dauntless can be a challenging task.

The Female Protagonist and the Male Protagonist

I love Shailene Woodley, she is such amazing young actress who doesn't let fame identify herself for who she is in life. I've watched her on the Secret Life of American Teenager, watch her grow into a young woman and then seeing her in The Descendant. You can tell she plays the role as if it was her that was dealing with that character's problem. She became the character and not just an actress that plays a character.

Now I've only seen Theo James in Underworld: Awakening and thought he's pretty decent but also guys with accent just takes me away. Well when I saw him as Four somehow he just became hotter and I was super excited to see him play this Four character who he was only briefly in my mind but I also wanted to know FOUR.

 

 

Tris and Four ready to take a stand

 The famous knife throwing scene: Believe it or not that is one of my favorite scene aside from the ferry wheel, and I'm sure there are other parts but there's a reason why I chose these scenes. One Four starts to shows compassion towards Tris and starts becoming kind to her. Four knew that there was something different about Tris and he was determine to find out.

Also can I add that Theo James/Four is just so damn HOT!!!! I mean his character is just swoon worthy and it make me wish that I had given the book a chance the first time around but thankfully books can't hate me unless I've done some poor damage to it but I can't wait to read Four in the book.

Don't worry I'll be seeing it again on the big screen, now my only hope is that they will release it in a short time like 3 three months rather than 6 months because I can watch Theo and Shailene over and over again.

Blogger Times

I apologizes for not blogging so much these past few weeks, I have been busy in my realtiy world.  Book world is so much better than reality, here's a few reasons why

1. It's my relaxing time
2. I can visit my book boyfriend(s)
3. Their world seems better than mine
4. Bloggers always have something to giveaway and give the best reviews
5. Too many books had come out that I'm barely keeping track

So here's some things in my Blogger Times,

• I have been given a chance to review a book called The Willows: Haven by Hope Collier, I'm still reading it and I'm loving every mintue of it!
• I have been waiting for my Barry Lyga's signed copies of "I Hunt Killers" and the sequel "Game"
• I purchase two discounted hardcover books, one by Kelley Armstrong and the other by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs
• I haven't open Fragments since last week because I still have three book to still review but I'm reading The Willows: Haven because Hope offered her book to me to be read and give a review.

So here's some book photos

 

 

 

Thanks Addendum Bookstore for sending the books to me!!!!

 

Now the two Discounted Hardcovers

 Virals(Virals #1) By Kathy Reichs.Brendan Reichs and The Gathering(Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong.

 

I purchase these books at Books-a-Million(I won't blame you if you are not familiar with that bookstore. They are the company that brought out my old borders store although I wish we had gotten a Barnes and Noble instead)

 And the Books I Still have to review

 

On my Ipad I have School Spirit by Rachel Hawkins provided by NetGallery, Then it's the Goddess Test by Aimee Carter and Divergent by Veronica Roth.  I might consider re-reading Goddess Test and Divergent.

 

 

Currently Reading

Divergent (Divergent #1) By Veronica Roth

Goodreads Description

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

This book was released in Hardcover and Ebook formats May 3rd, 2011. Then was released in paperbacks on February 28th, 2012. Published by Katherine Tegen Books, Number of pages 487 with both formats. The Paperback format has bonus materials.

This Book was voted on Goodread Choice Award for "Favorite Book" . . . and soon a movie

So I'd finally picked up this book after having purchase it last summer, and said "Let's read this book NOW!" Now I've heard this book is the next best thing to read after the Hunger Games, however I did not show interest in reading it.

Yes I went to the movie, sure it was okay but I just can't fathom how that is okay for young teen to read? Movies also applies. ANYWAYS I'm not going to rant on my POV on the Hunger Games.

Divergent . . . What do I think so far?

Well I like the Chicago area idea, considering I've been to Chicago once and love what I saw of it. But also Veronica Roth lives in Chicago so she got some of her ideas from home-based.

Factions? Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite . . . How do you choose?
From my understanding of it is that you are put through a aptitude test that matches you up with the best consideration of Factions that you could choose to join.

Now the main character Beatrice or "Tris" she neither pass/fail the test . . . her result was inconclusive which is what they refers to her as DIVERGENT. But Beatrice was told to not say anything to anyone about her results.

Abnegation (the selfless)

Amity (the peaceful)

Candor (the honest)

Dauntless (the brave)

Erudite (the intelligent)

So now the choosing factions ceremony, Tris decided to go to the Dauntless Faction, however she question herself did she make the right choice? As every transfers and Dauntless-born are put through series of tests. Tris meets a few people along the way.

The Dauntless Initiates  

Christina (Candor)

Will (Erudite)

Al (Dauntless)

Peter (Candor)

Molly (Condor)

Drew (Candor)

Uriah (Dauntless)
 

Tris begins to get along with Christina, Will and Al but the rest all see her as weak and "Stiff" because of where she's from. Tris doesn't do much to try and prove herself or draw attention but no matter what she does, she is somehow always noticed.  The instructors Eric and Four are overseeing who has what it take to be a Dauntless but there is tension between the two from their own initiate where Four was rank #1 and Eric was #2.

Characters Thoughts?

Aside from the weird names, they each are different and you can tell what their personality is but also how each have their own strength and weaknesses.
Beatrice "Tris" started off venerable but now after she been through a lot of downs rather than ups, she finds an inner strength within her.

But what she also does is find out that she is not the only "DIVERGENT" around. She also finds friendship among Will and Christina but also her instructor Four who seem to taken in interest in her because I'm sure he suspects something unusual about Tris.

There weren't many characters that you needed to keep an eye on because they didn't make the cut of being a Dauntless, but Al who had confined with Tris during multiple training sessions all the sudden turns against her.

I'm about 80% done with Divergent although I swear I just started this book Monday or Tuesday. But I guess that what happen when you read TOO MANY chapters at night. My review of the book won't be posted until sometime late next week as I take about a week to write an review.