So good! I love this world so much! Only Veronica Roth is able to make me laugh, cry and scream in frustration in a single novella. I waited almost two years for a Four and Eric fight and it finally happened! This story was so good! although I could have gone without having any Jeanine in it.

Like the rating indicates, it was ok. Nothing much to me, but I'm not the biggest Divergent fan so . . .. .

Short story covering Four's initiation. Gives you a little insight to how Four came to be and what the Dauntless was like before they started changing things.

I really enjoyed exploring Tobias' character. I thought it was a little choppy storyline wise like the author didn't want to write filler in between the exciting parts. I wish I could spend more time with these characters!

What I thought of this book overall (read only this section if you do not want to be spoiled) : I love reading for Four's POV so much more than Tris's POV. I can't say I enjoyed The Initiate more than The Transfer because they are on the same level of awesomeness for me.

Seeing Four go through his Initiation process is so amazing. It is so different than Tris's which is cool to see from a different perspective. I am kind of bummed that

Visting Day did not take place because I think it would of been a shock to see if Marcus actually shows up.

I love Zeke and Shauna they are so cute. I also love Amar.

I was so sad when he died. It was not a big shock for me, but it still made me sad. I kind of knew something was suppose to happen to him because he's not in Divergent. I'm thinking that Dauntless got rid of him or Erudite (leaning more towards Dauntless) just so they could recruit Four, which we know they try to do in Divergent and he refuses them. Eric still could have ratted them out though. I think he did.

I also love how all the titles of this collection are so relevant to what takes place in each book.

eview: Divergent by Veronica Roth


After much prodding by my 16-year-old, I relented and read this YA dystopian fantasy thriller. I'm glad I did, though this novel initially strikes me as a cross between the sorting hat scene in the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games--equal parts segregation and survivalist brutality.

Amid the typical teen identity crisis of much YA reading fare, there is a simplicity in this story that is hard to discredit. And, it is this simplicity that commanded my attention.

Three Things I Like:
1. Faction Manifestos: The inclusion of the five factions' manifestos at the end of the novel was quite a treat. In content and in form, these manifestos attempt to showcase the best of each faction's ideologies, containing a lot of virtue even as we have read of that virtue falling apart within the novel's narrative.

2. Narrative use of setting: Roth's use of the city's trains, the buildings, and landscape is compelling and dynamic.

3. Rise of the Underdog: Tris's empowerment through sheer determination, well and of course her "divergence," is part of the American desire for the underdog to triumph.

Three Things I Dislike:
1. Things that feel "forgotten": Although there are adequate explanations about why Tris's family disintegrates and what divergence is, I can't help but want to know more. I feel like these are integral parts of the overall story and I sure hope they resurface in the following two installments of this trilogy.

2. Fast pace: I was going to list this as something I like, and the truth is I do like the fast pace of the novel. However, I cannot help but feel that part of the quick pace is due to the several times I skipped through narrative parts that weren't as compelling as other parts.

3. Tunnel-visioned narrative: Although we get hints of what is going on in at least three of the five factions, two are fairly well left out of the narrative. I suppose I could have placed this comment in #1 above, but I felt that this was due to the fact that we really only see what is going on through Tris's eyes and engagements. Hints of what Amity and Candor are doing would have made for a richer sidestory, perhaps through a similar means as the Erudite newspaper Molly and Peter rub Tris with.

Overall, I am caught up in the Divergent fervor, although to a lesser degree than my son and his friends. I've already stolen away from him the next installment, Insurgent, and am looking forward to reading time later in the day. I'm not sure I will want to see the movie due out early next year, but I'm certainly going to read the entire trilogy.

I'm not sure I would have finished this book if I had actually read it. I gave it 4 stars because the audiobook is really, really good.

Emma Galvin did an amazing job at narrating Divergent. It's so well done that, while the story does not interest me all that much, I'm going to keep going with the series just to hear her voice again.