DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

Divergent By: Veronica Roth

Reviewed by: Jacob Duncan

I recently finished Divergent, and was pleasantly surprised. Thinking that it was going to be just a Hunger Games rip-off I did not have high hopes for this book. Like the Hunger Games, it too is a dystopian fiction novel. This one book you should not pass up.

Divergent is a book where the last remnants of the civilized has been split up into 5 groups, and one group is fighting for control. Each has a different core value that all members must follow.On an appointed day of every year, every sixteen year old has to pick a faction, and after that, face the rigorous initiation. Tris, the main character is in the midst of that struggle as she has to decide if she wants to stay with her faction, or join another one. Her choice catches everyone by surprise. Later at initiation she learns that all is not right when she is told she is divergent. A faction is after all the divergents, and tris has no idea who to trust.

The author truly did an amazing job on character development. At the beginning Tris was frightened and put others thought into consideration, but by the end she was changed. I can’t really think of an age appropriate word that would match how she was in the end of the book. She didn’t care about other people, she didn’t help them out. In fact she scoffed at anyone who showed any sign of weakness. I’m saying the author did a good job because you saw her thoughts and watched as the initiation awoke a demon inside of this little girl.

 “Never come near me again... If you do, I swear to God I will kill you,” I say. “You coward.”

 That small excerpt let me know that the character transformation was complete. Tris was now completely changed. I did not like the way the author transformed this character, but he still did a good job on it.

The action was everything you could hope for in this genre, the thing I like most was the use of guns, not just as weapons, but a symbol of hope for the main character. The author did a good job not putting all the action into the last part of the book. While the last couple of chapters are some of the most intense, the beginning and middle had some pretty good moments as well.

I give Divergent a 6/10 because of how much I hated the character towards the end. Halfway through I wanted to jump into the book and shoot Tris. If there is a second (which seems to be the trend with this genre) I will probably not buy that one based on the fact that the character is hard to get along with. Other than that, a big portion of this book I would say it was a good read. If you haven’t read it, read it. So you can see exactly what I’m talking about. if you liked or hated this book read Hunger Games, a better series with more likable characters.

THE ENEMY by Charlie Higson

        The Enemy by Charlie Higson is an amazing dystopian fiction book filled with nonstop action and tons of surprises waiting around every corner. This book is a nonstop thrill ride with tons of twists.

    This book is about a disease that hits the Earth and it has turned everyone over 16 into zombies. It takes place about a year after the infection hit in London, England. Some kids have managed to survive by seeking shelter in a grocery store, but when a new kid shows up saying there’s a safe place at Buckingham Palace, the kids decide to risk it all and go. On the trip they lose many people but when they arrive everything is not as it appears. The kid who is in control of the palace has his own agenda. He doesn’t care about the well-being of his people all he really wants to do is control all of London.

           The characters are really well rounded. They seem like they could be real people. They were tough from a year of fighting for their life and from scavenging food.  They were not sissies but they had a soft spot, which I think really helped shape the story. For example, some kids wanted just to stay alive but others want to take control of all of London for themselves. This new kid that showed up is named Jester when one of the kids dies he doesn’t really care and just wants to make it back to Buckingham Palace.

“They’ve rested enough,” said Jester. “We were hours in Camden waiting for Arran to die.””That’s cold man,” said Blue. “What do you think we should have done? Finished him off ourselves?”” Of course not,” said Jester. “But it was obvious he was going to die.” “We did what we did man,” said Blue. “Couldn’t have done it no other way.””I know,” said Jester.

            I love the way the author switched people every chapter and told how they were surviving. It is organized really well, so whenever it was switching people you did not confuse them with another character.

            Overall I would rate this book an 8.5 out of 10 for the heart pounding action. If you liked this book I would recommend Maze Runner or The Roar. 

Reviewed by Jacob Duncan

8th Grade

SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi

I recently finished Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. This dystopian fiction is one of the best I have read in a while. If you are looking for an action pact page turner or just an awesome book, this should be your first choice.

            Ship Breaker is set in America’s Gulf Coast region. The main character, Nailer, is a ship breaker. A ship breaker is someone who breaks down beached oil tankers for scrap metal. After a giant hurricane, Nailer and his friend find a clipper ship. A clipper ship is a ship that only the richest of the rich own. Nailer finds the owner of the clipper, who happens to be a girl about the same age. He can either kill her and take all the loot for himself or help her get to her dad. The choice he makes soon turns into a deadly adventure.

            One of the best things about this book is the character development

“Richard Lopez wouldn’t hesitate. He’d slash the rich girl’s throat and take the rings and shake the blood off them and laugh. A week ago, Nailer knew for a fact that he could have done the same. This swank girl wasn’t crew. He didn’t owe her anything. But now, after his time in the oil room, all he could think of is how much he’d wanted Sloth to believe that his life was just as important as hers.”

            That passage is an excellent example of how Nailer developed over the course of the book. He turned from a stone cold kid that didn’t take anything from anyone to someone who valued other’s lives.

            The plot development is absolutely one of the best out of the dystopian fiction genre. Everything somehow leads to the next in this novel. It starts out a little slow, then it turns into a heart pounding thrill ride that doesn’t make you want to let go until the very end. The pages almost turn themselves in this book.

            I give this book a 9 because of the awesome character and plot development. It was medium pace at first, and then it started to pick up. If you liked this book then you should get The Roar. Although they aren’t alike I still loved both of them.

Reviewed by Jacob Duncan

8th Grade