Four – by Veronica Roth

14 07 2025

So while the Divergent books were technically a trilogy, the author wrote a fourth book, giving a bit of backstory to the male lead (called Four), since the first two books of the trilogy were told purely from Tris’ perspective. It’s told as four short stories, and three mini chapters, though the short stories flow fairly well chronologically anyway. That said, I wouldn’t suggest reading this if you haven’t read the trilogy first, as there’s definitely some assumed knowledge! (And don’t think the films will be enough, I watched them recently and the plot seemed to veer right away from the books!)

I enjoyed the stories that were set before the trilogy starts, but once it got to those that overlap, I just felt like I was reading something I’d already read, I didn’t feel like his perspective added a tonne to it. If you’ve read the trilogy it’s worth a quick read through, but I wouldn’t rave about it.

One line though that I thought was worth sharing: “Dead people can be our heroes because they can’t disappoint us later; they only improve over time, as we forget more and more about them.”


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Books I've Read

Allegiant – by Veronica Roth

21 06 2025

This finishes the initial trilogy – there’s a separate fourth book that ties in, which I’ll get to at some point.

I was less keen on this when it started, as while the first two books are told from the perspective of the female protagonist, this one alternates between her and the male protagonist as the narrator, which was quite off putting initially, took a lot of concentration and flicking back to check who was talking to begin with.

In this book we go outside the city that’s been the setting for the first two, and there are shocking revelations about the origin of the city that’s been their home. There’s an awful lot going on with plot, which occasionally got a little confusing, but generally just kept attention, with the second half of the book being really gripping.

The only thing that annoyed me a bit about it was the relationship between the 2 main characters in that so many times it seemed if one of them was upset, it would just be resolved with a passionate kiss – there was a lot about the impact of the kissing, it was a bit grating after a while.

But it’s a trilogy I’ve enjoyed, and I’ll read Four at some point, which, I think, is a series of stories from our male lead’s perspective.

I watched the first 2 films as I reread, but having finished this, it seems the films have now disappeared from iPlayer, which is a shame. Plus this book was meant to be split into two films, but they never made the second, so it’d be left open anyway!


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Books I've Read

Insurgent – by Veronica Roth

6 06 2025

Getting on for a decade ago, I read Divergent, and fully intended on finishing the trilogy…. fast forward and I’m finally getting around to it. I couldn’t remember much at all of the first book, so after a quick re-read of that to refresh my memory, it was time to read book two!

Picking up where the first book left off, in the wake of a vicious attack on one of the factions, where all those attacking were being controlled by a simulation, the city is no longer at peace.

Where the first book had more of a focus on Abnegation and Dauntless factions, this one spent time in the Amity, Candor and Erudite factions, so we got to know each of them a bit more, and in my mind, made them a bit easier to distinguish from each other.

It’s an easy read, and very engaging, more gripping towards the end, and left on a pretty big cliffhanger!

I think these books could have been way more successful if they weren’t coming out in the shadow of The Hunger Games trilogy, but they are good, even if they are another YA dystopian future trilogy, the premise is very different, and I’m not at all sure where the third book will go onto, so I’m starting that with anticipation!


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Books I've Read

Divergent – by Veronica Roth

28 10 2016

Having loved the Hunger Games trilogy, I wasn’t sure about trying another YA attempt at utopia which begins to fall apart, but my friends raved about it, so I thought I should give it a try.

This time we have a society split into five “factions”

  • Erudite – values intelligence
  • Candor – values honesty
  • Amity – values peace
  • Dauntless – values bravery
  • Abnegation – values selflessness

On one day every year, all the 16 year olds are assessed to see which faction they are, and then they choose where they will live out the rest of their days. This might be the faction they grew up in, or they may transfer. And they don’t have to choose the one they get in their test results.

It turns out though, that some people just don’t fit into any given faction, their test results are inconclusive, these people are “divergent”. Society doesn’t really acknowledge this and so the best thing to do is pretend you’re not.

For those who fail initiation in their new factions, they are deemed “factionless” and have to go and live outside of society, a little like being homeless I imagined it. But this is at least accepted, better that than being known to be divergent.

It’s not hard to guess that our lead character doesn’t have a smooth ride of it as we join her on the day of assessment and choosing her faction, and from there, follow her through her initiation.

As I alluded to before, of course this system is not perfect. Problems are arising between some of the factions, all is not as it seems on the outside… I think I’ll leave it there for you to discover yourself.

So is it as good as Hunger Games? No I don’t think so, but it’s a good book in itself. I will read the other two, but I spent so long on this one due to things like moving house and going on holiday and changing hours at work…. I think I’ll read something else before getting started on the sequel.

divergent


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , ,
Categories : Books I've Read