I did it! I read all 501 pages of Divergent in 4 days, and finished the book ten minutes before the movie started. I kept hearing how good it was, and how much it was like The Hunger Games, that I had to read it before I saw the movie. I really shouldn't listen to people because it sets up these preconceived notions in my head that are hard to live up to, especially movies and books. I tried to stop comparing it The Hunger Games because honestly it wasn't really like it at all, and I tried to stop waiting for Divergent the book to get really good and just get into the story. The book was decent until (SPOILER ALERT) everyone turned into mindless drones. That part was just silly to me, and really didn't fit or go with the flow of the story. I knew there were more books, so I wasn't shocked at the (SPOILER ALERT) somewhat unfinished ending. The Hunger Games was hands down a more superior book and movie for that matter.
When I finished reading, there was nothing in the book that made me say, "Divergent really needs to be a movie." I've read many books that the entire time I couldn't wait to see it on the big screen. I couldn't wait to see how Aslan or Reepicheep would talk, how Edward would sparkle, how Bella's blank pages of sorrow would be portrayed, how much of the Vatican they'd actually show in Angels and Demons, and how cute Rue would be, or how Effie Trinket's make-up would look. I didn't get that feeling when reading Divergent. Not every book needs to be a movie, and I don't think Divergent's story was enhanced by the big screen.
Divergent is another post-apocalyptic story of how five different groups of people known as factions, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, Candor, and Abnegation, live separate but somewhat equal lives based on their different value systems. (Another SPOILER ALERT) Beatrice, "Tris", chooses to live among the Dauntless even though she's really a rebel, or Divergent. We sit through her training and troubles while she discovers (Yet another SPOILER ALERT) a war brewing between the Erudite and Abnegation governments using the Dauntless. There's lots of excitement and lovable and despicable characters in the book. We don't get the opportunity to love or hate anyone during the movie because the screenwriter sidesteps those relationships to focus more on the looming hostilities between factions which is quite the opposite of the book. Seventy-five percent of the book focuses on Tris' training and how that effects her relationships and the people around her. It's really what hooks you and attaches you to certain characters. Maybe that's why the movie doesn't grab your heart because it's missing the heart of the book.
If you've read the book, then don't see the movie. You're not missing anything. If you haven't read the books, then you might find it a tad bit more entertaining. I'll keep reading the series, and hope it gets better. The Twilight Series has four amazing books and four amazing movies (we all know the first movie sucked monkey balls). The Hunger Games has three amazing books and will have four movies. The first two have been pretty good so far, but just because those series has had great successes at the box office doesn't mean that Divergent and every other young-adult book series needs to join them. Some stories are better left on the paper, digital or otherwise.
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