Book 3 Review

               
            Divergent's popularity sprung up out of nowhere. Veronica Roth was close to an absolute nobody-author, until this book spread like a forest fire. The Divergent trilogy and a few books spiraling off of it are her only books written. How could one book, from an unknown author become so popular in a short amount of time? Well, what's inside the book might have a good amount to do with it. Divergent, the first book of the trilogy, consists of a society ran by factions. There are five factions, who you are born into one but once the age of sixteen hits, you have the ability to transfer to another one. Tris Prior, a sixteen year old girl, takes a test to figure out which faction best suits her. Her conclusions? Divergent. The most feared term to say allowed. She fits into more than one faction, by the works of her divergence and ability to manipulate the test. Taking this opportunity to make the decision by herself, she transfers to a faction called Dauntless, also referred to as "hellions" according to Tris' father. They are the most fierce and violent of them all. And that is where the story dives into action. She's faced with many challenges, enemies, and fears. Throughout it all, she meets her lover, Four. That's when the drama smacks you in the face like the teenage girl it loves to be.

           Veronica Roth has an extremely relaxed writing style. Her choice of vocabulary is average, her action words are predictable, and her characters all share the same expressions. The description of "she scowled" and she "purse her lips" is repeated a good million times it feels like. Not necessarily saying that's a bad thing. When desiring a quick read, Divergent is nearly perfect. After finding out that Roth was still in college while writing these books, it makes a lot more sense, considering her writing reflects her age. Divergent feels like a watered down The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, except with a lot more touchy romance. You have the independent, strong female character who knows way more about surviving than any other human being (Tris vs. Katniss), and the stand-off male character who conceals his feelings well (Four vs. Gale). If the two books were placed in front of me, The Hunger Games would be my choice within a split second. Why? The writing

style. Collins exhibits much more technique and variety. Her writing style is the male peacock while Roth's is the female. One is by far more outstanding than the other. But after putting the basic writing style out of your mind, there are no further complaints about Divergent. The plot is complex; there are twists and events you wouldn't expect, causing you to pull an all-nighter in order to keep reading. The scene that got me hooked was "Edward lies on the floor next to his bed, clutching at his face. Surrounding his head is a halo of blood, and jutting between his clawing fingers is a silver knife handle".  Who could predict someone getting their eye stabbed with a butter knife? I know I couldn't. Moments like that are what draw you in and temporarily make the book addictive.

           Putting Roth's age and inexperience into consideration, Divergent is an impressive novel. I would love to be able to say that was my first book published. In other words, Roth has something to be proud of. It deserves a 4.2 star rating out of 5. What caused the loss of the 1.8 stars? Undeniably, the lack of creative and enticing writing. Yes, it may seem as if that point is being beat like a dead horse, but it's a huge factor. It's a book, so therefore the writing talent is actually quite important. But overall, the Divergent trilogy is completely worth the read and your time.