Bookworming: The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth - My Long Overdue Story

Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant

I must admit, I've been putting off writing this post for a very long time. I finished the Divergent series a while back -- as documented on my Instagram -- but I just couldn't bring myself to write about it until now. Why? I'll get to that in a bit.

The Divergent trilogy is a series of novels by Veronica Roth about a dystopian society set in a city that's uncannily like Chicago. I heard a lot of good things about it, so I got the first book when I was hankering for a book that wasn't Murakami-heavy, but wasn't John Green heartwarming/heartbreaking either.

The series started with a girl named Beatrice Prior, who's forced to choose between forsaking her family for one of five virtues. Each virtue means a different faction in society, and choosing another aside from your family's is pretty much unthinkable. On top of that, she finds out a secret about herself that makes things even worse. The story then goes on to show the choices she makes and the consequences. [Note: I never do reviews with spoilers so that's all you'll get from me!]

I loved the first book. I was hooked by its unsettling concept. The dystopian idea was so alien to me that I wanted to keep reading to know more about it. If you're expecting a Hunger Games kind of dystopia, you would be disappointed. I actually liked that it was so different from its dystopian predecessor, despite a lot of unfair comparisons online (in my opinion). You have to go into this book without any preconceived notions of what a dystopian society should be. After all, societies can be undesirable or frightening in so many ways. 

Book one was packed with a lot of action. It was exciting and was a definite page-turner for me. The characters were developed nicely and it was easy to get invested in them. 

Insurgent gets down to the nitty-gritty of the series. This book is less about the thrills now, and more about the ills of the society. It's a lot more serious than the first book, but it had a ton of twists and turns, so I still enjoyed it.

When Allegiant was released I was definitely excited. Here now is the book where all the secrets unravel! It's where everything gets fixed! It's where everybody is happy! 

Well, two out of the three happened. This is why it took me so long to write this. I needed time to get over things! 

I was kind of shocked at the explanation for the society's existence, but I was utterly disappointed with the ending. It wasn't satisfying. It felt wrong. It was like I got caught up in the momentum from the first two books -- which built up to a boiling point -- but instead of being able to witness a satisfying, fantastic explosion, it just blew up in my face. It was heartbreaking, to say the least. 

So there. I do think the series is still worth reading, because it's a completely different kind of YA (Young Adult) book. It's definitely a wild ride -- until the ending stabs you in the back, haha! [Note: I have read Veronica Roth's explanation for the ending she chose, but it still doesn't change how I feel! I do have so much respect for her for having the guts to do what she did.] I guess my advice to those thinking about reading this, is to enjoy the ride. It's good while it lasts.

What about you? Do you share my views on this, or were you completely fine with the ending? Let me know in the comments! It would be nice to rant and rave with someone about this. I should add that if you haven't read the trilogy, please don't look in the comments in case of spoilers. 

 For more book stories, check out this tag: Bookworming.