I was initially just intrigued by these three books. The first movie came out in March, but I definitely wanted to read the books first.
I was excited because the author, Veronica Roth, is literally MY AGE and a big inspiration to me, as a writer. If she can write a trilogy of books, and then some, AND sell the trilogy to a movie studio, then so can I!
But I finally started reading in July, when I went to North Carolina for a mission trip with my church.
I powered through Divergent on the drive down (Seven hours as a van co-pilot will do that), and bought Insurgent at a Walmart when we arrived. By the time I got back home a week later, I wanted to get through Allegiant as quickly as possible.
As of last night, at the end of December, I was only six chapters in.
But, today, I have finished!!
For me, I found myself comparing the Divergent trilogy to The Hunger Games trilogy. The three books are structured very similarly:
- Divergent is building the characters and the story.
- Insurgent is where the action kicks into high gear.
- Allegiant is very political and picking up the pieces from the war/massive conflict in Insurgent.
Divergent
I liked Roth’s writing style. I enjoyed learning about the characters. Tris reminds me of me, in a way. Really easy read – I powered through this one in just a few hours.
4 out of 5 stars.
Insurgent
This is where the action was. I liked the plot lines and the development of the characters. I also liked how the story picked up from the last page of Divergent.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Allegiant
This one … It was tough. It took me almost five whole months to get through it, mainly due to this thing called life. I was almost immediately turned off by the alternating points of view, back and forth and back and forth. As a writer, I completely understand Roth’s intentions, but as a reader, it just didn’t flow as well as I’d thought. It certainly wasn’t a bad ending, it was just tough to wade through.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Just for kicks, here are some delightful Divergent memes!

Image Credit: http://www.readbreatherelax.com

Image Credit: http://www.readbreatherelax.com

Image Credit: http://www.pinterest.com
Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂
I liked Divergent but by the end of Insurgent I was destroyed. IMHO I was horribly let down and a but peeved. The concept had such potential but didn’t live up to it for me. It may be because I’m a science person and the science behind the idea turned out to be flawed beyond reasonable suspension of belief. 😦
I see what you mean. Thanks for your comment!
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