Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

It's always sad when a movie adaptation of a series of books fails, and it is particularly frustrating when the series fails right before the last movie. tsk. tsk.

The books themselves are actually an excellent example of the dystopian sci fi trend in YA literature. Most people point to Hunger Games as the prime example, but even though I think Hunger Games is a better book than Divergent, the Divergent Series is stronger over all than the Hunger Game Series. Warning: while I try to avoid huge spoilers here, it is the nature of the beast that there will be a few unavoidably.

Divergent, the first book in the series, sets the stage of a future Chicago shut off from the rest of the world. The populace is split into five factions that each promote a specific virtue. Abnegation values selflessness, Candor values honesty, Dauntless values bravery, Erudite values intelligence, and Amity values peaceful coexistence. Each member of the community goes through a test that is supposed to determine which faction they should be in. The main character Beatrice is born in Abnegation but chooses to switch to Dauntless when she is 16 after finding out during the test that her brain isn't wired for any of the factions making her something called "Divergent". Most of the book is her training process and realizing that there is something sinister to the tensions between Abnegation and Erudite concerning the governing of the community.

All the writing is from Beatrice's, or Tris's as she becomes, point of view. The narration is straight-forward and easy to follow. While there is a healthy does of intrigue, Tris feels like a pawn pushed around by much more powerful members of the community which is appropriate for the story. That being said, there are plenty of hints about the bigger picture that lay the groundwork for the next two books.

Insurgent comes next. Abnegation is decimated and Dauntless is split. Tris is on the run with Four, her brother, and a couple others. Erudite hunts them and they seek sanctuary first with Amity and then Candor. Why would Erudite hunt them? Because they are Divergent which is presented as a quality that could become a downfall of there society. A mystery emerges surrounding the divergent and information held in trust by Abnegation. Somehow the leader of Erudite comes to find out this secret which leads to a lot of the events of the first book. Tris and Four have a new mission but their relationship is strained by a mutual lack of honesty.

This book is also solely from the point of view of Tris. It is structured more like a crime caper in some ways. The characters are constantly on the move and having to react. There are a couple of rough scenes in it when Tris is captured, but mostly it is a solid easy read that does an excellent job of continuing the character arcs of Tris, Four, Peter (bad guy from book one), and Tris's brother Caleb.

Allegiant is the third book in the series and up until this last week the only one I hadn't read. I have a student in my first period class who was doing a reread and inspired me to bump the book up my to-read list which is why the massive reread. In this book we finally find out what is outside the boarders of future dystopian Chicago. It's an odd sort of the inside reflects the outside situation and Tris finds herself in conflict once again. Additionally, Four finds pieces of his core identity challenged in a way that rocks their whole relationship and his relationship with their friends.

The point of view in this book shifts between Four and Tris. It is always tough to end a series like this in a world where there are plenty of unhappy endings. A writer's job, therefore, is to make the deaths of beloved characters meaningful which can be hard. This is where the Hunger Game Series went seriously off track. Roth pulls it off though and this is an excellent read straight through to the end.

Overall, this is a good series. It's just a shame what happened to the movies. The first movie sticks pretty close to the book and the changes make sense in the interest of preserving the plot while reducing the amount of time needed for the movie. The second movie, though, makes huge shifts in the plot and introduces whole elements that aren't in the books. Taking a step back from it, I think I can see what they were trying to do, but I think it simplified in a way that detracted from the character development that was such a strength in the books.

I haven't watched the first Allegiant movie yet. I'm actually strangely hesitant to do so since I know they will never finish off the story. Again, sad.