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)

Great listen

Enjoyed the book even more than the movie. Keeps you listening from minute to minute. No lull in the action.

Great Read

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

Quick, thought-provoking, pulls you in

What was one of the most memorable moments of Divergent?

The discovery of hidden identities

Which scene was your favorite?

Capture the flag, the uniqueness of Trice

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

I love the mother

Emma Galvin is a great narrator!

Any additional comments?

Even though I’ve heard about these books being raved for the last two years, it was never really on my radar. As of a few months ago, I was not a dystopia fan and would most likely avoid dystopia books at all costs. When I firs heard that Divergent was going to be made into a movie, I was intrigued. Still not enough to want to read it…yet. When I saw that Shailene was cast as the MC, my curiousity went up a few more notches. When Theo James was cast as Four, I was like ‘well damn, I guess I might have to read this after all!’ Then Maggie Q was casts as Tori and that was what sealed the deal for me. I LOVE Maggie Q (Nikita!) and knew that any character she played had to be a good one. So yeah, I mostly read this because of Maggie Q :)

Set in a dystopian world, where everyone is divided into 5 factions (Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite). On the day of her test, Beatrice must take a simulation test to help her determine what faction is best suited for her. Unfortunately, since Beatrice can somehow manipulate the simulations, her results are inconclusive. When her test administrator warns her about keeping her gift a secret, Beatrice ends up choosing Dauntless as her new faction and renames herself Tri as a way of starting over. But, just because she chose Dauntless doesn’t mean she’s free to stay there. All new recruits must endure training and a series of tests to make sure they belong there. If they fail, they become factionless. Tris must prove herself while trying to hide her powers and trying (and failing) to fall for her mysterious (but hot) instructor, Four.

I loved how ruthless and hardcore the Dauntless people were! They sure made Tris prove herself several times. This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Seeing Tris go from a shy, timid and insecure girl to a kick-ass girl who is determined to prove herself and save the people she loves and cares about. The fear landscapes the charcaters had to go through in their simulations were so vividly written that I could easily visualize them in my mind. I can’t wait to see how these play out in the movie! Tris and Four! *sigh* I loved the slow building relationship between these two and thought it had the perfect pacing for the story. Now this right here I am dying to see in the movie! I thought I knew where the story was going but Roth included several twists and turns that surprised me. I loved the roles every single character played in this book. Even the villains are the kind that you don’t know if you should hate them, fear them or be in awe of their evilness. What I loved the most was how bad ass Tris was at the end of this book.

I’m so excited to watch the Divergent movie! I think they NAILED it with the casting. Shailene and Theo look, and judging from the clips I’ve seen (and I’ve seen them all!) and act like Tris and Four. I loved who they picked for Christina, Jeanine, Will, Peter, Eric and of course Tori. I’m so relieved to see that the special effects actually look pretty damn awesome, which is what I really think most (expect Hunger Games and Harry Potter) book-to-movie adaptations are lacking. I think Divergent is going to be such a visual experience! Excited to see Theo James on the big screen, woot! Divergent was a highly addictive and brilliantly imagined world.

Audiobook Comments: This is my first audiobook by Emma Galvin but not my last! I already heard Insurgent and have a few other books narrated by her on my audible TBR. I thought she did a brilliant Tris and maybe it was just me, but I think she sounded a little like Shailene. Which helped visualize her as Tris even more. Emma does a great job at separating different characters for us and giving them their own voice. My audiobook obsessed friend recommended I try the audiobook and I’m so glad I did! I did have a little bit of a hard time remembering which faction was which in the beginning, but this would have been an issue for me even if I were reading the book. After I write down the name of the factions and their qualities, it was so much easier keeping track of them. I would listen to this sometimes in the car and even my 7 year old daughter was keeping up with the story. If you haven’t read Divergent yet, I highly recommend the audiobook!

Amazing book

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

Ibwould recommend this because the story is so well told. Veronica Roth did an amazing job bring long the characters to life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Tori. I love how she helps Tria at the beginning and becomes somewhat of a big sister to her.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It brought out some anger about the way the world was being ran in this world and it definitely affected me.

Excellent - until the last hour

I realized this was sort of a YA book, and that it tread over well worn ground, but the reviews were good so I gave it a try.

I really enjoyed the book. I quickly bonded to the main character, and enjoyed seeing her grow over the course of the book. There was nothing particularly ground-breaking in the book, but it wasn't trite drivel and was well written.

At least until the last hour. Did the author get tired and decide to take the easiest way out? Did a different author take over? Did the editor force the author to change a good ending into something stolen from a zombie book, concluding with a well-worn Disney fairy tale? I don't know, but I gave the story a 3-Star because the ending was so awful - with a decent ending it would have been a 4 or a 5..

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'