Consumer's Review : Divergent

A consumer's review of the 2015 moview Divergent. 

One of the things that pushed me to read Divergent was curiosity.  The movie looked tempting to watch and the synopsis was catchy as well.  I also have very high expectations as I already knew that it fared well in the New York bestseller’s list.  I purposely did  not watch the movie as I wanted to read the book first. 

Divergent tells the story of 16-year-old Beatrice who needed to choose a faction in a post-apocalyptic society that classifies their citizens according to their dominant  value or disposition.  Their civilization is divided into 5 factions -- Abnegation for the citizens who are selfless; Candor for those who are honest; Amity for the peace-loving, Erudite for the intellectuals and Dauntless for the people who are brave.  Beatrice’s family is from Abnegation but she grew up knowing that she is not naturally selfless.

The book started with Beatrice agonizing about which faction to choose, days before the Choosing Day, a ceremony where 16-year olds are made to choose their faction in front of the citizens of their society.  Before they choose, the teenagers undergo an aptitude test to confirm their most dominant trait.  Beatrice’s aptitude result was inconclusive --she was found to have three prevailing traits -- Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite, making her a “Divergent.”  The test proctor warned not to tell anyone of this fact because Divergents, as would later be revealed in the book, are known to be dangers to the society.  Everyone are expected to conform to their own faction; those that have more than one dominant trait pose a threat to the society.            

The first part of the book was about Beatrice’s, now named Tris, new life in Dauntless, the faction that she picked during Choosing Day, and the events that surrounded during initation.  All new members undergo a vigorous initiation, and those who do not pass become factionless and outcasts of the society. 

I personally found the book slow at first -- the initiation, which was pretty violent,  was told in detail and contrary to majority of the reviews, I found the storytelling too slow. I was looking for the “grip” that had me hooked on the beginning chapters of the first books of Hunger Games, Twilight series, Harry Potter, and all the book-turned-movie series that I have read.  I have already reached Chapter 12 and still I found the book’s pacing so slow.   There were too many characters that surfaced that I found it hard to keep track of the names.  Because of this, I felt that the chapters lacked focus.  But it started picking up toward the middle of the book and from there I found the story thoroughly compelling.

I love the book’s theme as it is about finding one’s own identity.  I found so many useful insights that are really helpful in life’s applications. In the process of her initiation and her growing relationship with her trainor, Tris was able to find herself.  If you are looking for a good read that does not just tell a story but also teaches you how to improve the quality of your life, read Divergent.