‘Divergent’ –.
My first impression of ‘Divergent’ was that this would be another typical teenage fantasy novel with the expected love interest. I was right about one part and not quite so with the other. In fact, whilst the love interest was quite predictable from the beginning (literally, you can see from the start who Tris will fall in love with), Roth successfully adds a little more essence to this plot which makes her story a little bit different from the rest.
The five factions that society is now divided in to is an interesting concept and Roth focuses on the Dauntless faction over everything else. I found this a little frustrating as I wanted to know more about the history of society – what made the world change and create these factions? I also felt Roth could have spent a little more time on what the other factions (and factionless) were about, because I felt this would have enriched the story just that little bit more.
However, the whole idea of control and mindless actions is really seen through Tris’s experience. The faction training demonstrates the control that society has over individual thought and this leads to the novel’s climax, which seems vaguely familiar of films that have similar story lines. Indeed, I think it is the last part where the novel really picks up pace from being quite “ploddy” and trying to develop a story.
Whilst there are some typical characters in this novel: the misunderstood protagonist, the dark and mysterious male, the bully, the dangerously-ambitious leader, this is definitely worth giving your time to read. It is one of three and I hope that Roth will give readers more information about this world she has not fully depicted in the first instalment.
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