So I finally read the Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, mainly because I stole the first book from my 12 year old sister. And I enjoyed most of it? Kinda? I don’t really know how I feel about it. I really liked the plot and the premise but in all honesty? I really REALLY hated most of the characters, including Tris and Tobias - I actually disliked those two the most. But it def was not worth the hype.

Spoilers below!


What I liked
So I actually really liked the idea - basically the people of Chicago are a giant government experiment to breed the “evil” out of people. The government thinks that the “Genetically Pure” are the answer to fixing a United States that has been torn apart by years and years of war. So the government divided the people up into factions based on personality. Basically the faction system falls apart and Chicago starts tearing itself apart. The Government does nothing really to fix it and is ready to wipe out everyone’s memory.

I also liked the fact that this could have gone in the direction of Twilight where Tris was all up Four’s ass but Tris wound up being a (slightly) better female lead than Bella because she was so independent. Tris’ independence is actually the only thing she had going for her.

What I didn’t Like
This would have been a REALLY good series if the characters (and dialogue) were stronger. Tris was such a annoying character - she was ALWAYS right and NEVER made any mistakes and then got SUPER judgmental when the people around her would make mistakes. And Tobias - don’t get me started on Tobias - all he did was whine, complain, and mope. “woe is me - i fucked up, tris never lets me be right, i’m gonna do what I want cause i’m such a tragic character.” Barf. And then all the secondary characters were just…there. So flat and 2 dimensional. Will and Uriah were obviously the comic relief, Christina was the jealous best friend, Eric and Peter where bad guys and everyone else was just…there…to move along the story.

I also REALLY hated that Veronica Roth decided that she was going to switch back and forth between Tris’s POV and Tobias’ in THE LAST BOOK! The last one! I actually really love when there’s a switching POV (Game of Thrones anyone!?) but that’s really an all or nothing type thing. Do it throughout the series or don’t do it at all.

Phew. I think that’s all I had to say about that. ( )

So glad I got this. It was fantastic. ( )

So glad I got this. It was fantastic. ( )

I'm going to review all three books in this series in one go.
I was not very impressed with the stories at all.
Maybe they appeal to younger readers, but I thought the stories were formulaic and boring - sorry.
I was given digital copies of these books by the publisher Harper Collins via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review. ( )

I really liked books 1 and 2 but thought the ending of book 3 was pretty far fetched. I also could not make it through book 4 (the book all about 4). Is it sad that I actually liked the movies MORE than the books? ( )