I'm a little late at posting this because my weekend was a little unexpectedly crazy. So here I am, finally reviewing this book.
"Divergent" was another one of those books that I read after seeing the movie first. I can't decide if this is something I should make a habit of or not. I find that when I see the movie first, I definitely pick it apart less. Even as I read the book when I notice things that are missing from the movie, instead of the outrage of misrepresentation, I'm more like "Oh, huh...THAT wasn't in the movie." And then it just adds to the story. But I also find that I try and gage a timeline based on the movie - like I am anticipating the end of the book before I'm even through the first chapter.
That being said, I really enjoyed this book! I thought there were some really great character building moments that we missed in the movie. Peter's character in particular is one that I got to know better through reading the book. His drive to do whatever it takes to be number one is appalling. I remember being shocked that he would stab Edward in the eye, even though he (Peter) was number two and in no danger of being cut from initiation. When Triss was attacked after her new ranking, I could understand Al's motive - as he was likely to be factionless by the end, but I had a harder connecting with Peter's motives. I understood them, because I understood him, but I was still horrified by it.
There were actually a few things that I liked better in the movie than I did in the book. For starters, in the movie when Four takes Triss through his fear landscape and they reach the part where he has to kill an innocent, he tells her that in order to be able to do it - he has to look away. It seems like a small thing, but it plays out later - not only in the first movie, but the second as well. His need to look away from his victims is ultimately what brings him out the sim when he is about to kill Triss at the end. In the movie, she puts the gun in his hand and presses is against her head, then as he starts to close his eyes and look away she grabs his face and forces him to look at her saying "it's okay, look at me, it's okay." The forced eye contact at this crucial moment is what brings him out of the simulation. In the book, there is nothing about an inability to look at his victims, which is fine, but to me makes this moment less believable. Four tells Triss in the book that he just heard her voice and that is what brought him back to the real world - to me, that is just ridiculous and sappy. I don't buy that he was just so in love with her that her voice in his head was enough to save his consciousness. I liked the foundation behind the idea that when he is forced to look at her, he really sees her. This also adds more meaning to an incident in the second movie, that I won't mention in case you haven't seen/read Insurgent, but it makes me prefer this to the way it happened in the book. The second thing I liked better about the movie is that Four wasn't the one to shut down the program controlling the Dauntless. In the movie, they inject Janeen with the simulation serum and force her to shut it down. To me that was a much more potent choice. Her reaction when she is released from the sim herself really helps to build her character. I didn't dislike the book because of these aspects, but I just preferred them in the movie, which is not something I am used to experiencing.
One of the things I found interesting about this book was the factions. My mom and I were discussing one day which faction our family would be in. We soon realized that our family simply wouldn't exist because she and my dad would never have ended up in the same faction. The best we could figure is that my dad, sister, and younger brother would be in Erudite and my mom, my older, and me would be Dauntless. Although, the truth is that the more I think about it, the more I am afraid that I would actually end up being factionless. As much as I can be adventurous and competitive like the dauntless, I don't know that I would be able to survive in such a brutal environment. But the truth of the matter is that no one really belongs in any of the factions. You can't expect people to be just one thing. And you certainly can't expect everyone to fit in one of only five categories! Where is the artistic faction?? Haha. I would be curious to know how Veronica Roth came up with the idea behind the factions.
Overall, I really liked "Divergent" and I look forward to reading "Insurgent."
What did you think?
