The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

Dystopian literature is really big right now. Ever since The Hunger Games trilogy became a huge hit around 2010 when the final book was released, post-apocalyptic young adult novels have been published left and right. With the final movie just hitting the theaters, the Divergent trilogy is really popular. The first Divergent book, Divergent, was published in 2011, a year after The Hunger Games trilogy concluded, so there is some question as to whether or not Virgina Roth's ideas were influenced by Suzanne Collins'...most likely so, but every writer is influenced by something. Although Divergent may seem almost identical to The Hunger Games, it's also so different and unique.

For those of you that don't know a lot about the Divergent series, here's the blurb from the first book:

Beatrice Prior is on the brink of a decision that will change her life. In a society divided into factions, all are forced to choose where they belong. And the choice Tris makes shocks everyone, including herself. Once decisions are made, the new members are forced to undergo extreme initiation tests with devastating consequences. As their experience transforms them, Tris must determine who her friends are - and if the man who both threatens and protects her is really on her side. Because Tris has a deadly secret. And as growing conflict threatens to unravel their seemingly perfect society, this secret might save those Tris loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I read the first two Divergent books during the summer last year and only read about half of the third one. Here are my thoughts on the series.

The first book, Divergent, is good. It's really good. I really enjoyed it and it kept me at the edge of my seat. Veronica Roth is a great writer, especially since the first Divergent book is her debut novel. Out of the three books, it was the by far the mildest when it comes to language and sexual content. The first book is exciting and suspenseful, and the second and third books have positive messages about standing up for what you believe in, doing the right thing, and putting others before yourself.

There is no swearing in the first and second books, but there are words such as "jerk", "shut up", "idiot", and "freak", which are used for character development. The language gets worse however, and in the third book there are words such as the sh-word, d-word, and b-s.

Like I said, the first one is milder when it comes to kissing and sexual content. However, it's still bad. Tris and Four have several passionate kissing moments, and they do get in bed together. Tris has a panic attack because she doesn't know what Four's expectations are for their relationship. In the later books, once they are identified as being together, their romance becomes more intense. In the second and third books, Tris and Four seem to idolize each other and their relationship. When one thing goes wrong or Four makes Tris unhappy, she breaks up with him and doesn't talk to him. The same thing happens with Tris from Four. Then, a few days later, they realize they missed each other and make up and make out. I skipped a paragraph or two of the first book due to the reasons I listed above, and of the second book I skipped pages. I only read halfway through the third book because the sensuality was overwhelming and the plot wasn't good enough to keep me waiting until the end. Throughout the books, Tris and Four realize that love requires commitment and honesty.

Of course there is violence, but it's not gory or traumatic like some books can be. Similar to The Hunger Games, children (mostly teens) fight each other in training and actual combat. Several characters die, but none that would be considered main characters in the first book. In the second and third books, many beloved characters die.

There are lots of good points of this series and lots of bad points. There are twists and turns and surprises. I really liked these books, but I think they would have been SO MUCH BETTER if there had been no sensuality! It definitely wasn't needed and didn't advance the plot in any way. When you begin a series, there can definitely be pressure to finish the series and finish what you started, but I don't think that's necessary at all. Some series just aren't good enough to finish, like Divergent was for me. I do think the trilogy doesn't need to be so long, and you could read the first book, half of the second one, and the end of the last one to get the gist of the series.

I hope this review was helpful to you! If you have a question or suggestion, be sure to leave a comment down below.

See you in my next post :)