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)

Amazing!

Everything about this book was amazing! The narator's voice really suits the character Tris. The story was so addicting. I couldn't stop listening! Much better than the movie.

Amazing

This was beautifully narrated. I really recommend this audiobook. Now I need to each the movie and start insurgent because that movie is almost out

Good if you don't think about it

The story was, admittedly, good if predictable...as long as you suspend your disbelief and don't look too deeply into it. As far as dystopian futures go, this is one of the least likely I've read. And the plan created to take over the world(?) is very short sighted and leaves so much obvious room for backfiring that I can't believe a 'faction' that prides itself on knowledge and intelligence would approve, much less come up with it. I also had a problem with the population ratios; for such a populous area there don't seem to be many kids in this 'graduate class' or 'initiates' as they are called. So unless there were, like, 400 candor and amity initiates I find the concept of only 20ish in the main character's chosen faction incredibly unlikely. And how would they function with such a small replacement group?! Doesn't make sense. Don't look too deeply into it.
I enjoyed the action and adventure, however, and there was enough of it that I could get through the predictability and eye-rollingly bad teenage melodrama and stay interested.
It touches on virtually every adolescent fantasy, so that's fun.
Other than that, I must say I don't think Veronica Roth knows much about tattoos. IT TAKES MORE THAN A FEW DAYS TO HEAL!!!

Great read and concepts

If you could sum up Divergent in three words, what would they be?

I found myself glued to my earbuds. Couldn't get enough. Keep trying to figure my faction

Great Read that Takes an Unexpected Turn

DIVERGENT is my first audiobook, and I'm pleasantly surprised. Veronica Roth made the images so vivid that I gripped onto every word. That, combined with the unpredictability of which direction the book would go, made a book that I simply couldn't stop listening to.

Toward the end of the book, DIVERGENT takes an unexpected turn: Just when you think that the book is almost over, an entirely new plot takes effect. This makes the book very fast-paced, and I love that. Roth doesn't dwindle on minor points; she focuses on the big events.

Since this is my first audiobook, I've never listened to other narrators, but I thought that Emma Galvin did remarkably well. She worked to develop different voices for each character, and her emotions matched the book's exactly. She had that weak voice that Beatrice has, but she has the power to harden her voice to match the newly-Dauntless Tris.

I don't understand why DIVERGENT is compared to THE HUNGER GAMES. There is a female lead in a post-apocalyptic world in both books, but that's where the similarites end. DIVERGENT includes a less fearful but more emotional lead (Tris) with less focus on romance: she has one love in the book. Katniss in THE HUNGER GAMES is caught up in a long love-triangle that's ends up not going anywhere. If you like THE HUNGER GAMES, you'll like this book too, but they can't be compared to each other.

Overall, DIVERGENT is one of my favorite books. I just bought book two, INSURGENT, and I'm sure that I'll like that too. It is totally my favorite book of 2013. I'm also looking forward to the movie!

my favorite story♡

I loved the way which tris's thoughts were detailly showed and the voice was so similar to the movie! Loved it!

More Voices

One of the only things that would have made this better would have been more voices. You can tell she's trying to do them, but they don't go deep enough for men, and they don't change enough for the women. Then again, I'm comparing this audio book to the Harry Potter Audio books read by Jim Dale. I doubt anyone is truly comparable.

Never dull...energetic listen.

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

Yes, if they enjoyed futuristic novels...."What if ....?" novels.

What other book might you compare Divergent to and why?

This book felt a lot like The Hunger Games trilogy....with a twist. It delved more in to the innate complexities of our personalities. It questioned labeling of people from a very young age.... and the pressure to accept those labels (especially teenagers).

Interesting story

Would you listen to Divergent again? Why?

The storyline was interesting. I tend to enjoy these dystopian-type stories. I'm not sure if it's one I would listen to repeatedly, but definitely great for at least one time through. The writing style took a little getting used to. Having just come from a Rupert Degas narration of Metro 2033 (he is excellent), I did not enjoy the narrator of this story as well as other narrators. Looking past some of the teenage angst that reminds me somewhat of Twilight or Hunger Games, the story is intriguing and makes me want to read more to find out what led to the current world situation and what is going to happen in the story.

What aspect of Emma Galvin’s performance would you have changed?

I think part of the narrator performance seemed a little off-putting because of the unique writing style of the author. However, voice inflection, emotions, etc. often seemed wrong. Words would sometimes be read as if someone was angry and then immediately sound friendly. It was a little jarring and unnatural. Better than an electronic text-to-speech robot but far from some other stellar narrators I have listened to.

Great!

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

I had bought this book a year or two ago but decided I probably wouldn't get around to reading it. I'm so glad I decided to listen to it instead. YA distopia novels are GREAT to listen to, because they're entertaining and full of action. I really enjoyed this performance and this story!