Divergent

By: Veronica Roth

Narrated by: Emma Galvin

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are - and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves.... or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series - dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

©2011 Veronica Roth (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Though Galvin’s narration is concentrated on giving Tris the perfect voice, she never neglects the secondary characters. Poignant moments with Tris’s mother and Four, her leader and love, are subtly nuanced to let listeners hear the terror Tris often hides.... listeners will hold their breath waiting to see if she can survive the day." ( AudioFile)

Hunger Games Fraternal Twin

Would you try another book from Veronica Roth and/or Emma Galvin?

Yes, I find dystopian stories interesting, this one was as well. While it is clearly a YA book, it does make one think a bit about our society and individual tendencies. They write in a way that keeps the story moving and don't spend too much time in teenage drama like Hunger Games did at times.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Hard to say without giving spoilers. I wish the main character had more time devoted to talking with her parents after all was revealed.

Did Divergent inspire you to do anything?

It does make me pause and think about people's core tendencies and how that forms our cultures and sub-cultures. It also makes me think about nature vs nurture in the people we become as adults.

Good Performance, OK Story

What made the experience of listening to Divergent the most enjoyable?

The story we well performed.

Any additional comments?

Overall I enjoyed this book but only moderately. If you've read Hunger Games and didn't like it, you may want to save your money. Change a few names, adjust the districts 1-12 of HG to districts divided by personality types and it's almost the same story, at least in book 1. There was a little Ender's Game like training and hazing, there was some back story but not enough, there was the obvious teen-love story with the brain washing of HG book 3 hitting book 1 of Divergent. There was the good girl wanting to be bad. There was the person that was secretly smarter than everyone else (in this case just because she is the only character in the book that is supposed to have any personality depth). Really, not kidding she's the hero because she can be war like, sympathetic, thoughtful, fair. The whole dividing society by a Myers Briggs like model thing just felt contrived at times. There is some Orwell in the theme and if you take it like a parable, it's easier to enjoy. I suppose I enjoyed it, because I do enjoy Orwell and Card and Hunger Games, but I would have enjoyed a bit more originality with the series.

AMAZING

I simply could not stop listening to this book it is amazing and i think yoh will enhoy it to

: ) DIVERGENT!!!!!

I love love love this book. Then again I am a book addict. Lol. But I thought it was a great book. And love the movie.

One of the Best i've read

Super for youngs like Me with some interesst for action and some fiction A good love story !
A rly good book'

Good book, even for adults

I finally went ahead and read this book because a 40-something man recommended it. Overall, I really enjoyed it and sped through the last half. My only complaint as an adult is the love scenes were annoying, but I can see that they might appeal to teenage girls. Without any spoilers, I'll just say that the very end was a little bit of a let down. It's almost as if the author was rushed to pull everything together, but there was a bit too much self sacrifice and not enough cool powers put to work. Oh well. Otherwise, the book was great, and I've add the sequel to my wish list.

Like many reviews have already stated, the narrator does an excellent job.

Better than the Hunger Games?

Probably not better than the Hunger games, but I'll have to see how the sequels support the story - although I am sure readers will enjoy it if they found the hunger games fascinating. There is almost too much similarity between the novels: strong willed female protagonist, factions of poorer populations, and even a Peter and Gabe. The general similarities may have decreased this book's ranking for me, but the details of the plot are different enough to enjoy this quick read.

I really like the overall plot of this book as the main character finds out who she truly is. There was too much romance and love story in this novel for my taste, but overall a an excellent audiobook. Best audience is probably college student and older.

Great start to a series!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would. I've actually posted about the book on a message board I belong to and there was another person actually reading the book at the same time. So, hopefully others will read this great beginning of a great story.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the complexities of Tris's life after the choosing ceremony. Her confusion of her brother choosing a different faction, her not knowing who to trust, the realness of Al's feelings for and rejection by Tris, etc. There's just so much. The characters, while some are still shrouded in mystery, their roles in Tris's life played out well. I love Tris and Four's relationship and how it played out, and like someone else's review said - thank you for it not being a triangle. I did know before it was revealed who Four was, but his mysteriousness was enjoyable as well. I also knew what Al's outcome would be before it played out, though that didn't take away anything from the story for me. The importance of what the transfers had to face is a parallel of what we all face as young adults in our transition time was told in a great way. Tris and the others had to make adult decisions and deal with the consequences of such. Facing pain, separation, and even death - how many young adults can really get through that alone? Tris was given support in various forms and her being divergent shows that it is within us the ability to do anything. Overall, I feel that the book carried a realism that is missing from many books. While most are filled with fantasy characters, this book is telling a story at a time that could very much be a future reality for our world. Food shortages, separation by abilities, this is something we can see happening, which makes the book a much better read. It's not just entertainment, you can actually imagine what it would be like, how you would react to situations. I loved it.

What about Emma Galvin’s performance did you like?

I believe that she read the book with great feeling. The emotions carried out well and she gave life to the words as needed. For me, she read the book just as I would have in my head. LOL..

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Sometimes we need to change to discover who we are.

Any additional comments?

I think Veronica Roth is off to a great start and I am eager to read the second book - Insurgent.

captivating

I found lots of gaps when I saw the movie. I found depth and understanding after listening to this audio adaptation.

Good, Not Great

Divergent definitely reminds me of The Hunger Games. It's not going to go down in history as a great piece of literature that generations of people will grow up reading and becoming a classic. It is a young adult book.

Because of that, one must go into it with a good bit of willingness to suspend disbelief. They do not explain what happened to society to leave it in this condition but I found that did not really matter much. In an adult book where there are several plot lines that are all interwoven, it would be expected. Because the target audience is younger, this story has one plot line and we follow it from beginning to end. (Well, the end of this particular episode.) It is a very simple and therefore, fairly predictable story but that doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable.

If you are looking for a deep, meaningful novel with complex plot twists and character development, leave the young adult section. If you want a fast moving adventure story, give Divergent a try.

I finished it, listened to another book and now I have started the second book in the series so it did draw me back. I was curious to see where this was going. I hope it doesn't disappoint me in the end like Hunger Games did.