Divergent by Veronica Roth

This wildly popular young adult novel was recommended to me by my 13-year-old granddaughter, and I always try to read books she especially likes so that I can discuss them with her. In reading background on the Internet, I discovered that a great many adults also appreciated it, so this is kind of a two-audience review.

For Adults -- While it is true that a really well done children's or YA's novel can be read with equal enjoyment by adults, this is not one of them. An example of excellence would be the Harry Potter books, which are well crafted and portray a believable alternative world which is entirely logical within its created framework. In contrast, the writing here is extremely simplistic, and the author does a very poor job of world building, creating a society which makes no logical sense even if the basic premise is accepted, which is a stretch all by itself.

Unfortunately, book publishers, particularly in the Young Adult category, seem to be afflicted with the copy-cat mentality so prevalent with television producers -- if one entertainment becomes ultra-popular, copy it and copy it again for sure hits. The Twilight series sold books, so let's have novel after novel about vampires and other supernatural lovers. Then came The Hunger Games and its dystopian world. Now we have a whole new premise to imitate. I would say that this book is a second-tier rip-off of The Hunger Games, which was itself something of a rip-off.

For Teenagers -- While this novel is not very well written and pretty thin on logical action and characters, it is a fast and easy read with some intense action and a fairly believable budding romance. Go for it; I'm pretty sure you will like it, particularly if you are a girl. Its message of female empowerment definitely slants it toward the female reader, but its message about finding your true self pertains to all genders.

As an adult reader and former teacher, I encourage young people to read anything (almost) that catches your interest. If you read widely, from many levels of excellence, you will begin to find that you can more easily distinguish the best from the "currently popular." And that's a good thing.


I did not include a plot synopsis here, as it has been summarized so widely on Amazon and other book sites, and is now portrayed on screen at a theater near you!