I had a very lukewarm reaction to Divergent. For me to enjoy a dystopian novel, I need a book with a strong world-building. I need to be convinced that there is something indeed wrong with the society in order to understand the main character's plights and motivations. The world building, in my opinion, gives the book not only structure but a foundation to a good story. For me the Divergent series has lacked this essential ingredient and it has tried unsuccessfully to incorporate it into the story. What had the potential to be a really good story turned to out to be mediocre at best.

Description: Every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves, and herself, while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Review: Insurgent has a very strong case of middle book syndrome despite a great opening left by the cliffhanger of Divergent. Rocked by the recent simulation war, the five factions engage in increasingly dangerous power plays to pick up the pieces. Instead of filling in some back stories of the characters and the world as I had hoped, Roth fills her 500 pages book with plot that is filled with lots of twists and turns that is suppose to make your heart pump. Unfortunately the plot doesn't move very much nor very quickly as we try to make some sense of who is really pulling the strings in this faction world. I found a lot of the plot twists to be too predictable and I couldn't keep track of all the characters that are virtually exactly alike come and go in this volume. I still can't muster up any emotions for any of these characters including the central characters and couple, Tris and Tobias.
  The relationship between Tris and Tobias was fun to watch as they began to trust one another and grow as a couple in Divergent. In Insurgent the couple has mutated into a bizarre parent-child relationship where one patronizes the other by giving them rules to follow while the other stamps their feet as a petulant child in resistance. Tris's reckless behavior and cry-wolf type of self sacrifice takes out the importance of her role in whatever she is suppose to do in this 'mysterious' world Roth has created. There is a decent commentary about grief and forgiveness, but that quickly veered into preachy mode and eventually tumbled into whine mode a la "I don't want to do this anymore. Wah!" The only thing that kept me from chucking this book across the room was a slither of hope that explanations will come in the final installment as we learn little clues about the outside, but then again I could have just skipped the entire 450 pages of this book and went straight to the ending in order to save time and avoid my frustration.

Rating: 2 stars

Words of Caution: The violence in Insurgent is much stronger and there is a large body count and there are some heavy make-out scenes featuring Tris and Tobias. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.


Description: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.
  But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Review: I really hoped Allegiant would redeem itself after a flimsy middle book, but alas it continues the downward spiral of Insurgent. Though we do finally get answers to why Tris's world is separated into factions, the reasons behind Roth's post-apocalyptic world is a half baked concept of racism that is based on a highly oversimplified examination of human personality and genes. Instead of spending time to explain what it means to have 'pure' genes versus 'defected' genes, we are once again plunged into a boring and rehash plot of Insurgent where Tris and the gang run from one megalomaniac trying to rule the world to another. The grand revealing of the outside was completely anti-climatic and the fact that the setting was post-apocalyptic Chicago was completely irrelevant.
  Once again we are introduced to a new large cast of transient characters that had virtually no impact on the story besides moving a limping plot along, which is completely unlike the pace of Roth's earlier installments that move almost lightening fast. In fact there were many times I had to put the book down because I got so bored and I gave up hope in trying to come to terms with the huge plot holes and the scientific nonsense.
  Tris becomes a bit more tolerable in this one after she let all her angst out in Insurgent, but her recklessness is what mars her reputation as a strong heroine for me. Must she always be right and the only one undergoing dangerous situations? Tobias, in contrast, is stuck on "woe is me" island and though I understand he has been scarred by his rough life, but can we get past that when the end of the world is here? Tris and Tobias have rocky moments in Allegiant, more of the patronizing type though there are a few sweet moments.
  I know there has been many heated discussions about the ending of Allegiant, but for me I saw it coming a long time ago. It was the neon-flashing-in cap letters obvious especially with a lot of the red herrings featured both in Divergent and Insurgent. I can see what type of book that Allegiant was suppose to be-one full of emotion and intensity, but regrettably it completely missed the mark. If this series was not popular with the teens that I work with, I would have definitely taken a pass on this series, but I wanted to make sure that that I knew about the series in order to help them with reader advisory questions.

Rating: 2 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong violence, an ambiguous scene of sensuality, and some language. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like these book try: Candor by Pam Bachorz, Maze Runner series by James Dashner

  YA Dystopian novels seem to be everywhere this year. One of the most talked about and hyped book this year is Veronica Roth's debut dystopian trilogy, the first book called Divergent, which is set in post-apocalyptic Chicago. Summitt Entertainment, which now known for the Twilight Saga movie adaptations, has picked up the film rights before the book was published. After reading several glowing reviews about the book and my own curiosity of the book's setting, I decided to give it a try. While I didn't "love" the book, I did enjoy it.

Description: In the future, you are born into one of five factions, each of which is characterized by its strength and focus: Abnegation (service), Candor (truth), Erudite (intellect), Amity (friendship), or Dauntless (fearlessness). On your sixteenth birthday, however, you take a test and you can choose a new faction if you are so compelled. This is exactly what happens to Tris, who shocks everyone by exchanging the drab gray robes of Abnegation for the piercing and tattoo styling of Dauntless. What people don't know is that Tris really doesn't belong in any faction, but she must keep her anomaly status to herself in order to stay alive.

Review: Divergent is marketed as the next Hunger Games series. Though both series share very similar structure, they differ in their storytelling. In both books, there has been a post apocalypse which forces the remaining nation (or in the case of Roth's book, only city?) to divide into different districts or traits with the sole purpose of keeping peace and paying for past sins. Both series contain gritty moments where characters are pushed to their physical and mental limits, causing great tension and fast paced adventure. With the Hunger Games, we knew right from the start that the games are real life and death situations. There is a sense of urgency and our emotions are heighten. I didn't sense anything like that with Divergent. In fact we spend most of our time with Tris in the Dauntless training camp and finally get to the central conflict of the book after we are 3/4 into the story.
  I liked the characters of Divergent. Tris is a strong female character that joins the ranks of Katniss and Katsa, girls who can stand on their own, persevere, and fight back. She is constantly battling over which of the five traits that defines her, which makes her likeable and someone you easily root for. Another stand out character is Four, the reserved, broody, and of course, handsome trainer of the Dauntless camp. He holds secrets of his own, but clearly doesn't agree with how things are currently running in his camp. Roth does a good job in creating the romantic tension between these two characters. There is quite a bit of romance to balance the action/thriller scenes in the book.
 What Divergent failed to do, for me at least, is make me deeply care for these characters. The training at the Dauntless camp is grueling. Roth isn't afraid to make her characters miserable, but I didn't come away feeling sad or angry when a character met his or her demise.
  Like many dystopians, we find out that society isn't as perfect as it seems (surprise!) but for an advanced technological society, it is quite predictable. I predicted all of the plot twists of the book, which I'm sure many close readers will too. I found the world building a bit shaky. Is there a world beyond this dystopian version of Chicago? If not, then why is Chicago the chosen city (despite the fact that Roth herself is from Chicago). The world of Divergent just seemed too simple for me. Most of the book discusses morality issues, but there is a very clear line between the "bad" guys and the "good" guys. I was really disappointed that the setting of Chicago wasn't used to its fullest, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to read the book. In fact there were many times where I forgot we were in Chicago unless a landmark like the Millennium Park or Navy Pier was mentioned. I hope Roth does take advantage of the city's landscape in the next two books.   
  Overall, Divergent doesn't add anything new to the crop of dystopian novels that are out right now. Those who are eagerly anticipating the Hunger Games movie will easily love this book for its romance and gutsy action scenes. Despite the books tome-like appearance, it reads quite fast (besides the font is large and the margins are big). The book kept me entertained, but I wanted more and was left unsatisfied. I'm not sure if I'll pick up the second book when it comes out, but I guess I'll wait and see.

Rating: 3.5 stars


Words of Caution: There is some strong violence in the book. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like this book try: The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins or The Maze Runner series by James Dashner