SPOILER ALERT!

I Wanted to Like This, But a Couple Things Killed it For Me

Divergent - Veronica Roth

I was told this book was phenomenal, so naturally, I had really high hopes. As I mentioned above, there were a couple things that killed it for me as far as the story went.

 

First, the tropes utilized have been more than a bit on the overused end. How many times have we all seen the "ordinary girl/boy has a special ability that sets her/him apart from everyone" trope, and how many times do we have to see it before it dies?

 

Second, there were some very religious overtones in the book. The Abnegation are depicted as very pious, even though early on in the book it is stated that a belief in a deity does not matter to the Abnegation. However, later in the book, an Erudite leader refers to the Abnegation people as being "god-fearing." It was at that point that I realized the author was going to make the Erudite the enemy in this series, and, judging by the first person she thanks in her acknowledgements is god, I wouldn't doubt that this sends another message of the poor, persecuted christian with the Erudite representing scientists and atheists, and the Dauntless representing secularists and humanists.

 

All in all, the plot was interesting and would have easily been a solid three stars, but these two things utterly killed it for me. I might read the sequel, but it's highly unlikely at this point.