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)

meets and exceeds expectation

Where does Divergent rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

among the most captivating and interesting audiobooks I've listened to

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tobias....a mystery guy

What does Emma Galvin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

she conveys the individuals emotions very well

Any additional comments?

can hardly wait for the next in the series!!!

Great but something went wrong with my computer

What did you like best about Divergent? What did you like least?

I love the whole story in general

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tris

What does Emma Galvin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emma Galvin has a nice voice and she sounds what I would imagine Tris would sound somewhat like.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes and it came out in March I just haven't gotten to see it yet

Any additional comments?

When I downloaded the book on my computer (Windows 7) I listened to it for about 45 minutes and then stopped just because I needed a break. Well I went to open Google chrome and it wouldn't open. Right before I downloaded the book a window popped up about Microsoft Silverlight and how I needed to let it run for the book. So I clicked yes and proceeded to listen to the book. After that chrome wouldn't even open and my computer started acting weird. When I tried to open chrome in the task bar that little faded square around it would go away after a few seconds and it wouldn't open. Then when I turned on my computer the next morning the screen was saying something didn't go right and asked me if I wanted to start my computer in safe mode. I wasn't too worried about this but that has been happening almost every time I start my computer and it only started happening after I downloaded the book. I don't know if this has anything to do with Audible.com but I thought I should put it out there. Other than that, I loved the book an

Gripping

There are so many books in this genre which begin the same way this book does. Teens living in a dystopian society have a life changing decision to make, usually during a public ceremony of some kind and the story goes from there. Im kind of tired of that. Divergent also involves such a choice and because of that I almost decided not to read it. However, I was intrigued by the strong reviews and the comparison to The Hunger Games so I gave it a try and I'm glad I did. There is nothing about this story that feels redone, it is well written and gripping and sucks you in right from the beginning. I don't think it is on quite the same level as The Hunger Games but I do think that if you enjoyed that series you will also enjoy Divergent. It has a similar feeling of building tension and pace as THG but it does have a lower body count and no love triangle, happily. I finished listening to this over a week ago but it hasn't left my mind yet. I even dreamt last night that it was perfectly normal to jump on to a building top from a moving train on a daily basis.
The only negative thing I would say is that I had a hard time getting used to a characters name change. I won't give any spoilers but I liked the first name much better.
This is a book that you will just race through. The story is so gripping that time will pass unnoticed and you will groan in frustration when it ends.
The narrator does an excellent job of performing the story. I found her very convincing, so much so that after a while I didn't notice her voice the story unfolded in my brain almost visually.
This would most likely be enjoyed by grade 6 and up but My daughter (9) also listened to it and was completely gripped and on the edge of her seat throughout. She didnt want it to end and was as frustrated as her brother and I to realize the sequel will not be out til next year. I did turn down the volume on two occasions in the latter part of the book when I thought that some intimacy was going to occur. Not

The Narrator is Amazing!

The performance by the narrator is great! I always liked the book and was worried about listening to it on audible in another person's voice. I got really into it!

Good after all

At first, I was put off by the narrator's continually mispronouncing Erudite Every time I got into the story, I'd hear Air-ee-oh-dite and get jerked out again . And the simplistic writing - mostly present tense. "I look here," "I do this," "He sees that," etc. was off-putting at first. But I was won over after a while by the characters and the suspenseful plot and found myself wanting to continue to listen. I think the author was influenced by the Hunger Games. A dystopian society that uses its young for dark purposes, and a high level of violence. I wonder where we are going with so much violence for the young people. Or for anyone for that matter - it just keeps getting more intense.

Inspired by The Hunger Games

The book definitely felt like it was inspired by The Hunger Games, it had a similar plot with a corrupt government training children to fight and some kids starting to rebel. It was very well written and the words paint such detailed pictures in my mind. It is also a page turner. Although, I am more of a "Jane Austen" kind of girl and don't usually like the violence, it was still enjoyable to read and I will finish the series.

compelling story, okay performance

What did you like best about this story?

the story is great, and suprisingly the film adaptation is extremely close to it. tris is relatable in the sense that she doesnt fit in anywhere because she is more than just one thing. she is brave, courageous, smart, kind, caring, unpredictable, selfless and selfish as all of us can be.

Did Emma Galvin do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

i personally did not love the performance. she did a great job being tris but all of the other characters "voices" sounded very very similar and it was hard to pick up on who was speaking.

I didn't know this was even a "kids book"!!

Ok, so the above headline is a compliment. Other than the rather heavy use of the word "cheeks" indicating those on one's face, this was an awesome book! I am looking forward to the next two in the series! :)

Exciting!

I listened while on the road and ended up taking longer detours on the way home so I could find out what happened next!

So much fun.

Would you listen to Divergent again? Why?

Yes. Harkens back to all things I loved about hunger games.

What other book might you compare Divergent to and why?

Hunger games. Duh.

What does Emma Galvin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Look all the best voice actors do the same thing. They create a world with distinct voices for each of the characters.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Spoiler******when the mom died.

Any additional comments?

Nope just if your going to buy this one you knight as we'll buy all three now.